MOVING THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
The first interview
As I’m sure you know, first impressions are critical. Jack Derby echoes many job search experts who strongly encourage you to research the company and position, and he explains why. Don’t waste time in your interview walking through your resume step by step - they’ve already seen that. Instead, point out 2 - 3 critical items and focus on your value and what you can do for the company (and this is why you need to conduct that research!). Take notes and ask questions to show that you’re interested.Follow up after interview
Keep showing your value and your interest. Even after the interview, it’s critical to show that you’re interested. Jack told us a story about one of his students who was applying for a job at a company where he had connections. She did calligraphy as a hobby, and she thought it would be great to send them a beautiful hand-written thank you note. But she didn’t get the job, and when Jack asked why, he was told that they hadn’t received a follow up from her, so they gave the job to someone who seemed to want it more.Moral of the story, follow ups are important. Don’t send a boring and awkwardly short email that just says “thanks for your time, hope to hear from you!” But, if you're going to invest time in making your follow up high quality, keep in mind that you need to expedite this correspondence. The purpose of the follow up is two-fold: to thank them for the interview and the time they spent with you, and to get to reiterate your interest in the job while they're deliberating over finalists.
What's a high quality follow up? Make your thank you more than a pointless formality - take the opportunity to expand on something mentioned during the interview (for example, link to a blog post you wrote or an article about something you talked about). And keep following up even after the initial “thank you” email - it shows that you really care about this position. People are often concerned about being annoying. Avoid poking them every day to ask if they’ve made a decision, and instead provide something of value without asking for anything in return: Send an article you think they’ll appreciate (shows you’re paying attention to the industry). Even better, do some work for them! No better way to show how you can help than by giving them some suggested solutions for a problem they’re facing. More on how to not be annoying in a follow up and how sample work makes you stick out from other follow ups from career site The Muse.
