ive been fortunate enough to land an interview with a fortune 100 corporation. any interview tips? ive gone through an initial phone interview already. but i really have no idea what to expect on this one. any suggestions? how to dress, what to bring, how to negotiate salary? what kind of questions to ask? thanks!
Reeeee-taaaaiinnnn--eerrrrrrr Allegedly, what I am saying is your situation will be concurrently improved if I had two hundred sheets in my pocket right now.
Learn how many jellybeans can fit in a airplane, or what kinda tree you would like to be and why.. No, I 'm not joking... In the tech world they like to ask these dumb questions just to see your thought process.. Microsoft does, and IBM does.. I've been through both and it was odd to say the least, you dont know what question will would ask next.. It could go from"so what kind of things do you like to do?" to "if you were a salad what kinda veggie would you be?" Stupid stuff...
Dress appropriately. If you're going in wearing a suit, make it a very nice suit and you must wear your clothes as comfortably as if you were in a T-shirt. Do NOT wear cologne (or wear very, very little) Be confident and friendly. Talk to people like you've known them for 20 years. Find connections between them and you ("Oh yeah - I've worked with a system almost exactly like that." "Oh yeah - I've got a friend who just moved over to there." etc.). Smile a lot, but not constantly. Indicate that you are stern/firm. Your smile shows them that you have a good attitude, but an indication of firmness shows them that you're not a pushover - instead, you're an aggressive, confident, and hardworking person who wants to make sure a job is done right.
Have some questions prepared for the end of the interview when they ask "well, do you have any questions for us?" If you say "nope, that's about it!" it might reflect badly on you. Ask things like: Where could I be in 5 years? What kind of advancement opportunity is there with this position? Let them know (or make them think ) you are motivated and hungry to advance and not just there to collect a paycheck.
"Vaporators? Sir, my first job was programing binary load lifters very similar to your vaporators in most respects."
Be familiar with the company going in. Know what the company does, who the CEO is, who's on the board, that sort of thing. Be confident, relaxed, rested.
When and if the conversation comes to salary, you should try hard to make them give you the first number. Using words like "competitive" or "market value" will help you do this. If they really push for a number be honest and fair, but shoot a little high. Do some research to find out market value for similar positions in your region...I think you should be able to do it with salary.com and such. If they really want you, you should be able to negotiate some on the salary, but some companies, especially large fortune 100 companies might have extremely rigid pay scales. They have to have these just because of the sheer size of the company. Remember that they often can work with you on things other than base salary like vacations days and things. Also, take into account all the benefits. They may pay you a couple thousand less than you wanted, but they might have an excellent 401K matching program, good vacation policy, a lax work from home policy, good insurance coverage, perhaps even a pension. All that should be taken into account. For the interview itself: 1. Research the company. Know what they do and make, what their market is. Should be very easy with the internet. Know all their main markets and products/services. For example, you may know that they are a large oil and gas company, but do they also produce chemicals? Do they produce rubber? Do they refine, or drill, or explore, or all of the above. Know the company. 2. Dress correctly. If you have never been to their offices and don't know the dress code, wear a suit. Many places are business casual and don't even require employees to wear ties or even blazers...just slacks and a dress shirt...if this is the case, still over-dress. If everybody just wears a dress shirt and slacks...put on a tie...or even a jacket. Remember, you can't go wrong in a suit when you interview in 99.9% of cases. You know you are interviewing...they know you are interviewing, so a suit is appropriate even if the dress code is BC. 3. Grooming. Get a haircut. Shave. Trim your nails. Don't over scent yourself with too much cologne. If you wear a beard, make sure its trimmed neatly. If you wear glasses, make sure they are clean...replace those gross nosepads. 4. Interview. Be courteous and respectful. Be nice, show that you are a professional gentleman. In most cases, they are already going to know about your skillset from your resume...they want to know if you will fit in their current team, be able to work with current employees, and find out more about your experience. Have examples prepared (in your mind, not written down) where you have performed the skills that are on your resume. Have examples where you have been a leader...even if it was a ho-hum task...if you got it done successfully, it counts. 5. Be yourself...your professional self. Don't talk about that weekend drinking binge in college, don't talk about that hot girl you saw walking into the building...be professional unless the interviewer turns the conversation. Then go with the flow...but hold back on being TOO exciting Good luck!
...anybody that manages to seamlessly intertwine a Star Wars reference in the job interview would be hired instantly.
