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Had an incident Monday when I was interviewing a graphic designer for a slot. The portfolio he sent was pretty good. Not brilliant, but good. Mind you, I'm pretty open minded in a lot of ways. But let me describe the guy:
Mind you, this was an extreme case, but it illustrates something that I've noticed a good deal: The people in life who I've heard complain the most about their lack of upward mobility in the professional world also tend to be the same people who don't take care of the little things in how they present themselves.
Let's not kid ourselves. You might be good at your job. But so is the next person in line to be interviewed. And the person after that. And the person after that. And an employer isn't just looking for someone who can knock out the work, but can be taken to a meeting and can be trusted to talk to a client and has some basic people skills.
If you can't be bothered to look sharp for a job interview, then when will you? If you can't exercise basic courtesies towards a person who could potentially give you a good salary and a fulfilling work environment, when's that going to happen?
Hey, I'm not talking three piece suits here. I'm not talking about some arcane code of conduct. I'm just talking about the fundamentals.
I won't be hiring this guy, despite the fact that his portfolio wasn't bad. This guy showed me that he could do the work, but didn't show me that he could function in either an office or in the presence of the client. And when I don't hire him, he'll wonder why he didn't get the job.
Had an incident Monday when I was interviewing a graphic designer for a slot. The portfolio he sent was pretty good. Not brilliant, but good. Mind you, I'm pretty open minded in a lot of ways. But let me describe the guy:
OK...I normally leave absurdly early for interviews to give myself time to contend with traffic and not be late. I've never been late for an interview, but I've come damn close due to factors beyond my control (such as an accident on the highway). I always have the number of the firm that arranged the interview ready to go in case I'm going to be late so I can call and let them know. Did the guy apologize for being late? To me, 5 minutes late isn't a big deal if there's a legitimate reason for it.
As for no thank you note...uh....I don't do those either. And when I was in a job where I regularly interviewed candidates, I never got one and it wouldn't have influenced my decision anyway. Sending thank-you notes after interviews is stupid IMHO.
OK...I normally leave absurdly early for interviews to give myself time to contend with traffic and not be late. I've never been late for an interview, but I've come damn close due to factors beyond my control (such as an accident on the highway). I always have the number of the firm that arranged the interview ready to go in case I'm going to be late so I can call and let them know. Did the guy apologize for being late? To me, 5 minutes late isn't a big deal if there's a legitimate reason for it.
As for no thank you note...uh....I don't do those either. And when I was in a job where I regularly interviewed candidates, I never got one and it wouldn't have influenced my decision anyway. Sending thank-you notes after interviews is stupid IMHO.
Well, if you're going to be successful in interviewing, you really need to look at everything from the perspective of the person doing the interviewing.
Five minutes late in a tightly-scheduled day can be a huge factor. I'm in a biz that works on deadline. Show me someone who can't arrive on time from his apartment ten blocks away (Which was indeed the case of this guy), then I'm dealing with a guy with time management issues.
And, to my point, if your prospective employer has interviewed ten candidates of roughly equal experience and skill level and only one sends a thank-you note, who do you think is most likely to get remembered?
OK...I normally leave absurdly early for interviews to give myself time to contend with traffic and not be late. I've never been late for an interview, but I've come damn close due to factors beyond my control (such as an accident on the highway). I always have the number of the firm that arranged the interview ready to go in case I'm going to be late so I can call and let them know. Did the guy apologize for being late? To me, 5 minutes late isn't a big deal if there's a legitimate reason for it.
As for no thank you note...uh....I don't do those either. And when I was in a job where I regularly interviewed candidates, I never got one and it wouldn't have influenced my decision anyway. Sending thank-you notes after interviews is stupid IMHO.
Completely disagree with you on that one.
I always send a thank you email to the people that have interviewed me and it has ALWAYS worked in my favor. I think it demonstrates courtesy, thoughtfulness and a certain decorum about the person. It shows me the person is genuinely interested in the position and has a touch of class, which is always nice.
Of the past three positions I've had I've always sent a thank-you note... and have always gotten a response such as "it was good meeting you, I think you'd make a great addition to the team".... or something along those lines.... It also allows u to gauge their interest in you.... Let's say u send a thank you note and get no response....perhaps that means something ie, u may not be selected.
Always send a thank-you note, people. It CANNOT hurt anything it can only help. Only takes a few short minutes too.
I was over 30 minutes late for an interview once (due to a previous interview running over!). I did call and let the hiring mgr know I was running late. It worked out really well actually, I spun it into a positive and the hiring mgr felt bad that I felt bad so that helped to forge a human connection before the interview even started. Guess who got the offer...yup, this guy.
A candidate was recently interviewed for a teaching position.
Even though I confirmed in two separate emails the name of the person whom she was to meet with she could not state the name when she checked in at the front office. She asked one of my colleagues to look at the email on her phone and help her find the name. And apparently, she rambled on for 10 minutes without provocation about butterflies, how much she loves butterflies, the meaning of butterflies, her butterfly tattoo, etc.
Needless to say, she will not be offered a position to teach any of our K-4th grade students.
So you're using extreme examples to prove a point?
Sure. In truth, lots of people are really heedless about the impressions they make. This is more extreme than most but, especially in a tough job market, it's the little things that can derail you -- particularly when you're competing with several other candidates for the same position.
Sure. In truth, lots of people are really heedless about the impressions they make. This is more extreme than most but, especially in a tough job market, it's the little things that can derail you -- particularly when you're competing with several other candidates for the same position.
There will always be people who can't take social cues and are odd/eccentric, but that doesn't mean there still aren't problems with the labor market.
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