Employment Interviewing At Its Best
by David Shaw, Parent Council Career Committee
Having been in the human resources profession for 20-plus years, I've had the opportunity to interview many applicants who were fresh out of school and new to the job interview process. I have also conducted numerous mock interviews of high school and college students. From these experiences, I have learned that many young applicants fail to understand that employers hire people not based solely on their technical skills.
Although possessing the requisite knowledge and skills are important, the employer is ultimately looking for someone who possesses attributes that will make the employee successful. That isn't always the candidate with the strongest technical skills. Some attributes of successful employees are reliability, trustworthiness, loyalty, interest in continual learning, and an understanding of how the employee's job contributes to the success of the employer. For this article, I would like to focus on this last attribute - understanding how one's job contributes to the organization's success.
I recall interviewing a young man whose work experience included a variety of part-time and summer jobs unrelated to his chosen profession. During the interview, he relied on his schooling to show that he was qualified. As I was seeking to identify the attributes noted above, I kept pressing him for details about his summer jobs. He described his job at a cannery sorting beans as they came by on a conveyor belt. Although he knew his job was to pull out and discard rotten or damaged beans, he never stopped to think about the purpose or goal of this "mindless task" (his words). As I continued to question him about the job, he realized that he was actually responsible for quality control of his employer's product. Allowing spoiled or damaged beans to get by his station, and thus be packaged, would affect his employer's reputation with consumers.
After completing this exercise, your sons and daughters list their past jobs and specific tasks. Next, have them articulate the purpose of the task. Why did this job exist? What would be prepared for interview questions that are designed to the job or profession for which they will be interviewing.
One last tip is to have your sons and daughters participate in as many interviews as they can. The adage "practice makes perfect" is as true in job interviewing as it is in learning a musical instrument or a sport. Participating in mock interviews is excellent practice. We have all reflected on interviews and, in retrospect, believed we could have answered a question better. Your sons and daughters will gain confidence with every interview.
Upcoming events from Career Services, x. 2330, Stevens 325, careers@georgefox.edu:
• Job Hunter's Success Workshop, Jan. 27
Pizza Chat on interviewing as it is in learning a musical instrument or a sport. Participating in mock interviews is excellent practice. We all have reflected on interviews and, in retrospect, believed we could have answered a question better. Your sons and daughters will gain confidence with every interview.
Upcoming events from Career Services, ext. 2330, Stevens 325, careers@georgefox.edu:
• Pizza Chat on Interviewing, Feb. 16
• Practice Interview Day, Feb. 23
• Networking Event, March 7
• OLAPC First Avenue Career and Grad School Fair, April 4
This page was last updated 3-28-2008 20:37:34.
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