Interview ?

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

I remember my mom harping on me about writing thank you notes any time anyone sent me anything. But, with my brother, she wasn't so insistent. From conversations I've had with other women who have brothers, my mom wasn't the only one who did this.

My aunt used to get PISSED at me when I didn't send a thank-you card for birthday presents, etc (even when I was little & could barely write), but she never said anything about my male cousin when he didn't. I think there's some truth to that.

[Dionysus]

I think it depends on the family and your circle of friends and associates, rather than gender. I don't think we (my family and friends) expect them from each other.

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Not to hijack this and turn it into a thread on the differences between sexes, but I wonder if this is a case where hand-written thank yous are more appreciated by women and emailed thank yous are more appreciated by men. ??

I remember my mom harping on me about writing thank you notes any time anyone sent me anything. But, with my brother, she wasn't so insistent. From conversations I've had with other women who have brothers, my mom wasn't the only one who did this.

So, I guess my point is, generally, women value a hand-written note while men see any kind of thank you as, "Wow, they said thanks for the interview. Hmm."

You mentioned that one of the interviewers was male... were both of them? If so, then (according to my theory, anyway) you don't have to worry about the email. If the other person was a woman, look out!

You know.. you bring up a very good point. I never thought of it from that perspective. I would still recommend that one cover themselves with a hand-written note.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Not to hijack this and turn it into a thread on the differences between sexes, but I wonder if this is a case where hand-written thank yous are more appreciated by women and emailed thank yous are more appreciated by men. ??

I remember my mom harping on me about writing thank you notes any time anyone sent me anything. But, with my brother, she wasn't so insistent. From conversations I've had with other women who have brothers, my mom wasn't the only one who did this.

So, I guess my point is, generally, women value a hand-written note while men see any kind of thank you as, "Wow, they said thanks for the interview. Hmm."

You mentioned that one of the interviewers was male... were both of them? If so, then (according to my theory, anyway) you don't have to worry about the email. If the other person was a woman, look out!

I was always taught to send hand-written thank you notes for gifts. I wouldn't say it is a man/woman thing as far as that goes. To this day I continue the practice.

However, I still don't think it is needed or necessary after an interview.

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I was always taught to send hand-written thank you notes for gifts. I wouldn't say it is a man/woman thing as far as that goes. To this day I continue the practice.

However, I still don't think it is needed or necessary after an interview.

Well, it's necessary if you interview with me!

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by blueangel

Well, it's necessary if you interview with me!

It definitely makes a difference with me, too!

[AOIIBrandi]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

That totally depends on the interviewer and the HR department. I could name at least 5 who I have talked to who DO NOT like to get snail mail thank-you's, for the reasons Rudey noted. A lot of HR and hiring people are extremely busy, and don't want to sit reading thank-you notes or opening cards that will just end up in the trash anyway. A short email can do wonders.

I used to work for a Fortune top 10 where the HR department told all of the interns in a round table discussion that if it didn't arrive electronically it got thrown away unopened. They also threw away the cover letter without reading (takes too much time). This was also the kind of company you couldn't send a letter to anyone in the building without their mailcode and good luck getting that - most people didn't even know theirs.

I hire people all of the time although I'm not in HR. My preferred method of communication in all things is e-mail. I do not give preference on how the thank you comes, and truthfully I only care about the person's work ethic and qualifications. If I liked you in the interview you get the job whether you send a thank you or not. I have way too much going on to not hire a seemingly good employee based on whether I get a thank you card from them or not... Maybe this makes me more like the men in business, I don't know.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by ADPiShannan

OK any advice for people out there interviewing about questions. I know I went on an interview today that I think went great, but they asked if I had any questions and I said no. Its like if I think of anything they answer it before I can ask so Im always left with nothing.

I always feel bad cause I think you should ask something, but I never have a clue what.

Any tips on interview questions to ask and any ?'s anyone can think of even when it seems they answered it all.

Also what are your thoughts on thank you emails? I want to send one saying thanks for the interview but also say I really want this job without sounding desperate?

Just adding to this-- email is ok, but hand dropping a thank you note the next day is even better.

Also, if you find yourself coming up blank, this is definitely a problem. Write a list of questions that you need to have answered in the course of a first interview. Read Ron Fry's 101 Interview Questions Book. It will help a lot.

You should be doing most of the talking in an interview, but not every interviewer is so skilled-- they may spend more time trying to sell you on their company and not so much time learning about you! If you're struggling for questions at the end, you can ask things like "Tell me about the corporate culture" and "What brought you here to XYZ?" "What has your career been like?"

Your thank you can be along the lines of (take this loosely and put it in your own voice.)
DATE

Dear NAME,

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday to discuss the available BLANK position. I enjoyed speaking with you and I'm extremely interested in working for COMPANY. If you require any additional information or references, please feel free to contact me at PHONE or EMAIL. Thank you again. I'm very excited about the next step!

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Your name here

It is not "Cheesy" or "wrong" to affirm or reaffirm your interest. Real enthusiasm goes a long way!

[darling1]

martin yates' KNOCK EM DEAD is also a great resource. whenever you are interviewing it is always best to do your research. look at org/company websites, specifically look at any and all information about the department you could be working on. you can develop questions to ask from there. it shows that you are interested in the company. if you know who you you will be interviewing with, do some research on that person. i just interviewed with an org and they were impressed by my interest in one of their articles written several months ago.

additionally you should always ask things like the start date for position, what would be the first assignments, why did the last person leave the position, benchmarks for rating performance and what are the 5 important personality traits for success in the position.

i just recently did 2 e-mail thank yous. i include some 'selling points' to remind the interviwer why i am the best person for the job. i did this before and the interviewers were impressed. unfortunately they hired within. i do prefer hand notes, however, what i include is rather lengthy and i dont want to risk jacking up my handwriting. i tend to send notes after the second interview.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Just adding to this-- email is ok, but hand dropping a thank you note the next day is even better.

Also, if you find yourself coming up blank, this is definitely a problem. Write a list of questions that you need to have answered in the course of a first interview. Read Ron Fry's 101 Interview Questions Book. It will help a lot.

You should be doing most of the talking in an interview, but not every interviewer is so skilled-- they may spend more time trying to sell you on their company and not so much time learning about you! If you're struggling for questions at the end, you can ask things like "Tell me about the corporate culture" and "What brought you here to XYZ?" "What has your career been like?"

Your thank you can be along the lines of (take this loosely and put it in your own voice.)
DATE

Dear NAME,

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday to discuss the available BLANK position. I enjoyed speaking with you and I'm extremely interested in working for COMPANY. If you require any additional information or references, please feel free to contact me at PHONE or EMAIL. Thank you again. I'm very excited about the next step!

Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Your name here

It is not "Cheesy" or "wrong" to affirm or reaffirm your interest. Real enthusiasm goes a long way!

[ADPiShannan]

I havent been on here in sooooo long. They blocked greekchat from work. Anyways, I want to say thank you for all of the advice and the good wishes. Its been a while I know, but I did get that job. She took her sweet time thats for sure, but she picked me out of all the canidates she interviewed. I waited a month to get a call from her.

I started the end of May I believe and went through a ton of Ohio licensing tests and classes to get my license for the State of Ohio. We got a brand new office and were able to start working slowly from it the end of July. We officially opened August 1st and have been going strong since.

I love my boss, she is the same age so its a challenge sometimes when you want to treat each other as friends, but she is great. She is very open and very easy going.

My only problem is my co-worker. We hired a lady who worked for a different agent the end of July and because she knows what shes doing somewhat and I am still new, she walks all over me.

Yesterday, we had a meeting, our weekly meeting, and she basically did all she could to make me look bad for stuff I didnt do because noone ever went over I had to do those tasks. They dont train you with someone when you start, they throw you in and you learn. She just does all she can to belittle me all the time and whenever I stick up for myself she runs to the boss and says I dont respect her and the fact she worked part time for another agent. I have to just remain calm at work and then go home and tell my husband because if I tell the boss she hates when people dont get along and I dont want to be the one who complains and when I talk to her face to face, the other employee, she runs to the boss and says Im disrespectful to her when Im not. No win situation lol.

I just am going to do my job 110%. Thats all I can do. I do love my job and my boss. I wish I could just get a grea tall around job, not always have some psycho team member lol.

[blueangel]

Congrat's on your new job! Do you think your co-worker sees you as a threat and may be trying to keep you "in your place?" Have you spoken to your boss about your concerns?

For your own protection, keep a little notebook in your purse and keep a diary of everything that goes on.. write down whenever you did something great at work.. and write down whatever this woman does or says that belittles you. Save any relevent memos.

Hopefully, you'll never have to use this diary, but if things turn worse and she tries to get you ousted, you'll have evidence to support your case with times and dates.

[ReachTheLimit]

I always ask the following questions:

How long has this position been open?
Why is it open?
What can you tell me about the most successful person that has held this position?
What can you tell me about the least succcessful person that has held this position?
What is your company turnover rate?
How long have YOU been with the company? (If it's less than 6 months, then you can disregard the answers to all of the above).
What did YOU do before you came to this company? (This will tell you if the person you are interviewing with is even qualfied for the job which is very important if this will be your new boss).
If I am hired, will you be one of my managers? (If it's not a recruiter).

Any manager or recruiter that cannot answer the first 4 questions, that sends up a red flag for me.

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by ReachTheLimit

I always ask the following questions:

How long has this position been open?
Why is it open?
What can you tell me about the most successful person that has held this position?
What can you tell me about the least succcessful person that has held this position?
What is your company turnover rate?
How long have YOU been with the company? (If it's less than 6 months, then you can disregard the answers to all of the above).
What did YOU do before you came to this company? (This will tell you if the person you are interviewing with is even qualfied for the job which is very important if this will be your new boss).
If I am hired, will you be one of my managers? (If it's not a recruiter).

Any manager or recruiter that cannot answer the first 4 questions, that sends up a red flag for me.

These are GREAT questions, RTL! There's nothing worse than when you ask a prospective employee if he/she has any questions, and they say "no." It makes them look like they aren't that interested. It also gives the impression that the person is not a "go getter."

If I may add to that advice... see if you can come up with one or two questions that show you've done your homework about the company. Just save the benefits and salary questions until the interviewer brings them up.

[CarolinaDG]

Maybe this is a partial hijack, but in response to your questions, what is a high turnover rate vs. low turnover rate?

My company has a 20% turnover rate, but it seems like it should be higher (normally people last a year or less), so I'm just wondering what a high vs. low turnover rate should be.

PS-Our turnover rate is not high because it's a bad company... it's because the job requires lifestyle-type changes that people either love or hate.

[CarolinaDG]

Originally Posted by blueangel

These are GREAT questions, RTL! There's nothing worse than when you ask a prospective employee if he/she has any questions, and they say "no." It makes them look like they aren't that interested. It also gives the impression that the person is not a "go getter."

If I may add to that advice... see if you can come up with one or two questions that show you've done your homework about the company. Just save the benefits and salary questions until the interviewer brings them up.

In my experience, when they start listing benefits, that is a VERY good sign...