The Person…Part 2

For my second post on "the person" I'm going to talk about, attitude. Attitude can be everything in an interview. I sat in one interview where the person I was interviewing came across OK. That’s it just "OK" that meant to me in my head that I could either hire or not and it made no difference. So I was continuing on with other scheduled interviews, and then all of the sudden this same lady came back into the area where I was conducting the interviews, waited till there was a break and walked over to me and my partner and told us thank you and handed us a card. The card was hand written, it thanked us for our time and then went on to tell us about what else she could do and how she felt she was a great fit for the position. Immediately it moved her to the top of the list, primarily because her attitude was I am going to get a job, do my best and I want to be remembered that I have the initiative to get done what needs to be done. I cannot share all of the information that she wrote in the card but it was an entire inside of a card written to describe all the good things about hiring her and thanking us. There was no bribe, no promise of extraordinary things or outright declaration of abilities that she didn't have, but it was a simple statement of I will do more, and I will do it with the right attitude. Internally this was a move from just OK to on the hire list. Of course she already had a resume that matched the basic skill requirements so that part was a given, the rest and the primary reason for the in person interview was fit with the team. All Interviews are meant to get a feel for how the person is …...in person and settle in the hiring managers mind whether someone can fit with the team. Your attitude, if you make it to the in person interview or over the phone interview should be one that portrays your willingness to get the job done. Understanding your own limitations but conveying your willingness to succeed. Of course answer all the questions but when you have the chance, just as in the hand written card, explain to the person you are speaking with how you are a great candidate, your skills are a good match and where there are shortfalls you will make up for it with initiative, determination and hard work. This gives the impression that not only will you meet the basic requirements but you will meet the "intent' of the job and that is to go above and beyond to get the job done. Your body language, tone and overall curiosity should be the primary focus points for your own "how do I act" thought process going into the interview. These areas will help you to convey a positive image. Don't slouch, try not to interrupt, and ask genuine questions about the job not the basic questions like what are my hours and how many people will I work with. Many of those things will not affect hiring and will be made available after you are hired. Asking questions about the organizational culture, is there a work life balance mentality within the company and are there specific technology's that the company is looking to move to in the future will help the hiring manager to see you are thinking about more than just working there. So the difference between just "OK" and "On the Hire List" should be the goal for everyone. Getting there is a self taught journey that we focus on when we are looking to be hired, but what isn't as apparent in the everyday work we do is the fact that we are building our resume and increasing our experience everyday. Keep in mind getting to the interview is the last step in being hired.