Job Interviewing Tips?

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[quote]technic wrote:
dswithers wrote:
Since you have a technical degree, I assume you are applying for a technical position. You need to prove you can do the work, so have an example of something you have done, a school project or even something you were just messing around with at home. Be ready to present it and why it shows you can do the type of work you are applying for. Even if the interviewer does not ask about it, you need to bring it up to differentiate you from the rest of the crowd.

Depending on who you are interviewing with and what their level of technical expertise is you need to vary your presentation of this project. When you speak to a human resources person, just point out the pretty colors, or the basic function of the program.

When you talk to a highly technical person you need to get into the details of how you accomplished what you did. And never try to bullshit the techincal person, they probably have been doing whatever you are presenting every day for many years and will see through it in a heartbeat and cross you off the list instantly.

this is pretty good advice. I work for a wireless provider and when i went in for my initial interview, the HR person basically wanted to know my goals/determination/problem solving skills. nothing too in-depth, just that i’d be a good worker and show i’m smart.

I’ll be starting training in a week and a half for data support in the same company, and the hiring process was more technical. we had group interviews and the other people i was with could not answer the basic questions that were asked. you gotta show that you know your stuff, but that you’re open to training and new ways of thinking as well.

big up your computer science courses/projects, but don’t neglect mentioning other subjects. for exmaple, relate math to problem solving in different situations; if you had any sociology/english/other arts courses, explain how they’ve helped you see situations from different points of view, etc. 'cause they want to know you have a degree, but the also want to know you’ll fit into the company well.

I halifax here, we have a college, 3 universities in the city, a tech college, and art college and so on with about 400,000 people. it seem slike most people here my age have a degree. you gotta show people what else you have.
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Thanks technic, good advice.

jet

22

[quote]jedidiah wrote:
I strongly disagree with the discussion of pay at an interview.

Unless you have been offered a job you NEVER bring up pay. It is absolutely tactless.

Since they have not offered you a position, you have no leverage with which to negotiate. Wait until you have a concrete offer, then talk dollars and cents. [/quote]

My mistake, I should have clarified that discussing pay arises if the position is offered to the OP. But if there is a salary grade associated with the position, it isn’t tactless to ask what range that salary falls under.

For example, with my employer’s internal job postings, available positons are associated with salary codes that are meaningless to those who are outside of the HR department. A job could be salary grade 3B, for example. This is meaningless unless you ask about it.

But again I must clarify my statement, discussing pay only arises after an offer has been made.