Interview Evaluation (Objective)
This morning, I did some research on how to stand out in an interview. A lot of it wasn't relevant for dime a dozen, minimum wage jobs, but some of them were.
Greatest Faults
1. Forgetting the unit that I used to work at when I was a correctional officer.
2. Not taking back control of the interview and asking the questions about the place of employment I had lined up in my head.
Number 1 was simply a case of nerves. I knew the unit on the drive up but unfortunately went tharn when I was asked. Nothing a little more practice won't solve.
Number 2 was more me being my unassertive self. He had asked me if I had questions, I asked if my revised schedule would still work. I also wanted to ask what kind of expectations the company had from me or anything else I happened to think about along the way (other ones I found that I could would be: is there a dress code, who would be my manager if hired, and other things like that). Unfortunately, after the interviewer answered my first question, he ended the interview and I wasn't sure how to put the ball back in my court. Next time around, I will politely interject and say I had more questions - or, I will preface my first question with, "Thank you, I actually have several questions. My first question is" etc.
Positives
I was upbeat, enthusiastic, positive (smiled a lot), and gave firm handshake. My dialogue was not littered with a lot of ums or ers. I succeeded not to rock - people who have seen me in person know how much of an accomplishment this was.
Above all, I was early. In fact, the interviewer was rather surprised on the way down. I believe this made a good impression.
Future References
1. Bring extra resumes. Though this wasn't a problem with the hotel interview, my lack of a revised class schedule was (I hadn't brought it because I hadn't intended on telling them). Obviously, this was a mistake. For any future interviews (hopefully for the theatre!), I will bring extra resumes (tailored to fit the position I'm applying for: since I'm only qualified for minimum wage jobs, this simply means editing the position I'm seeking out to something that is specifically labeled in their job description) and I will also bring a class schedule.
2. I'm going to purchase a small little flip pad in order to take notes, jot down questions as they occur to me, etc. But, most importantly, I'm going to ask the interviewer his or her name (another fault, alas) and write it down. Most of the sites I looked at today encouraged that future interviewees mail a thank you letter to the person who interviewed you, and it's impossible to do that unless, well, you remember or know their name. A note pad also indicates interest in the job, or so they say.
So that's that. Hopefully the next one will go better.
Greatest Faults
1. Forgetting the unit that I used to work at when I was a correctional officer.
2. Not taking back control of the interview and asking the questions about the place of employment I had lined up in my head.
Number 1 was simply a case of nerves. I knew the unit on the drive up but unfortunately went tharn when I was asked. Nothing a little more practice won't solve.
Number 2 was more me being my unassertive self. He had asked me if I had questions, I asked if my revised schedule would still work. I also wanted to ask what kind of expectations the company had from me or anything else I happened to think about along the way (other ones I found that I could would be: is there a dress code, who would be my manager if hired, and other things like that). Unfortunately, after the interviewer answered my first question, he ended the interview and I wasn't sure how to put the ball back in my court. Next time around, I will politely interject and say I had more questions - or, I will preface my first question with, "Thank you, I actually have several questions. My first question is" etc.
Positives
I was upbeat, enthusiastic, positive (smiled a lot), and gave firm handshake. My dialogue was not littered with a lot of ums or ers. I succeeded not to rock - people who have seen me in person know how much of an accomplishment this was.
Above all, I was early. In fact, the interviewer was rather surprised on the way down. I believe this made a good impression.
Future References
1. Bring extra resumes. Though this wasn't a problem with the hotel interview, my lack of a revised class schedule was (I hadn't brought it because I hadn't intended on telling them). Obviously, this was a mistake. For any future interviews (hopefully for the theatre!), I will bring extra resumes (tailored to fit the position I'm applying for: since I'm only qualified for minimum wage jobs, this simply means editing the position I'm seeking out to something that is specifically labeled in their job description) and I will also bring a class schedule.
2. I'm going to purchase a small little flip pad in order to take notes, jot down questions as they occur to me, etc. But, most importantly, I'm going to ask the interviewer his or her name (another fault, alas) and write it down. Most of the sites I looked at today encouraged that future interviewees mail a thank you letter to the person who interviewed you, and it's impossible to do that unless, well, you remember or know their name. A note pad also indicates interest in the job, or so they say.
So that's that. Hopefully the next one will go better.