I am a HR Manager - I want to help you get and prepare for interviews! AMA!

the_jowo · 3 months

What are some tips to make your cover letter stand out? Also, when you call someone to schedule an interview, do you prefer when the person gets excited (shows passion/enthusiasm), or when they remain calm (more of a professional decorum)?

deuxfeux · 3 months

What would you think of really creative resumes? like these

Oakum · 3 months

Where do you see yourself in five years?

tshauck · 3 months

Is linkedIn a valuable way to get a job or is it a waste of time?

Katarn717 · 3 months

It was sort of asked already, but more specifically: What's a good answer to that old trap question "What's your greatest weakness?" I hate saying "I work too hard."

GunToForehead · 3 months

What impresses you the most by interviewees? What are the biggest common mistakes they make?

Best tips for making sure you're prepared as possible?

SpectrumKing · 3 months

I'm miserable and I hate everybody. What's the best way for me to come across like a great guy?

BossHogGangsta · 3 months

Besides putting in every buzz word known to man how the hell do I get my resume picked to be reviewed by a human? You need to have a masters in SEO to get your resume pulled from the 1000 that are in a company's database.

bleakwood · 3 months

Do cover letters really matter? I often put a lot of effort into them but I'm never sure if anyone ever looks at them especially these days where most big firms have their own career portals where you just upload your resumes. If they do matter, any tips on making them stick out?

gamergrl1018 · 3 months

Oohh thank you for doing this. I'm in the middle of a horribly discouraging search for my first required engineering internship.

How long does it usually take to get back to somebody when they submit a resume/cover letter? (aka should I be panicking like I am?)

Also is it appropriate to contact the company after a few weeks and inquire about my submission/what would be the most polite way to do that?

tehaleks · 3 months

What the heck does it mean when an interview goes fantastic - like I mean both of you are getting along, the interviewer seems okay with everything I've told him/her, doesn't seem bored with it all, etc... and then they don't hire me?

I'm pretty socially awesome and a good worker, but my work history has a lot of gaps, I can't help but think that has to do with it. There's nothing I can do about that now or how to fix it without lying. If you were interviewing me and you liked me but my work history sucked, is there anything I could say to help? I can't change my past. D:

DinkumThinkum · 3 months

How much internet stalking do you think most recruiters do before interviewing you?

detective365 · 3 months

I'm sorry, but as a perennial applicant that works a lot with small businesses/turnarounds/contract work, a lot of the advice I'm seeing you give would not only make me not want to hire an applicant, but I actually can't believe any HR person worth their money would realistically suggest things like:

-LYING about your employment history.

-suggesting that a cover letter isn't important. Sure, no manager wants to know that their applicants actually care about the job they're applying for...

-Talking about how you run behavior-based interviews.

I can't believe any HR person would actually want their applicants to lie about employment history. Beyond that, anyone that suggests that a cover letter isn't important for most work is deluding you. Finally, anyone that runs a straight behavior-based interview & doesn't even attempt to ask specific questions about one's ability to perform their job isn't worth much as a screening measure for any company.

Honestly, HR guy, it's people like you that have led me to network my way into jobs rather than actually getting to know anyone in HR. In my experience, and by definition, an HR manager's job is to SCREEN applicants, aka pick out an applicant's flaws & take them out of the running for a position. Which is fine, if it's clear that the applicant's technical qualifications don't fit the job. However, as an HR person, you aren't actually qualified to make that judgment, in many situations. I think the thing most HR people forget is that THEY'VE NEVER ACTUALLY DONE THE JOBS THEY'RE SCREENING FOR, and as such, are often a poor judge of the qualities necessary for a job. Which is why, in my experience, and in practice, I will find a job posting, then, rather than applying online, I will make every attempt to get in touch with the hiring manager directly, then apply if (and ONLY if) the manager tells me I must to meet some procedural requirement.

Applications get interviews, networking gets jobs.

Edit to respond to a few comments:

1) I understand that not all hiring managers value cover letters. However, how often does it happen that an applicant is disqualified because they included a cover letter that wasn't necessary? NOW, how likely is it that they won't be disqualified if leaving out a cover letter that was necessary?

2) Staffing companies are good for entry level & part-time work, and I would definitely suggest you use a staffing company before applying online on your own. However, once you have a reasonable amount of experience/marketable skills/contacts, my preference has always been to live on my own wits in the job market; staffing companies are much more interested in filling gaps in their client organizations than providing you with the job you need. That said, they can be a good help in determining what companies are hiring, and it never hurts to have as many people in your corner as possible.

3) I'm clearly biased against large corporate structures, and prefer to circumvent HR whenever possible. However, that has been a double-edged sword for me, and has cost me a handful of opportunities as well as opening many doors. That said, I have always been well-served by networking, and with the career path I have chosen, would not have had the opportunities I have had were I not so adamant about going the extra mile to make myself known to the people who make the decisions about hiring me.

bleakwood · 3 months

do recruiters ever have a preference of currently unemployed vs currently employed candidates?

goltrpoat · 3 months

You might want to let people know what industry you're in -- I've compared my experiences to those of people in other industries, and it seems that they diverge pretty significantly.

For what it's worth, in my entire 13+ year career spanning every position from junior to lead to executive/co-owner, and having been on both sides of the interview desk, I have spent approximately 20 minutes total speaking to HR personnel during the interview process.

Whenever I was involved with the hiring process, the resumes went directly to me, HR was not involved at all.

shatmae · 3 months

I'm a new graduate and I'm trying to get an entry level job. It appears that they still want 3 years of experience for the most basic entry level jobs. I can get interviews for these positions but I've never been hired. When they've responded back to me they've told me it's because I lack experience. How do I get around this?

charleyface · 3 months

Some jobs are posted online without the name of a superior, or sometimes even the name of the company. How the hell am I supposed to get a hold of these people when I apply and they don't respond? Also, some of these places are very small, what is their excuse for not responding to my application?

deweyweber · 3 months

How should I respond during an interview when it become obvious that the interviewer knows very little about the job and is simple throwing jargon at you in the form of a question? ( my IT interview last week.

I didn't realize what was going on until later).

PieterPlopplop · 3 months

After giving an interview, should I spit or swallow?

puredemo · 3 months

Verified.

bleakwood · 3 months

Do you have any tips on negotiating salary? I always feel that the company has the upper hand in this area and they can simply choose to hire the other guy who's asking for less.

aulis14 · 3 months

I want you to stop interviewing me and let me talk to someone who knows what the hell I do for a living.

listn2moremetal · 3 months

This is probably going to get buried in the other 1200+ comments, but here are a few things I've picked up in the job hunting market.

First, a little back-story. I'm 22. I dropped out of college after 1.5 semesters as a Math major (because I'm apparently masochistic). Anyway, I spent that summer doing various jobs, mostly for the guy who hired me back in High School.

In 2008, I decided to get SOME sort of degree, so I went to a for-profit university that will remain unnamed, but it was a technical vocational school.

After testing out of every math class they offered, I was fully enrolled in the Networking program with an accelerated graduation date (a full semester ahead).

Now that you know I'm not some 40-year-old guy offering job advise about a bunch of stuff in which I have no experience, I will say this: I've never interviewed for a job I didn't get. But I haven't been called for many interviews, solely based on qualifications and experience. You look at job hunting the same way as farmers looked at growing plants back before all of the agricultural technology. You throw seeds all over the soil. Whether you think it's good soil, bad soil, or just a pile of rocks-throw seeds at it. 90% of these seeds will not sprout. Your resume will disappear into the pit of resume's they've already rejected. But the 10% that do get through, you may get called for an interview.

Here's the key part. If you can interview well, you'll nail almost any job, regardless of your qualifications.

If they called you for an interview, it means they saw SOMETHING on your resume they liked. A skill someone else didn't have. The way you wrote something. How professional it looked. They may have even known someone at your previous job. Regardless, they're calling you for some reason. At that time, erase all fears that you're under-qualified for a position. If they call you, you're qualified. That's what the resume is for.

During the interview is your chance to sell all of YOUR knowledge. Not what they can read on your resume, but what YOU have to offer to their company. Don't just sit there and read your resume to them, sell what you DIDN'T put on there. Things like "Hey, I can also do basic functions in Linux/Unix and in OS X." and they'll go "Oh snap, we have ourselves a renaissance man." At that point, you have their attention.

I suppose one more tip/trick is to read the interviewer well. If he seems laid back, you can feel free to speak a bit more frankly than if he's in his white dress shirt with his hands folded on the table, looking you square in the face. Every interviewer has his/her own personality and uses it to find qualities in a candidate that aren't readily available in a resume.

Jobs are gained and lost on the battlefield of the interview table. Even if you lose the battle, if you make your name known, you are 1 step closer to getting that 2nd interview and getting another chance to make them consider you a top candidate.

whatisasofe · 3 months

Do heels on a girl really help that much during the interview and initial meetings?

Prololole · 3 months

Christ, this whole thread reminds me why I never want a job where I have to wear a fucking suit, or rather any company with a HR department. The amount of bullshit is just unbelievable.

punknoflowers · 3 months

Okay, so I'm having incredible difficulty getting a job after graduation this year, and I'm feeling quite bitter. So nothing personal, but I really fucking hate HR at the moment.

So when I'm going for a grad job, and you guys ask me questions;

"Why do you want to work for us?"

What the hell are you expecting me to say?

Because I think we all know that I don't particularly want to work for you at all, the only reason I applied to your job is because you're going to pay me. I mean come on. Shit like;

"What makes our company special?"

Surely you know that the my real answer is that I got it off a fucking recruitment website, you aren't special at all.

And why is it you guys seem to judge me more on my answers to questions like;

"Give an example where you worked well as a part of a team"

instead of, oh I don't know, something stupid like; THE QUALITY OF MY DEGREE.

ie why is it you seem to only want people who can give excellent examples of leadership, instead of those who actually worked hard at university to get a good grade?

Why is it that you create a situation where you employ those who are best at lying rather then those who have shown themselves to be hard workers, or proven their intelligence?

Why do you want examples of times I demonstrated my business acumen, when I thought that's what I was going to learn at your company?

Again, on the sore end of a lot of rejections at the mo, so sorry if this comes of quite aggressive. This really isn't intended as an insult, especially on a personal level. It just seems that the best way to get a job presently isn't to work hard, but join a sports society, go out and get pissed, and then make out that it shows great character development. Or have a well connected Daddy.

Solsavage · 3 months

What do you mean by real life experiences?

Im curious because i have a great deal of interns ships/volunteer/committee experience but no solid job exp. besides working as an assistant to a landscaper during my high school years.

tawkwin · 3 months

I have an undiagnosed condition where my palms sweat profusely and it gets even worse when I am nervous. I am always consciously aware of my sweaty palms, and I am also aware that shaking someone's sweaty hand is never a pleasant experience. How should I go about this when shaking an interviewer's hand at the beginning of an interview? Should I just shake their hand and pretend like my hands aren't dripping with sweat? Or should I say something beforehand to warn them and then still shake their hand? Not shake it at all?

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login