How to do a job interview and get the job: First in a series of topics to survive the corporate world

 

Get that job after doing a great interview!

My introduction to the corporate world would begin relatively late, around my mid thirties.  Prior to that, I had worked in car dealerships and at a small start up company.  The corporate world is a whole new animal all together.  

It has its own ecosystem comprising of upper management, who most worker bees consider godlike creatures, that everyone caters to.  It has mid level management, who has the unenviable and impossible task of placating the upper management and the worker bees.  And finally, there are the worker bees who are the ones in the trenches working, complaining, and trying to make the best out of the daily grind.

Corporate world also has internal politics, as various departments may try jockeying for power, to get a more favorable office location, or bigger budgets!

Despite all the chatter that corporations are heartless and only care about the bottom line, I found the company I had worked for, do care about people as well as the bottom line.  Like most things in life, it’s never a good idea to generalize...

I owe most of my success leading to my early retirement and financial independence to my company.  If it wasn’t for this company, I would not have had the opportunity to use retirement accounts like the 401k.  I will always be grateful for that...

In this series ‘how to survive the corporate world...’, I would like to share my experiences and know-how of surviving the corporate world that may benefit anyone who’s just starting out in the corporate world.  I also hope to help our nieces and nephews with intricacies of working and surviving the corporate world.  

With that introduction, let’s cover the topic of interviews, which is quite possibly the first thing you’re going to need to master before starting your journey as adults.  

My journey into the world of corporate world began in 2007 when I interviewed as an IT help desk technician at a midsized construction/engineering/architecture company.  That same year in January, I had been fired from a car dealership.

I had used that time wisely by getting my IT certification updated to the latest operating system, which was Windows XP at the time.  I had been searching for job openings since I got my certification updated in around March.  It would take me about 2 months of job seeking to line up the interview at this midsized company. 

Few days prior to the first interview, I went online to research the company’s history including what they do, who the founders are, what jobs were completed, etc.

The day of the first interview, I remember arriving about 15 minutes early.  I was greeted by my future supervisor to a conference room on the 2nd floor of the building.  We started to chat about my work history, what I had worked on, where I had lived, and how I see myself in the next 5 years.

He asked questions I had prepared about the company, thankfully.  I was relieved I was prepared in advance!

Another supervisor from the another team came by to meet me, followed by the second highest ranking supervisor at the IT department.  In between, the team lead of IT help desk came by for a quick interview as well.

Knowing meeting different supervisors on the first interview is a good sign, I did the best I could.  The interview went really well.  It’s that feeling you get when you’re about to make a sale on a car, where everything just lines up for you...

The first interview would take about an hour or so.  I went home afterwards then I made sure I followed up with everyone I met that day via email, to thank them for their time.  

After two days, I was called in for the second interview.  The second interview would be with the CIO (Chief Information Officer) of the company.  We had a good conversation going, with the CIO asking things about team work, work/life balance, and quizzing me on how I would handle tough situations.

After the meeting with the CIO, I also met up again with my future supervisor, as well as 2 other supervisors from different teams, one of them who I recognized from the first interview.  

My future supervisor told me he was pushing hard for me to get the job.  He added if it wasn’t for me updating my certification to the latest operating system, I would not have been in position to be interviewed!  That was good to hear!

I got a call late May from the CIO notifying me of my job offer!  I gladly accepted and I started my journey into corporate world the following month.

I had never worked at a corporation.  Everything was new and exciting.  There were tons of paperwork to be filled out during the job offer and there were people from the HR department who I spoke to on numerous occasions from the job offer leading up to the first day of work.

I still remember that like yesterday...

What is a job interview?

A job interview is a conversation between an applicant (you), and a representative (usually a supervisor or similar) from the company you’re applying to, to discuss the viability of hiring you as an employee.  In a typical job interview, you may see one or more representatives from the company asking you questions.  

There’s more to a job interview than just doing the interview.  I would say doing the interview is just one part.  There’s the job seeking part, preparation (before the interview), the interview itself, as well as follow up (after the interview).

Let’s look at these in more detail:

• Job seeking

Looking for a job is the obvious first step.  I would recommend signing up to different job websites like ‘indeed.com’, ‘ziprecruiter.com’, ‘careerbuilder.com’, ‘Glassdoor.com’, etc.

Once you create an account, search for the job you’re seeking.  Apply for as many job openings as you can.  You may get one or few interviews out of hundreds you apply for...

Tip:  Many job descriptions are designed to trim out potential ‘bad’ candidates.  Don’t worry if you don’t qualify on every single thing that they’re looking for.  Apply if you qualify on most things listed.  Now, don’t lie about your qualifications.  This will be a waste of time for everyone if you’re applying for a job you have no idea about!

• Preparation for a job interview / Pre-interview or phone/web interview 

When you get a response from a potential employer, respond quickly as you can.  When replying to the potential employer, use business appropriate writing style.  Don’t use emojis or acronyms, for example.  Do use FULL sentences!  

Business world is supposed to be vanilla.  Don’t use colorful language or shortened words that the other person may not know.  Use common words/full sentences that most people will understand.

The potential employer may want to do a phone or web interview first.  Due to the pandemic since 2020, this may be the norm for the time being…

You’ll usually have a day or two days before the interview.  Take this time to prepare for the interview.  

Research the potential employer as much as you can.  Find out its history, the management team, what projects they completed, and what future projects they are working on, etc.  

You can usually find this information one of two ways.  One, you can go to the company website directly then look for ‘About the company’ and ‘In the news’ area.  Or two, you can search online for information  on the company.

Make notes, then memorize vital information.

If they want to do a phone or web interview first, then make sure your internet and equipment is good to go.  During my days doing IT, I’ve seen too many interviews go awry due to bad preparation on the interviewee’s part.  They didn’t practice doing a web meeting on their laptop/computer and it showed.  

Do a dry run before the interview by going online to the app’s website.  These days, popular video conferencing apps that companies will use are Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Skype/Teams, Bluejeans, etc.  

There’s usually a section to test out your personal computer/internet settings.  If these are not available, then request a dry run with the company’s HR representative.  I’ve personally helped our company HR representative set up a dry run prior to interview.  It’s not out of the realm of possibility!

It’s always better to seek help than look foolish during the actual web interview!

• Actual interview 

During the phone or web interview, answer clearly and to the point.  Don’t meander through your life story, unless they ask to elaborate.  

Answer the questions.  Ask questions about the company and about the work.  The worst interviewee is someone who doesn’t ask any questions!  ***Note:  I’ve interviewed at least twenty or more candidates in my time at the company.  Asking questions makes the candidate look intelligent and curious.  These are all good things!

If you’re doing an interview where you’re meeting the employer one on one, then follow these tips:

1. Make eye contact 
2. Shake hands 
3. Smile!  No one likes to interview someone who doesn’t want to be there!
4. Thank the interviewer for their time and to agreeing to meet with you
5. Prepare questions to ask about the job and the company
6. Answer questions being asked intelligently and concisely

Good interview questions to prepare:

1. Prepare the ‘how do you see yourself in 3, 5, 10 years’ question.  Usually, the interviewer is looking for some indication that the person will stay and grow with the company.  Give the best answer you can!  When I did my interview, I told my supervisor that I wanted to work hard for 5 years then see where I am.  I also mentioned I didn’t want to move around job to job anymore.  These answers worked for me!
2. Prepare to give your strengths and weaknesses.  Everyone has a weakness.  Explain what that is, then show how you plan on overcoming that as it pertains to the job.  Don’t go overboard with the strengths.  No one likes someone who brags too much.
3. Prepare how you’re going to help your supervisor and the company in the long run.  Don’t ask what’s in it for you, but rather what’s in it for the company!
4. Prepare your work/life balance or ‘what do you do for fun’ question.  Interviewer is looking for someone who has similar likes/hobbies.  Or another way, interviewer is looking for someone he can have a beer with...
5. Prepare ‘how do you deal with stress’ question.  No one wants a candidate who can’t destress!  That person will burn out quickly...

I’ve been asked similar line of questions and I’ve asked similar questions myself to candidates.  Maybe the corporate world’s handbook for hiring someone is similar everywhere.  Just be prepared for these type of questions! 

• After the interview/Follow up

Thank the interviewer(s) for their time and for agreeing to meet with you.  Ask for all the interviewers’ contact info (at least an email address and a name) before you leave.  Follow up with each interviewer to again thank them for their time.

Your part of the work is done for the time being.  If you get a second interview, then that’s a great sign.  

Formulate additional follow up questions about the job and the company for the second interview.  It’s  better to look engaged than to look detached!  

If you get a job offer...

• By this time, you should know what a typical person earns in your line of work.  You can find this information by searching for ‘salary for architect’, for example.  Or, you can find this info from different job seeking websites previously mentioned.
• If the offer is similar to what you find online, then I would recommend taking the job.  If you’re just starting out (first corporate job), you should consider this as an opportunity to prove your value to the company first.  Money shouldn’t be the primary motive for you.  Monetary compensation will come later, but not immediately.  Remember, you can ask for a raise after you prove your worth later on...
• If you get multiple offers, consider things like commute time, how worker bees behaved during your visit(s), and how your supervisor was.  For me, how the worker bees behave in their natural habitat offers a clue as to how good or bad the work environment is.  If they look harried, flustered, or generally unhappy, then I would stay away from that company...
• Once you accept the offer, thank the person (usually the supervisor or similar).  Thank all the others you interviewed with as well.
• Confirm the start date and make sure you show up few minutes BEFORE your start time that day!

In conclusion:

Despite all the negative press about corporations, there are still good ones out there.  Use all the things a company can offer, including retirement accounts, income, and networking to your advantage.  

You must pay your dues!  You have to sacrifice to achieve your goal of financial independence and to retire early.  No one said it’s going to be easy.

Work hard, put away money towards your retirement account(s), invest, budget wisely, then retire!  

In our subsequent posts, we will cover other topics on how to survive the corporate world, including asking for a raise, dealing with co-workers, how to deal with tough people, etc.

Thank you all for reading!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

Please check out our YouTube channel ‘Wandering Money Pig’ showcasing our travels and our Pomeranian dog! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kl9f4W9sfNG5h1l-x6nHw