So, I haven’t quit my job…yet.
And, I haven’t been let go…yet.
But, I suspect one of those two scenarios will play out within the next week, so stay tuned!
I likely won’t be hanging around here much, as I’m preparing for a “meet the team” final interview on Friday. It’s an amazing company that the employees rave about, it a perfect position for my skill set, and it’s a perfectly-time escape hatch from my current toxic workplace.
I cannot begin to express how excited I am for this interview and–crossing my fingers–job offer. My inner writer is failing me.
If you have any tips on how to ace an interview, I am all ears!
Have you ever gone through a series of five back-to-back interviews? I’m nervous, but also feel that carving out four hours for me is a good sign.
What are the best interview questions to ask? It’s been four years since my last in-person interview, so I’m a bit rusty.
How should I dress to make the best possible impression? Professional black dress, skirt and blouse, slacks and collared shirt?
What is the best way to build rapport and make the interviewers like me? Besides remembering their names and asking them about themselves.
How can I guarantee I walk out of there with an offer letter in hand? Because that, my friends, is my objective.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions and well-wishes!
existential ergonomics 
Guess who is having her last day today?
Yup, me! Although this time I am leaving in good terms 😉
I think in this stage, where you are going to meet the management team, it’s really about will you fit in.
They are interested in your CV and knowledge, now it’s about the good relationship.
The one question I always ask is “What are my first few weeks going to look like”.
I prefer to focus on the short term goal rather than where I want to be in 5 years.
I also ask about what people I’d be working with (roles), maybe even the average age.
About the company culture.
If there has been a major re-organisation and how it affected people.
And the one thing I also do, if they have a picture in the office of their family, I would say “nice picture” with a warm, generous smile 😉
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Woohoo! Congratulations!! And it’s great to hear you’re leaving on good terms, at least this time! 😉 Seems my boss is “cleaning house,” so is it considered “good terms” if we both want to end the relationship? Hahaha!
I think you are absolutely right about gauging how I’ll fit in. People hardly even asked me about my credentials, so I get the sense that they’d already made their decision and were just scoping out whether there were any red flags.
Yes, I tend to ask, “Were I brought on, what are the first projects I’ll be working on?” It shows interest in the position, but also reveals if the job is not what you had anticipated. And thank you for you other suggestions–I brought them up and was given a tour to see for myself haha. 🙂
I was in a conference room and people came to me; however, I took the spirit of complimenting a picture. Two of the five interviewers brought up how they had a team event the night before, but they couldn’t attend because they were at home with their kids.. so I asked their ages, and followed up with a comment on how that age is both so fun and exhausting. (I don’t have kids in my life, but I’m pretty certain EVERY age is fun and exhausting :P)
Thank you so much for your suggestions–they really helped me out!
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What was the dress code of others in your last interview or of other workers you saw in the building. Match it. Don’t underdress, it looks like you don’t care but don’t overdress as it looks like you’re trying too hard.
Research the company. Ask questions. See if they’ve been involved in community type events, volunteering etc. Look up the company on LinkedIn. See if you can find out who will be interviewing you and use that for research on questions to ask. Good Luck!!
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Great advice! The environment was the casual end of business casual–jeans, polos and sneakers on guys & slacks, blouse and flats on the guys. I ended up wearing a dress skirt, nice blouse, and booties… slightly more dressed up than those interviewing me. I also did lots of research ahead of time, and I think they were impressed with my questions. Thank you, thank you!!
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You are very welcome! I’m usually in the interviewer seat!
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Exciting and so happy for you! These are some of the things I do: for dress, for the most part I go with a light blue dress shirt (there’s studies saying people are most receptive to the color blue) and either dress pants or skirt. And maybe a light sweater or jacket on top. Other than critical job function questions, I like to ask “what do you like/don’t like about your job?” And people are taken aback by it but gives you a good glimpse of on-the-ground issues/perks you wouldn’t be able to know of otherwise. I also ask the highest level interviewer what the company and/or department goals are for the next 1,5,10 years, which gives you an idea of their strategy and roadmap and whether you’d be on board with that. I also make it a point to remember peoples names and associate something personal with it so I can use that when I send my thank you’s. I also am super courteous and warm to the receptionist/admin bec they have more power than we think and may help influence their decision too. When I do research on the company, I also look at their social media and throw in a question about a recent event they did or a spotlight feature — shows you are interested and pay attention to what they do.
Looking forward to hear how it goes! Wishing you all the good vibes!!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for this!! I was able to apply your suggestions and gather some great insight into the company and the department I would be in. Everyone seemed to love their work and they were excited to share their fiscal year goals and strategic vision moving forward… lots of growth and development on the horizon, which is exciting. I love your suggestion about adding something personal, and I made sure to add things from our conversation to the thank you notes–everyone brought something unique to the conversation, and I made sure to highlight it. Crossing my fingers that I’ll have some good news tomorrow!! Thank you so, so much!! ❤
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So so happy to hear this!! Sounds like you really like the place and I can feel your excitement from here! Sending alll the good juju for good news very soon!!
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Yes, it feels like the absolute perfect fit for my skills, personality, and eagerness to keep learning!! I’m hoping that my heath issues were perhaps exacerbated by work stress–which I became to accustomed to, I didn’t even recognize. I’m hoping one good thing (awesome new job) will lead right to another (better health). ❤
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Yes hoping for the same! ❤️
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