Interviews

Archive for February, 2021

Interview Process

February 10th, 2021

What does starting a job, seeking a promotion, making a sale, or going to a parole officer all have in common? That’s right! They all usually have some form of an interview included. With different types of interviews all around us and the increasing need for interviewing skills; why are so many candidates failing at their interviews? The answer is… no one focuses on the interview, or they practice for the interview during the interview, which is a horrible practice. I’m going to focus solely on the interview process: the before, during, and the after process.

Before the interview- The process that is prior to any form of interviewing including but not limited to initial phone screening. The best way to begin the interview process is to start with research. This step is an essential predecessor for the “During the Interview” process. You may ask what I need to research. The answer is simple:

1. The length of time the company has been in business.

2. Key products and services provided

3. The current company trends:

a. Financial

b. Opportunities

c. Projects

4. How your skills bring value to the company

5. Names of key decision makers

6. Analysis of key competitive companies

The bulk, if not all of this information is typically available on the company website. Other places to find the necessary information is: networking with people, company blog, marketing material, news sources, associations, career web sites, and company annual reports. With the increase of technology there have become more ways to research a company:

Social networking:

LinkedIn.com

Facebook.com

Bebo.com

Reunion.com

Ryze.com

Switchbard.com

MySpace.com

Home.services.spaces.live.com

Ziggs.com

Zoominfo.com

And business information sites:

Hovers.com/free

Bizjournals.com/research

Dnb.com

Ceoexpress.com

Corporateinformation.com

Bloomberg.com

Once you have all your researches complete, it is best to see how you fit. Look for the ways your skills will be of value to the company. You will essentially be answering every interviewer primary question: why should I hire you? You will be able to logically inform them how your skills meet the needs of the company, and use your accomplishments to support your statements.

Okay, so you have done all the research and your hiring statement is perfect. Complete with accomplishments that will make the CEO want to offer you their position. So, what’s next?

Studies have shown that 33% of job positions are filled by a referral – a person who currently works for the company and can vouch for you skills and work ethic. Meanwhile only 1% of positions are filled by job boards. Statistically speaking, it will be best to find yourself a referral. Preferably someone who can influence the hiring process, if not, any referral will suffice.

Although it is not entirely impossible, it is seemingly difficult to get employed without speaking to someone. Do not be afraid to get in contact with your referral. Use email, social network, and the most efficient- phone or webcam. Speaking to a person over the phone allows you to engage in conversation that is difficult to do by other means, build rapport, and let the person know you are not some robot typing up countless emails.

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

The most overlooked step in the pre-interview process is practice. There are a few parts of the interview that you can’t practice enough:

Opening chit-chat or small talk

Your marketing message and bio

Responses to interview FAQ’s

Responses to industry related questions

Responses to sticky questions (ethical)

Your closing points

There are two great methods for practicing:

1. 1-0n-1

2. Video recording

1-on-1 – in a formal interview setting, practice the entire interview process. Ask the person for tips and certain things they notice. Play the part by wearing your planned interview attire.

Video recording – grab a camera and record your self practicing. After you successfully convey your desired message in the effective manner you were aiming for, turn off the volume. While the volume is off, pay close attention to your facial expressions, body language, posture, and mannerism.

Finally, be persistent. Nothing impresses an interviewer more than you active desire to fill a position at their company. CONGRATULATIONS! You now know the full pre-interview process; let us now move forward to the “During the Interview” process.

During the Interview – the process defined as the time you arrive to the interview (15 minutes early) to the time you leave the interview. The interview can be many types and variations, so instead of going through each one individually, I’ll cover the tactics needed in any of the forms.

I’m sure you are already a few steps ahead since you followed the advice in “Before the Interview” section, and practiced extensively. Make sure you have your required materials: paper to take notes, pen, questions you plan to ask, resume, and your cover letter.

Now you have checked that you have all of your materials, checked in with the secretary, and had a seat; relax. You have all the confidence, abilities, and skills needed to land a job offer from the interview. Put to use your practice, and your interviewing statements of why you should be hired. You have the power during the interview not the interviewer. You will be hired based off of YOUR responses, YOUR accomplishments, and YOUR skills. Knowing that it’s all in your hands should put you at ease and allow you to ace the interview.

Tips:

1. Smile – no interviewer wants to hire someone who does not s

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Current Trends in Job Interviewing Techniques for Human Resource Management at Marriott

February 10th, 2021

The second of eight children to parents Hyrum Willard Marriott and Ellen Morris Marriott, John Willard Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement near Ogden, Utah on September 17, 1900. Known to the family simply Bill, young John Willard helped raise sheep and sugar beets on his father’s farm in the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints. His father entrusted him with a significant degree of responsibility on the farm at an early age. As a direct result, Bill rapidly learned to rely on ingenuity and his own wisdom. While in awe of the expansiveness and the picturesque backdrop of the Rockies as a youngster, Bill imagined something greater beyond the confines of his family’s Mormon farm. He quenched his wanderlust by becoming a missionary for the Church in New England at the age of 19. Traveling on his way home through Washington, D.C. after finishing his service during the summer of 1921 he recognized a tailor-made market for A&W root beer (Wikipedia, n.d.).

Marriott returned to Utah to enroll at the Weber Stake Academy in Ogden, and then shortly thereafter graduated from the University of Utah in 1926. Remembering the ready market of thirsty tourists in the nation’s capital, both he and business partner Hugh Colton combined $6,000 to open a nine-stool A&W root beer stand at 3128 14th Street NW on May 20, 1927 (Wikipedia, n.d.). Only two weeks later Marriott rushed back from to Utah to be present at another life changing event, his wedding to Alice Sheets. The day after Alice graduated from the University of Utah, the couple was married in Salt Lake City on June 9, 1927. Their honeymoon was spent in Marriott’s Model-T Ford in a rough and slow trip back to Washington D.C. where destiny awaited (Marriott, n.d.). Marriott’s corporation progressively grew throughout the following decades under his guidance. When the company decided to go public 14 years later in 1953, Marriott stock was offered at $10.25 per share and completely sold out in two hours. However it was not until four years later in 1957 that Marriott increased his corporation’s span to hotels. That year he opened his first hotel, the 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Lodge in Arlington, Virginia (Marriott, n.d.).

Even when his eldest son, J. Willard “Bill” Marriott, Jr., assumed control of Marriott Corporation in 1972, the patriarch simply could not relegate himself to a life of retirement. During those 58 years from opening his Washington D.C. stand in 1927 until his death in August 1985, J. Willard Marriott was an active worker who favored running his business and seldom relaxed. Marriott’s business was an integral part of himself. He worked as a genuinely practical boss who loved to spend time with the increasing ranks of employees who he felt were the key to Marriott’s success. Eloquently echoing an honest principle that continues to be the foundation of Marriott’s culture, “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers. Treat your employees the way you would like to be treated – provide them every avenue to success. Get their confidence and respect. Have them like and be interested in their job” (Marriott & Brown, 1997). Companies with an embedded corporate culture such as Marriott must rely on interviewing to accurately determine those employees that are a perfect organizational fit. Interviewing is the process through which an employer assesses a potential employee for employment in their company (Wikipedia, n.d.). Historically speaking, interviewing is typically the final stage in the hiring process. It is ultimately the single most important determinant in whether or not an employee meets the selective philosophical criteria of employers. Employers such as Marriott may offer varying degrees and styles of interviewing techniques, yet for the most part interviewing types can be classified between a pair of dichotomous categories.