Nervous about that job interview? Here’s how to get off on the right foot!

Small talk

Being armed with some good icebreaker questions to ask can help you make a good first impression. It can also set the tone for the entire interview. Small talk gives you and the interviewer a chance to get to know each other a bit. It can ease tension or anxiety you may be feeling.

In the bigger scheme of things, taking some time to break the ice is important, because it is a skill that is great to hone for day-to-day work and life—regardless of your field or industry. If you can show that you are good at breaking the ice, the interviewer will be able to picture you doing the same as you relate to customers, colleagues, supervisors, vendors—anyone.

Engage with good questions or comments

There are some questions or statements that can get a conversation going. Here are a few that you might initiate:

• What is your position with the company? (If you don’t already know)
• How long have you been with the company? (If you don’t already know)
• Comments about the weather.
• Comments about your trip to the interview destination. For example, “What an easy and scenic drive! The directions were great!”
• Comments about the company site (if interviewed there). “I like the accessibility of parking around here,” or “I noted some enticing smells coming from the cafeteria.”
• If you are connected on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, use it to break the ice. “I see from your Tweets that you are a big jazz fan.” We all love to talk about subjects we’re  passionate about (But don’t bring it up if you hate jazz or know nothing about it!). Social media is a powerful resource for breaking the ice. Does the interviewer love fishing, record a favorite TV show, or have season tickets to a particular football team’s games? Word of caution: don’t come off as a Twitter stalker.

Don’t overdo it

Stick with safe topics: sports, hobbies, the city and culture etc. Keep in mind that small talk should be brief—two to three minutes tops.

• Don’t go overboard, particularly in praise. Talking about how you love the wall color will come off as desperate and shallow.
• Do respond to comments made by the interviewer. Particularly if it opens the door to common interests. If you went to the same school, know someone in common, or belong to a common association, this is excellent opportunity to bond.
• Do act interested—direct eye contact, a smile, leaning forward. Small talk is there to break the ice. Your body language speaks as clearly as what you say.
• Don’t bring up anything related to the job itself at this stage. Work hours, salary or even the fact that you know someone who works in the same company—are not icebreaker topics. Definitely avoid talking about past jobs or any related subject matter.
• Do feel comfortable bringing up job-related topics reflective of the interviewer, say garnered through LinkedIn or research on the company. If the interviewer has worked his / her way up through the company, it’s great show you noted this accomplishment, and tie it in to the favorable impression the company makes on you for valuing its people.

Think of the interview as a conversation. The interviewer is often just as nervous as you are. Breaking the ice settles nerves on all counts. It is always about the people; it is always about connecting.

Photo: LeonIngul

Going back to work can be hard for stay-at-home parents, particularly for those who’ve been out of the workforce for several years. If you’ve been home with your children and are now or soon ready to return to work, this post might help you bound back in with more confidence and direction!

Keep your network healthy

One of my favorite truisms is “It’s not just who you know; it’s who knows you and who knows what you do.” Many employers fill jobs by people they know or have met via networking or referrals. The key is to forge connections with people who have known what you can do—either in the workforce or during your parenting stint.

• Keep your professionalism activated. As a stay-at-home parent, join a professional group or association; go to meetings regularly. Also join at least one civic organization. Network heavily in both.
• Consider forming your own professional networking group with others you know who are or have recently been stay-at-home parents.
• Make contacting your last employer your first stop. Many companies find it easier to hire someone back instead of starting at square one, especially if they were a great contributor. Odds are, they still value you.
• Network with neighbors, people at church, or people in your children’s sports activities. You can sometimes meet a mentor who is happy to help you with your career search!
• Leverage volunteering to maintain your skill set. Using your transferable skills in experience that is not paid is nonetheless valuable. People who know your work ethic—you called a hundred people to raise funds for new uniforms—like and trust you. They are likely eager to help; and may even hire you themselves!
• Explore obtaining additional credentials. Sometimes all you’ll need is one or two courses to update your skills. A bonus is that you can then network with that professor or teacher, the school’s career services, etc. to tap workforce-reentry resources—and perhaps gain a reference or two as well!
• Consider signing up for a career re-entry seminar at a university or community college near you, to brush up on basic skills, practice interviewing, network and look for job leads.
• If you like to write, are tech comfortable and have content to share related to your profession, you could start your own website. It can be very simple but powerful. You can build an online professional identity while still a stay-at-home parent.

Use a strategic resume

Don’t assume that your old resume is okay as is. Be strategic. Select the best resume format. While functional resumes are not preferred by hiring managers, a chronological format may not be your best bet. Consider using a hybrid or combination format that allows you to highlight your most relevant skills or experience, while accounting for your employment history.

• Volunteer / Community Involvement (Fundraising, PTA etc.): If you held leadership roles, plug your accomplishments and the key skills you developed. You can include volunteer work in your Work Experience to cover the employment gap.
• Professional Development: Show your commitment to the field by including membership in professional organizations and participation in conferences or online networking (LinkedIn is a great resource).
• Any Paid Work: If you’ve consulted or freelanced relative to your job target, include it. Perhaps you’ve worked part time or from home. Include the experience on your resume.
• Continuing Education: Convey your refreshed skills through online learning, independent study, and/or courses.

Make no apologies

In all your communications and networking, don’t apologize for your time away. At the same time, don’t be too dramatic.

• Don’t dress up time at home with silly titles like “domestic engineer.” Instead, identify how you have continued to use your business skills in the time you have been out of the workforce.
• When interviewing, focus on what you could do for a new employer.
• Use your cover letter to briefly explain your recent gap, but emphasize that you have kept your skills up to date and are energized to return to the workforce.

You were in the workforce and had talents and value to contribute. You’ve most recently had one of the toughest and rewarding jobs of all—that of raising your children full time. When you’re ready to return to work, focus on what you have to offer and how you’ve filled your time with relevant activities. Here’s to your next career adventure!

Photo:  volpelino

I’m over 50 and I got a job.  In fact I had 2 offers to choose from (for the first time in my career).  How did I do this? You’re going to love this:  “I did what my wife told me to do.”  In my case, my wife is a Certified Career Coach and Professional Resume Writer.  She wrote my resume, helped me brand myself, coached me on interviewing, helped me craft my SMART (Situation and More, Action, Result, Tie-In theme) stories, provided ongoing feedback about what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong – pretty much what she does for her customers.

What Did I Learn?

The resume and cover letter (or cover email) are key to getting you to the point of a phone interview (phone screen, usually with HR).  Both (resume and cover letter) need to reflect key elements the employer is looking for and how you satisfy this need. This means you have to tailor both for every application you make.  Failure to do this will result in your being eliminated before you even get a chance to ‘talk’.  Nobody cares about more than the last 15 (maybe 20) years of your experience,. Including more makes your resume too long and invites other problems.

When you do get that ‘phone screen’, you need to be prepared with your ‘elevator speech’ – 30 seconds on what you do and why you’re good. Your ‘crisp’ SMART stories ‘tweaked’ to pertain specifically to the job/employer in question.  Good solid reasonable explanations for how you got where you are. Corporate changes, layoffs, restructuring are a fact of modern corporate life.  Don’t avoid them, don’t belabor them, be honest and move on. Projecting excitement and energy are key.

When you finally get through the phone screen(s) to an in person interview, it starts over.  Your SMART Stories and elevator speech should be ‘re-tuned’ to be an even better fit for the position.  You must do all the things we all know are good (good eye contact, positive body language,  control your hands, smile).  Again, it’s imperative to project excitement, energy and a ‘can do’ attitude.  You’re over 50 and to some that’s a liability.  You have a wealth of experience; that needs to come out.  You’ve ‘been there, done that’.

There’s more! These are what I believe are/were the ‘keys’ for me.

Photo:  stevendepolo

Tips to Interview: What I hear from candidates

Working with job seekers on a daily basis, I frequently hear about their frustration with the required processes to get a first face-to-face interview. My client Pat said he spent three hours on personality, math, logic and other skills tests; followed by two phone interviews, a group interview and then … he was told to follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook—before taking another assessment.

Tips to Interview: What’s the status quo?

I certainly don’t want to offend HR professionals (I am one), but sometimes the policies, procedures and rules can in reality become a bureaucratic series of hoops that while perhaps making the HR process easier, are a nightmare for the candidate.

Here’s what often happens:

• HR screens résumés and applications based on an explicit group of criteria that has been outlined by the hiring manager. They receive a résumé, match it to the hiring qualifications and, if it matches, forward it to the decision-maker.

• Some screeners eyeball every submission, while others search for certain keywords among applications and résumés. Various applicant tracking systems (ATS) are frequently used, reducing the candidate’s submissions to database figures.

• Some screeners consider cover letters in their applications; some do not.

• Candidates should expect to wait anywhere from a few days to several weeks before receiving a response to an application, if at all.

In fact, according to CareerXroads, a human-resources consulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey, a survey of more than 50 companies with at least 500 employees revealed that less than 27% have a formal process to notify decline to external candidates they consider for an opening.

With the above scenario, there is no opportunity in the process for individual interpretation; it’s simply a match-up and for the job seeker, a wait—often wait, wait, wait—ordeal.

This is not what you want to happen in your job search.

Tips to Interview: What can you do?

Your goal is to get your résumé in front of the right decision-maker (e.g., President, VP of Marketing, VP of Operations, Customer Service Director, IT Manager, etc.). These are the people who have the power to make a hiring decision and get you through the HR process. When contacting companies to explore hiring opportunities:

• If you are responding to a posting that dictates you forwarding your résumé and/or application to the HR Department, do as directed.

• Don’t rest there. Find the name of the hiring manager or decision-maker, and also call and/or send your  correspondence to that person.

This double-hit method can be very productive! Remember my client, Pat? He started using the above approach. He recently told me that he had applied online (with application, as well as attached resume and letter) for a Sales Manager role for which he was well qualified. After a week, on the very day he received a “No thanks” letter from HR, he received a call from the VP of Sales to schedule an interview.

What’s the reality here?

If managers think HR is creating a lot of red tape holding up movement in terms of getting the right people hired, they will happily take a call from a candidate. Decision-makers aren’t necessarily all that interested in the hoops. They just want a great fit for the company and its needs. Sometimes it pays to sidestep the hoops.

Photo: Kissimmee

Nice guys do not always finish last. Your integrity influences hiring decisions. The Corporate Executive Board in Arlington, Virginia recently surveyed 500,000 employees in over 85 countries. The study found that companies identified as having high-integrity cultures are 67 percent less likely to observe significant instances of misconduct, such as accounting irregularities and insider trading, than companies with low-integrity cultures. What does this mean to the job seeker?

Workplace Integrity: Companies want it!

New York Times columnist Adam Bryant interviewed more than 70 CEOs and other leaders in his book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. Bryant wanted to find what he calls five essentials for success; qualities that most leaders share and look for in people they hire. Legendary investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet’s top priority in hiring was “people with integrity”. It ranked high with others as well.

There was a time when a job candidate’s integrity was taken at face value without confirmation. Times have changed. Employers are asking retained search firms to be more careful and more thorough in conducting reference checks and background investigations. Consequently, Cornerstone International Group, a global consortium of more than 100 boutique executive search firms, added an entire division devoted to background checks, including a full-service “Private Eye” company. Many companies use pre-employment assessments to gauge a candidate’s trustworthiness and integrity.

Workplace Integrity: It’s a day-to-day thing

As defined, integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes. In ethics, it is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness of one’s actions—the opposite of hypocrisy. Who you are deep inside is evidenced by what you do on a daily basis. It’s about following through on your word, being above reproach and honorable with your actions. This creates trust, respect and professionalism. It does not matter whether you are the night custodian or the CEO; living with workplace integrity impacts not only your long-term professional development; it also enhances the overall company culture—it’s a domino effect!

Integrity: How to show you’re a candidate who has it

Throughout your job search, how do you convey the integrity that you and employers value—and people in general admire?

• Resumes and career traditional and online communications. Don’t embellish your skill sets, experience or credentials. This will come back to bite you if hired. And even before that, you might regret it. Today’s background checks are thorough; false or inconsistent information will remove you from the pool of candidates. Do emphasize any background that highlights your integrity.

• Weave integrity into your networking. Keep your word. If you say you will follow up, do it. Be accountable for everything you say. Don’t take advantage of networking relationships. Pull your weight. Give back to those who try and help you—every chance you get. Show appreciation and thank people.

• Tell it in your stories. Showcase integrity in your interviews. Be prepared for behavioral questions designed to reveal your character. Have success stories ready to show how you solved problems and met challenges with high integrity.

• Show it holistically. Be up front with recruiters on what you want in salary, job and employer. Don’t waste their time with an “I’ll take anything” approach. Similarly, don’t apply for jobs you’re not qualified for. There are people behind the systems, trying to hire the best fit. Respect their time (and your own). Never, never, never say anything negative about past employers or contacts. Negativity has no place  in the job search. Period.

One of my favorite stories of integrity is about Babe Zaharias, a champion amateur golfer in the 1932 Olympics (later professional). She once penalized herself two strokes when she realized she accidentally played the wrong ball. “Why did you do it?” asked a friend. “No one saw you. No one would have known the difference.” “I would have known,” answered Babe.

As a job seeker and candidate, your integrity matters 24/7. It extends above honesty. It means doing the right thing regardless of circumstances or consequences. It means doing the right thing even if no one is looking.

Job Search Talk: What’s that?

I think of it as the career communications you put out there in the universe, intended to sell you (the product) to the potential buyer (the employer) or to those who might help you (contacts and network). I was recently touched by a movie that carried with it, some very good job talk lessons. I’d like to share three.

I have wanted to see this year’s Oscar winner, The King’s Speech since it came out, but missed it in the theaters. So I was delighted to be able to catch it on DVD recently.

If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s based upon the true story of King George VI, played by Colin Firth. In 1936, George—or “Bertie” as he was affectionately called—found himself in a frightening situation. As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne.

Well, life happens. Upon the death of his father and the abdication of his older brother Edward VIII, Bertie became King of England on the eve of WWII. England needed a strong leader. This was terrifying for Bertie. He had dealt with a severe stutter his whole life; and now he was to lead his country in its most public role. He tackled this challenge by engaging an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue. As a result of their work together—and an unlikely friendship—Bertie was able to find his voice and courageously lead his country through war.

Here are some The King’s Speech lessons applicable to job search talk:

Job Search Talk Lesson 1:

Believe in your own voice. As a child, Bertie was mocked and ignored by the authoritative men in his family. His stutter grew worse; he did not believe he had a voice. Many job seekers lack faith in their value—their voice. They need to get back or acquire faith in themselves. This comes from persistently pushing through obstacles; never giving up. Note this dialogue between Bertie and Lionel:

“King: L-listen to me.

Lionel: Why should I waste my time listening to you?

King: Because I have a voice!

Lionel: Yes, you do.”

Are you just wishing others would notice your value? Are you out there talking about  your message and brand, or just silently sitting on the sidelines?

Job Search Talk Lesson 2:

Give yourself permission to seek help. Bertie had to push past ego and put his trust in his wife’s and therapist’s guidance. Do you have a support network around you? Would you benefit from enlisting a professional coach or counselor to help you with your job talk? Are you encircling yourself with encouraging, positive people who will inspire and motivate you? The more you surround yourself with those who can help you, the more powerful your job talk will be.

Job Search Talk Lesson 3:

Invest your time. Bertie started to experience success and improvement with his therapy only when he threw himself into the process. It was hard work and it did not happen overnight. There really is nothing like solid preparation, and job search talk is no exception. Are you prepared with your pitches for both employer and networking audiences? Have you role played and practiced to sharpen your interview skills, starting with the phone interview?

Are you prepared to tell people what you want and why you deserve it? If not, are you sabotaging people’s ability to help you?

The King’s Speech is full of analogies to job search success.

Do you have others from the movie to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo:  Lancashire County Council

Job Search Emotions: Strategies

There have been some particular strategies that have served my clients well over the years. Though many aspects of the job search have changed—technology and social media, for example—many of the ways to minimize the emotional stress have not. I do not take credit for these strategies. They were collaborative, “live-lab” approaches with those who were walking the path—the men and women I’ve met in career transition.

• Stay positive. Don’t panic. Your life is changing, not ending. That change may lead to a more enriched work life, opportunities you didn’t know existed.

• Visualize that you now have a new job. Think, “I’m not jobless; I’m in a new job.” You’re officially a project manager, managing the important project of career next steps. It will demand your best skills, experience and talents. You may even need to develop new ones. You have work to do; no time to waste.

• Cut yourself some slack. Job loss can happen to anyone—and has happened to many. Pass on the guilt trips. Take care of your mental, physical and emotional health. Reward yourself, give yourself permission to do things that give you pleasure and minimize stress—from exercise and eating healthily, to reading a good book or watching a movie. Working with a professional career or life coach / counselor may be helpful.

• Be transparent about your search. Tell your family and friends about your search. The more secretive you are, the harder it will be for people to help you. Wait a bit to tell your professional colleagues and network about your search. Give yourself time to get yourself—and your communications strategies—in order, so that when you do talk to people, you are prepared to market and talk about what you want, and why you deserve it.

• Avoid criticizing. When you talk to prospective employers or other contacts, don’t let any negativity about your former company, boss or colleagues into the conversation. This will always work against you. It raises questions about how well (or poorly) you deal with difficult situations.

• Stay active and grounded in the moment. Don’t isolate yourself. Look around you. How many other people do you know who have been in this same situation? Talk to them, share your feelings and ask how they worked through them.

Job Search Emotions: Stress

Emotional stress can become a barrier to an effective search if not managed. There are often shifts in relationships, bruised self-esteem, an out-of-whack time and organizational structure, and the dreaded rejection cycle. But back to the concept of project management, these are obstacles to push through—not succumb to.

Do you have other ideas for dealing with the emotions of career-transition change? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo:  Katie Tegtmeyer

Maximizing Interview Chemistry is about connecting with the Interviewer.  This is the fourth in a series of posts around the important role chemistry plays in interviewing.

Maximizing Interview Chemistry: Answering

If you think about it, the interviewer is rooting for you. Let’s say that interviewer is John. John wants somebody who can do the job, and he wants to find that person in a minimum amount of time. How you answer questions has more to do with building chemistry than what you say. Let’s take the common question, “Tell me about yourself.”

Self-Qualify. Of course, you want to answer. But simply talking about the kind of person you are may not be what John wants to know. A secure method for answering is to self-qualify your answer: “Sure, John, I’d be happy to tell you about myself. I’m sure you’re interested in my career experience. I’ll focus on the past few years and how they relate to your position. I can start with my most recent experience if you like.”

When you self-qualify, you give the interviewer a chance to respond, and to direct the conversation to another area. That way, you can avoid talking about the wrong things. When faced with the “tell me about yourself” question, you should have your elevator pitch ready.

Tell Great Stories. When answering questions, make sure the conversation will be memorable with SMART stories. 

Rotate. My client, Nancy, called me last month. She had been on an interview where the interviewer, Mr. B, would be this new hire’s boss. Mr. B. said, “Nancy, your resume is quite impressive. If you are as good as this indicates, you should be able to solve ALL our problems!” The implication was that Mr. B did not quite believe all he read. Then he said, “Nancy, tell me why we should hire you.” Nancy’s first impulse was to go on directly answering the question. But she really did not know WHAT HE was looking for at this point. So she rotated, turning the question around to subtly and sincerely compliment Mr. B. She said, “There is much I could contribute. I’ve certainly read the job description and researched your firm. But, Mr. B, it would be presumptuous of me to tell you what you need before I’ve listened to what you believe the priorities for the position to be. If you will share a bit more about that, I will give you a direct answer.”

Maximizing Interview Chemistry: Probing and Closing

Then, Nancy listened, asked more questions to probe and dig deeper on what Mr. B’s specific vision was for this new hire. They covered his expectations, what successes he felt had occurred thus far, and what he perceived the biggest challenges to be down the road. Now, Nancy had learned much about the hidden requirements of the job. She was then able to give Mr. B an ROI-Why Buy answer to “Why should we hire you?”

Nancy was offered the job and accepted. After she came on board, Mr. B told her that her questions to generate his feedback, followed by her relevant answers, sealed the deal. She had been in competition with five other qualified finalists. She created chemistry and connection. It made all the difference!

I think interview is a bit like dating. Two people go out on a date because they think they might have something in common, find each other interesting or want to spend some time to get to know each other better.

If you’ve made it to the interview, that employer or recruiter found something about you they liked. Something told them you might fit their needs. During the interview, you’ll be judged on three dimensions: chemistry, competency and compensation. Chemistry comes first most often; it is your bonding and connection.

Weaving good questions, laser listening and appropriate responses can help keep that connection on the right foot.

Interview Chemistry: Make questioning part of your strategy

Interviews, particularly executive interviews, can run between an hour and an hour-and-a-half. Considering that the process can involve this amount of time, it’s important that you are not answering questions most of the time. This can put you on defensive and quickly turn stressful. Your answers to questions should never run more than two minutes. Ideally, try to ask questions for 30 minutes of every interview. This enables you to assert some control over the pace and direction of the session; and it reduces the interview pressure.

The way you ask questions and the specific nature of their content will tell a lot about you. A questioning strategy developed in advance can be helpful. Most importantly, by asking intelligent and insightful questions, you will build your image in the eyes of the interviewer—and you will be building chemistry as well. You want the interviewer thinking, “Certainly, Greg seems very sharp, well informed … impressive.”

Questions you the candidate asks can be called “offense questions” as opposed to “defense questions” when fielding answers. The questions you develop will depend on the kind of position you are targeting. Here are some examples:

• Does the COO have strongly held convictions about the approach needed to meet your goals in this area?
• How important is it to get IT and Operations to work more closely together?
• Do you feel you have a strong team in place, or will you expect me to recruit my own team?
• It’s obvious that you need to build new capabilities to achieve your goals. Would I be given a free hand to do that, or would that cause political problems?
• Is top management unanimous on the need to develop new lines quickly, or are there strong differences of opinion that will need to be taken into consideration?
• Given the fact that you are #2 in your major market right now, what are the expectations and timetable for improving your future?

The point is that the questions, from the perspective of the interviewer, will get right to the heart of what is going on in the organization. The questions should be tailored to your situation. Visit Part 1 and Part 2 of this series if you missed them.

Do you have comments to share around good questions the job interviewee/candidate can ask?

There is no such thing as a worthless conversation, provided you know what to listen for. And questions are the breath of life for a conversation.” ~ James Nathan Miller

Photo:  SMJJP

This is a continued post around the important role chemistry plays in interviewing.

Interview Chemistry: What is It?

I’ve been a career coach for many years. I listen to what people are telling me—on both sides of the interview process. Some things have changed, influenced by technology, economics and well, change itself. Some things have not. Chemistry and connection have not. Chemistry and connection boil down to people liking people. Feeling comfortable with one another. Feeling that this could go to the next level. Here are two more tips as gleaned from simply listening to what those who hire are saying:

Interview Chemistry: 2 Important Tips

• Cast the right image. Building chemistry has much to do with attitude and image. Psychologists tell us that the way we expect to be treated affects the way we are treated. So, it would make sense to shape expectations about every interview.   I hear consistently from those on the hiring end that they often reach a positive or negative decision within the first five minutes of an interview. This is often referred to as the halo and pitchfork effects.  Why is this true? Assuming you’re a candidate with the right credentials for the job, you either create a good initial impression or you don’t. What affects this chemistry?   Basically, people silently react to the image you project: how you dress, your posture and body language, the things you say about any subject, and the way you answer questions. What kind of image do you think you project? After all, each of us is continually projecting some kind of image. And although your physical appearance “speaks” before you say a word, this image reaches beyond. It’s conveying an attitude of enthusiasm, integrity and confidence without arrogance.

• Give sincere compliments. Do you like receiving compliments? Honestly, don’t most of us? So, before the interview, read or talk to people about the organization and uncover some good things to say. In the first few minutes, let the interviewer know that you heard good things.   Showing you know something about the company is a “third-party compliment,” where you’re passing on good news you’ve heard from others. You can praise their physical premises, their people, their marketing, their service, their products, or other things. It’s important to be specific. Don’t just say that people you know are impressed by the product. Talk about why they are impressed. All of us like to hear the particulars around what others like about us professionally. By giving details, you show that you have given the subject some thought, and that your compliment is not just patronizing or empty flattery.   Yes; while social media or a recession economy might influence our job search, chemistry-based connection in an interview has always been there. That right image and sincere flattery backed by knowledge and sprinkled with integrity, have always mattered in an interview.

My next and final tips on this subject will cover how questioning—both those you ask and are asked—can build interview chemistry and connection. If you missed Tips #1 and #2, here they are.

Do you have any experiences or ideas you’d like to share on projecting the right image or paying compliments in an interview situation?

Never wear a backward baseball cap to an interview unless applying for the job of umpire.”

~ Dan Zevin

Photo:  Lewis Minor