Telephone interviewing

I had a telephone conference interview on Friday with 5 other people on the conference call.  The hiring manager was on the line as well as different individuals that she reports to around the country.  It's hard not to feel a little intimidated in such a situation.  How do you prepare for this type of interview?  How do you keep yourself from panicking.

I believe the first thing to do is what they say you should always do before you pick up the phone, smile.  A smile puts you in a better frame of mind and somehow the other persons can here it.  I don't know exactly how it works but it does.  I am reminded of a candid camera skit from the late Seventy's (showing my age a little there) where they rigged up a special phone booth and would call it to attract random people.  The person on the other end of the line would speak as if he had a bad cold.  As he was speaking he would sneeze and water would spray out of the phone as if the person sneezed through the phone.  That is how I think of a smile transferring through the phone.  It's like sneezing on people, just not gross.

Just be yourself and treat the phone interview as you would a regular interview.  Let your personality show through.  The questions are going to be similar.  If you have adequately prepared for it, you should be able to adequately answer the questions.

If you ever get a question that you feel you flubbed regardless of the type of interview, write it down after the interview.  You can then formulate a proper answer for it for any future interviews.

In a nutshell, smile - be yourself - be prepared.  You will do fine.

The waiting game

One of the hardest things to do after an interview is wait.  The bigger the company and the more important the position, the longer it seems to take.  If you are interviewing at McDonald's or for a low end entry level position you may have an offer after the interview.  If you are interviewing for a senior level position, it could take weeks and sometimes months before you know if you have the position.  For the most part, firms nowadays will let you know within the first week whether you are still being considered for the position.

Is it a good or bad sign that they have not made a selection yet?  There is no right answer to that.  You could speculate and come up with all sorts of scenarios.  "They did not like me enough and want to look at some other candidates."  "They are waiting on upper management approval."  "A decision maker went on vacation."  You never know what could be causing the delay.  The main thing to realize is that you are still in the running for the position.  Outside of that, the rest is just worry.  Get back to job hunting.  Whether they offer you the position or not, you never know what else is out there unless you look.  Who knows, there might be a better position that you will interview for this week.

Life's joys

I saw a video yesterday that touched me and made me think about my worries and frustrations and how trivial they compare to others.  This video shows a man with no arms or legs enjoying life.  He is a motivational speaker teaching others that you have to deal with what life throws your way.  If you let frustration, guilt, lack of direction get you down you have to get back up.  If you fail, try again.

It's touching and so true.  Here I am feeling uncertain about direction and meaning in life.  How would I handle every day without limbs.  How would I handle an hour, a minute.  You have a choice.  Will you be bitter or strive to be better.

Interview expectations

One never knows what to expect in an interview.  I had two interviews today.  One went as expected and since I was prepared I handled it pretty well.  The other, seemed as if the interviewer was not prepared for the interview.  I had the uncomfortable feeling that the person did not know what to ask me and that he was not prepared.  What can you do in this type of situation.  You make the best of it.  You have to lead the person to the right questions without asking them yourself.  You tell about yourself and your accomplishments in the hope of bringing out more questions.

You never know what causes an interviewer to be unprepared.  It could be their first interview.  It could be a last minute substitution for the person who was to do the interview.  One never knows.

Your goal is not to show how awesome you are.  It is to show how well you can do the job they want you to do.  Some people go into an interview and brag about their accomplishments, both in business and personal.  "Yes, you have done much but can you do what we need you to do" is often privately asked by the interviewer.  The interviewer is looking for someone that can do the job and will be a good fit to the organization.

Preparing for the Interview

The most stressful part of the job search process is the interview process.  It's like going on a blind date.  You are wondering if they will like you and worrying whether you will like them.  Are there ways of minimizing this stress?

The most important aspects in the interview process are being prepared and showing confidence.  You have to show them that you can do the job they are interviewing you for.  Being prepared for the interview will add to your confidence.  Show them you are excited about the opportunity.  Maintain eye contact, provide a firm (dry) handshake and smile appropriately (don't maintain a silly side grin throughout the interview).  Realize that the interviewer will not hire the most qualified candidate.  They will hire the candidate they like the best.  The person they feel they can communicate with and will work best on their team.

Career paths

Seven years ago, I left an excellent IT management position to start my own company.  Was this a mistake?  It's easy to look back on it and say yes.  But, is that the right way to look at it?  If my company had succeeded, would I have the same answer?  Of course not.  You can not define the circumstances from which you currently dwell on the decisions of the past.  It's easy to say "if only".  It's much better to say "what's next".

Yes, my IT career, to put it in computer vernacular terms, has to be rebooted.  Few companies will look at an IT manager who has been out of the enterprise environment for 7 years (in IT dog years that is 49 years).  I should only look at what I can control.  What I can control is the direction taken and the skills attained.  Lets move forward.

Finding a path

My route in IT has for the most part been in operations.  That is not to say that I did not spend time programming or performing non-operations related procedures.  It does mean that my career path has been in IT operations.  I started as a Systems Engineer, proceeded to Systems Manager, tacked on Communications and later managed IT operations.  When I started my company it was to help with operational problems.

The problem as one of the recruiters I spoke with mentioned is that there are not many operational positions available right now.  You have a glut of System Administrators and Technicians in the Central Florida region.  IT Operations Manager positions are even rarer.

Should I continue down the route I know and wait for the positions to open or should I consider other options.  I do have some time on my hands now that I am unemployed.  This gives me time to reflect and take a closer look at my skills and things I enjoy doing.  It's hard thinking about redirecting a career but sometimes you have to look at the environment and how it has changed.  I don't want to be the best buggy whip in an age of automobiles.  A little extreme I know.  But in essence, a good time for introspection.