Help need tips for Job Interviews, I stink at 'em!

A-Mart

Finally, after how many hundreds of copies of my resume I sent out I finally got a few responses back for an interview, yeah. Problem is that I suck at interviewing and could brush up on my people/interpersonal skills in general. Anyone else here suffer from monotone[ism].
Anway one intereview is for an entry level Systems Engnineer, the other Junior network/systems administrator, the other Technical support specialist [inhouse training] and the last one Junior Computer Technician.
I dont think I can sell my self, my only real advatage I feel is my laid back attitude and manic-bipolar enthusiam over IT.
Any tips or experience would be helpful, thanks in advance.

PS. This is my first IT job. I recently had the opportunity to gain a job as help desk but BLEW the phone screening! I was SO THERE until my nervousness got the best of me and I messed up closing the screening. He was freakin going to schedule a personal interview but the recruiter that got back in touch with me told me that I seemed too nervous and that he didnt think my interpersonal skills was on par for the position. I didnt what a stupid $12/hr posistion anyway, make more then that as a janitor.

dynamik

Be as well prepared as you can be. I'd go over and rehearse as many potential interview questions questions as you can beforehand. I know I've kicked myself later on because I thought of a better answer as I was leaving the building. If you can, have someone else interview you and practice with him or her.

btowntech

First and foremost be honest. Read through the job description, see what they require, and figure out if you have any experience that can compare. From a few recent interviews that I have done they want to know good and bad qualities, success or failures (basically wanted to know if you would own up to your failures). If they require you to have a certification and you don’t have it tell them that you will get it but only if you seriously plan to get it. Best advice I can give you is to practice talking about yourself in a positive way, its hard talking about oneself to a stranger you just met. Remember just be honest with the person interviewing you, if you don’t know something tell them “I’m not sure but I can find out.”

Good luck!

Schluep

Don't just try learning to inverview. Learning people skills will help you to interview well, perform better at the job you are interviewing for, and improve your relations in many areas of life, not just IT.

Some of my favorites:

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie (Old but VERY good and relevant)
How to have Confidence and Power in dealng with people - Les Giblin
Winning with People - John Maxwell


You can still be laid back and let your passion show for something you are genuinely interested in (IT in this case). A book on this topic I liked was

"Enthusiasm makes the Difference" - Norman Vincent Peale


I'm sure many other people on these board have their own recommendatons they could give and reading reviews on Amazon could be helpful as well. I read that Dale Carnegie book once per year every January to brush up.

Just like we all read books here to improve our IT skills or obtain certifications, the same can be one for people skills.

sir_creamy_

While all interviews are different, you can seperate them into two broad domains: personal and technical. Personal interviews require you to b*llshit and display your wordsmithery. Try to be interesting and enthusiastic. The technical component of the interview can be intense. Make sure you're competent in all the skills you've listed on your resume otherwise you'll get burned. Most of the time when I've over-embellished my skills I've been called on it so it's best to be honest. But I think it's best not to adopt a "cookbook understanding" of the interview process. As I said, they're all different so the only way to excel at them is through practice. Have fun with it.

A-Mart

Thanks for the all the responses, it definitely helps. I went to the library and found "ACE the IT Job Interview!" and Ron Fry's "101 Great Ansers to the Toughest Interview Questions". I will reread the job postings and go over how my resume fit the job qualifications and duties. I guess it would help also to get a book or video about self-confidence or positive nental attitude like Schluep mention. Either way a little bit of praying and faith might just do the trick.

GOD! if I botch up all four interviews and dont get a job Im going to go crazy and start punching infants (Dane Cook).

Schluep

Personally I think that knowing the standard textbook answers to interview questions hurts you in an interview more than it helps you in many cases. The owner or hiring manager in many cases knows you are telling them what you think they will want to hear instead of the truth. If your potential employer can't trust you they are unlikely to hire you. You may find a number of new managers or people who haven't been interviewing long that love these answers at first, but the more they hear them and realize what is going on the more it will hurt your chances.

I think what btowntech said about being honest is some of the best advise you can get. Other than that having true people skills so that you can interact well is far more important than trying to memorize answers and pull the wool over their eyes.

paintb4707

Schluep wrote:

Personally I think that knowing the standard textbook answers to interview questions hurts you in an interview more than it helps you in many cases. The owner or hiring manager in many cases knows you are telling them what you think they will want to hear instead of the truth. If your potential employer can't trust you they are unlikely to hire you. You may find a number of new managers or people who haven't been interviewing long that love these answers at first, but the more they hear them and realize what is going on the more it will hurt your chances.

I think what btowntech said about being honest is some of the best advise you can get. Other than that having true people skills so that you can interact well is far more important than trying to memorize answers and pull the wool over their eyes.

I don't agree with this at all. Preparing for interview questions can only be beneficial. There's some questions that you would never expect to hear, and certainly would not know how to answer.

For example, if an interviewer asked you what your weaknesses were, how would you answer that? Would you simply list them or would you explain how you've discovered and improved on them to better yourself as a person? Either answer you provide in that situation is completely honest but one answer would obviously be more favored than the other. Most interview questions aren't direct at all, 9 out of 10 times there's something else behind it that they really want to hear.

brad-

Relax.

If its a big company with a HR person, expect to be asked the typical HR questions such as "How would your best friend describe you", "Where do you see yourself in 5 years", "What was the biggest mistake you've ever made at work and how did you deal with it?"...before interviewing with anyone technical minded.

Be yourself. Nobody's perfect.

My BEST advice though is turn the interview around after you've answered a few by asking them questions. Ask about the work, day to day ops, training, whatever is appropriate. It'll let them know that you want more out of it than a paycheck. When the interview is over, they'll be less likely to remember you fumbling the silly HR crap and remember what you asked them.

dynamik

paintb4707 wrote:

Schluep wrote:

Personally I think that knowing the standard textbook answers to interview questions hurts you in an interview more than it helps you in many cases. The owner or hiring manager in many cases knows you are telling them what you think they will want to hear instead of the truth. If your potential employer can't trust you they are unlikely to hire you. You may find a number of new managers or people who haven't been interviewing long that love these answers at first, but the more they hear them and realize what is going on the more it will hurt your chances.

I think what btowntech said about being honest is some of the best advise you can get. Other than that having true people skills so that you can interact well is far more important than trying to memorize answers and pull the wool over their eyes.

I don't agree with this at all. Preparing for interview questions can only be beneficial. There's some questions that you would never expect to hear, and certainly would not know how to answer.

For example, if an interviewer asked you what your weaknesses were, how would you answer that? Would you simply list them or would you explain how you've discovered and improved on them to better yourself as a person? Either answer you provide in that situation is completely honest but one answer would obviously be more favored than the other. Most interview questions aren't direct at all, 9 out of 10 times there's something else behind it that they really want to hear.

I agree with both of you. I didn't mean to imply that you should give canned answers or be dishonest. However, as paintb4707 said, you might get some difficult questions, and having a well articulated response prepared will by no means hurt you. I actually had the, "What is your greatest weakness?" question in mind when I suggested that you research some common interview questions. Think about the first time someone asked you that. It was probably a bit awkward. You want to be honest, but you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot either.

Also, interview questions aside, get to know the company and ask some informed questions about it. It'll show that you did your homework and might give you a little boost. For example, instead of asking, "How did this company get started?" Say something like, "This company was started 15 years ago in Minneapolis and has expanded into several other states, correct? Are there any plans for further expansion?"