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Career DevelopmentSeven Keys to Interview PreparationThree: Directions To the Interview LocationTry to get directions at least a day before your interview, so you don't get lost and arrive late. And here's a tip: Always bring some cash to pay for parking. Never ask an employer to validate your parking stub, or reimburse you for parking. Not only is it impolite, you'll create a negative impression, since it's considered common courtesy to pay your own expenses for a local interview. If you're coming from out of town, then it's especially important to get directions. Naturally, if the expenses for your interviewing trip are going to be covered by the employer, wait until the interview has concluded (or better yet, the next day) to settle up. Usually, the company will prepay the air fare, or other major expenses, and will reimburse you for the rest, such as your car rental, cab fare, hotel room, and meals. It's customary that you pick up certain non-essential expenses, such as long distance phone calls from your hotel room, or the bar tab from the lounge in the hotel lobby. A few years ago, a client company of mine flew a candidate to Los Angeles for an interview. The candidate, unfortunately, was unemployed at the time, and was in pretty dire financial straits. He charged the phone calls he made to his wife back in Wyoming and all his dry cleaning expenses (he only brought one shirt with him for two days of interviewing) to the company. When they got his expense voucher a few days later, they got pretty upset -- they never expected to pay for all these add-ons. It was too bad, too, because he was generally well received when he interviewed. I'd hate to think it was these little charges that were responsible for his not getting a job he really wanted. The best time to arrive for an interview is precisely when you're scheduled, not early or late. It can irk an employer to be told that the candidate for a 2 o'clock appointment is waiting in the lobby at one thirty-five. The employer will either become distracted knowing there's someone hanging around waiting to see him, or he'll scramble to rearrange his schedule to accommodate the candidate, which disrupts the rest of his day. If your appointment is at two, then arrive at two. If for some reason you're running late, call ahead to ask if you can reschedule for later the same day, or if not, later in the week. If something unexpected happens that you have no control over, simply explain the situation to the employer when you arrive. I placed a candidate named Alan recently, who was over an hour late to his first interview. He'd been caught in a monstrous traffic jam and was unable to call ahead; but fortunately, he handled the situation like a real pro. When he arrived, he apologized for being late, and got right down to the business of interviewing. He simply put all the anxiety and frustration behind him, so that he could concentrate on the reason he was there, not the reason he was late. If you're ever caught in a situation like Alan was, stay cool, take a deep breath, and remove whatever misfortune befell you from your mind. Four: Name and Title of the Interviewer(s)When you arrange the interview, find out who you'll be talking to, and what their function is within the company. Will you be speaking with the hiring manager? The manager from another department? The personnel director? The internal recruiter? A peer level employee or subordinate? A staff industrial psychologist? You might already know the person. If that's the case, you're ahead of the game. If not, send out feelers among your own contacts within your industry, or look in your industry's trade publications to see if the person you're going to be meeting is distinguished in any way. It's also helpful to find out whether you and the person you'll be meeting have any commonalities or interconnecting points of interest, in the way of origins ("Hey, you're also from Wisconsin?"), schools ("My brother went to Duke, too. How did you like it?"), professional achievements ("My article appeared in Ad Week a month after yours did."), or personal interests ("I heard you were the Nebraska state ping pong champion. We'll have to get together sometime for a match."). These tidbits can break the ice when an interview begins, and create a bond with the interviewer. < Previous Page • Next Page > Five: Understanding the Company's Hiring Procedure
Seven Keys to Interview Preparation
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