How to prepare for an interview??

Well hello. :D

Okay so recently I interviewed with the insurance company Aflac (you probably don't know it unless you're in the States or Japan. If you're in either of those two, their commercials feature a big white goose/duck thing that yells at everyone.. :P ). Anyway, they've invited me out to headquarters for a second interview and I REALLY WANT THIS JOB. It's basically just dressing nicely and interacting with people.. :P and your first year income is about 40K and is expected to at least double within 5 years. And it's in Wisconsin where I feel like I want to stay for a while.

So, I'm hoping you guys could share some of your interview experiences. Obviously I'm going to go and prepare myself for some of the generic questions like "describe a time when you were a team player", etc.. but I'm wondering, what could I do to really set myself apart from the other applicants??

Thanks! :D

I have never had a job interview, but one thing i will advise, don't try to be too different, because if you try too hard it can give you the opposite results, yes, be individual, but don't go overboard. I'd kill for a job like that wish such a pay, i envy you, and i hope all goes well. I'm so sorry i can't offer anymore advice in this situation, i could give advice but i wouldn't want to misguide you and cause you to lose this opportunity.

I hope you get the advice you need, sorry i couldn't be of more help. I wish you all the best with this interview though.

I don't have anything to add, but just make sure you aren't going into this job for the money alone.

The only interview I ever had was with the military :P. They liked me because I was smooth and collected. It was more like I was talking with the guy than trying to win his approval, but the whole time I remained polite and respectful. The advice I would give is to just be honest, show what you have to offer and let them decide if it's good enough. Your credentials are just as important as the way you convey your credentials, so if you have the right stuff and you seem calm and easy-going, then that says a lot about your personality and attitude (remember that in the military, they like people that don't crumble under pressure :P). Just DON'T pretend to be someone you are not, they'll see right through it anyways...

Another tip would be to learn as much as you can about the company and the job you're applying for, the interviewers like to see that you know what your getting into and that you show a genuine interest for the company.

Something my dad told me before my interview (he frequently interviews applicants as part of his job) was that a good interviewer will not just ask standard questions, but fish for what he wants to here from the applicant. In other words, he will try and analyse your personality and modify his questions to get the best answers out of you, after all, he's there to hire you, not eliminate you (especially during the second interview). Other things he told me was that people would often forget to answer all the elements of a question (e.g. "Tell me of a time you demonstrated leadership, what problems you faced, what went well and what you would have done differently...). Also, don't be afraid of long awkward pauses and don't try and fill them up with some even more awkward off the top of the head stuff :P.

Anyways, you'll do fine, have fun ;)!

I advise you not to be under the influence of any substance as questions that are usually not funny or hard to answer can seem like the person just asked you what the meaning of life was or what the square root of 2.282827457342762 is needless to say I failed the interview, but it was a learning experience hahaha.

But since they are dealing with the infamous Mes Tarrant who could do no wrong is the sheer essence of perfection and beautiful to boot I doubt you will have any problem. Go get em' kid!

Try not to be so worried about it. If you fit the job criteria then they should hire you. They might throw a few trick questions and stuff but just be clever about it. Just dress nice, shake their hand, always have eye contact, and sit properly... All the manners stuff is what matters most to them. Most of the time. Answer everything professionally... you know. Everyone covered most of the other things already.

Just don't be a nervous reck about it.

And be honest. The trick questions that Michael mentioned are ones that they know you won't know the answer to. They want to see how you handle situations like that.

In my last interview, I got the job and I was told several times afterward that it was an excellent interview. It seemed like a pretty normal one to me, but apparently it was really good. I just answered normally. When I didn't know, I said I didn't know. When a funny answer naturally came to my head, I said it and made everyone laugh. Maybe I got lucky and got really cool guys to work with.

From what I've seen of you, your normal fun attitude should get you pretty far.

I work in an insurance company, well Assurance but we sell insurance too - we are world wide :D

Anyway - for some reason every interview I have gone for I have got the job, so a few tips from Mr Ash are:

- If you don't know the answer to a question be honest and tell them, don't try to blag it.

- Dress and look presentable

- Don't drink before you get in there, because if you need the toilet, it will be more on your mind than the interview. And if you can flush out the system before you go in too!

- Always read up on the company and make sure you know what they do, who they sell too etc.. Always good to know a lot about the company you are going for an interview with.

- Always have questions for them like, how will objectives be measured, what are their plans for your development, on the job training, that sort of thing, take an interest in the position and your own personal development and make it clear this is as good an opportunity for you as it is for them to take you on.

- make sure you have a good answer for anything already on your CV - Try and think up questions that they might ask you and make sure you have an answer.

- Try identify you comfort words and practice getting rid of them. For example, I went on an advanced presentation course, so what I did was presented to a group of people I didn't know and it was recorded, listened back and noticed I said 'Urm' a lot during the time, so to eliminate this I just paused when talking as the Urm really was only there to fill the gap - you wont notice you doing things like this but they will, and you will come accross a more confident speaker by doing so.



I cant think of anything else at the moment, but will have a word with a few of my team over dinner and see if there is anything else they can suggest :D

Good luck baby, I am sure you will do good. When is the second interview?

I think the main thing is, instead of preparing to answer specific questions (like so many schmucks like to do), just know what you want to tell them, and be ready to weave it into any open-ended question they may throw at you. If it's a job that you REALLY REALLY want, you'll be running the interview in your head over and over non-stop anyway, so I trust that by the time you're at the actual interview, you'll have the mental muscle memory to do well at it. That's my own personal experience, anyway.

Other random things:

- First impressions matter. I don't care what anyone says, the first few seconds after you step through the door matter. This has been researched over and over again, so make sure the first 5 seconds are good (no need to go over the top, just make sure that when they first see you, you have good posture and all that).

- Know something about the company. Read up on how they're doing, what's current in their world (not just the company but the industry), and all that other fun stuff. They might just ask "What do you know about us?" but if they don't, even better - you can casually and kind of subtly weave it into something you say.

- Have a few questions ready to ask them. It's not just them interviewing you - you're also interviewing them. You need to know if this is a good fit, and they'll appreciate that effort.

Tell them you're from DreamViews.

Then do the secret handshake.

You're in.

otherwise...

Prepare to be tasered.

Wow Mr. Ash that is some really good advice I'll have to remember all that. I noticed I do the Urm a lot to hahaha.

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Originally Posted by Replicon

First impressions matter. I don't care what anyone says, the first few seconds after you step through the door matter. This has been researched over and over again, so make sure the first 5 seconds are good (no need to go over the top, just make sure that when they first see you, you have good posture and all that).

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Heh, that made me think of my first five seconds of my interview. I walked in, saw how they were behind 3 tables surrounding my lonely chair in the middle, and the first thing I did was point around to the tables and say, "So, you're not going to have those bright lights in my face?"
They laughed and one guy said, "No, that comes later. We could turn on this projector and use that if you want."

Just pretend it's MOS in black mode interrogating you. He had me laughing the whole time when he tried to do that to me.

I never thought about researching the company before. That's good advice.

Hey guys... I know I haven't replied in here yet but I read and appreciate every single comment in here.. they were all spot-on.. I just got back from the interview and the guy practically offered me the job. It looks really really good and I will know for sure within a week. If I don't get this offer, then I will be completely and utterly confused because the entire time he was talking to me as if I already had it. And he said that he wanted to offer it to me during the first round of interviews but didn't want to get in trouble by his boss!! :o AND he said I had a motherly quality. What the hell is that!!?!?! :D I'm not complaining though.

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Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

AND he said I had a motherly quality. What the hell is that!!?!?! :D I'm not complaining though.

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Bow-chicka-wow-wow. :ohyahbaby:
Lol.

Nice work, Mes. Good luck with the verdict! :banana:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Bow-chicka-wow-wow. :ohyahbaby:
Lol.

Nice work, Mes. Good luck with the verdict! :banana:

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:mrgreen: Where are the MILF sign-up sheets?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Hey guys... I know I haven't replied in here yet but I read and appreciate every single comment in here.. they were all spot-on.. I just got back from the interview and the guy practically offered me the job. It looks really really good and I will know for sure within a week. If I don't get this offer, then I will be completely and utterly confused because the entire time he was talking to me as if I already had it. And he said that he wanted to offer it to me during the first round of interviews but didn't want to get in trouble by his boss!! :o AND he said I had a motherly quality. What the hell is that!!?!?! :D I'm not complaining though.

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Hey Mes, a motherly quality eh? Something every guy should look for in a girl employee :D

That’s great news though!! Congratulations! Fingers and toes crossed from all the way over here! What is the job for? What will you be doing? I assume its to start next year when you finish with school?

You feeling a little less pressured now then? You were rushing around trying to make decisions and worrying about what to do after college? Assume you are all sorted for the future now then? At least in the short term? :)

I go to interviews with ripped jeans and a Burzum shirt on. If the interviewer looks at me in a condescending way I punch him in the face.

...well I guess that doesn't help you much.