Avian Gamers Network

Interviewing Tips!

The floodgates have been opened, and the companies are recruiting like wild fire. Next week I have something like 22 interviews scheduled with companies coming to LSU. The majority of them being on Construction Recruitment Day, Oct 18, but I also have several companies holding Day 1 preselect meetings, Day 2 interviews peppered all over my calendar.

I have been through the Career Services ringer. That place has a book on everything from what to eat at an interview luncheon, to what underwear works best during an interview. Lol

Personally I am big on interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing me. I am older than the average graduate, so I don’t have as much time to waste on a poor employer. I also have first hand knowledge that good companies are rarer than the bad. I also have a good idea about what company cultures and work environments I function best in. I want to walk away from the interview knowing as much as possible so that I can try to make the best decision as to who I will end up working for. That being said, I am not sure how much questioning I should do on the first interview, and how much I should leave for the second interview.

Before I go off making my first impression, what advice or nifty ideas do you suggest?

Always ask questions. It's one of the best ways to show you are interested.

The most important concept is the following: Provided you can back up what you put on the resume, the job interview is 100% about what type of person you are and it you will fit into the companies philosphy, current manager and team members you are slated to work for. To sum it up, You are qualified for the job when they decided to interview you, it's now do you fit in to their work environment.

Be yourself, but don't get too carried away with strong opinions (though that always depends on the person and the job type). You want to be true to yourself.

If they say you don't have to wear a suit and tie, then you should go ahead and wear a suit and tie.

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Dalaran: Arindel - Frost Mage (Mining/Alchemy)
Dalaran: Roran - Paladin (Weaponsmith/Blacksmith)
Dalaran: Baine - Rogue

Arindel pretty much hit the nail on the head and I tell all of our future recruits (we have a big reception for them tonight) the same thing. The interview is all about fiding out how well you fit into their environment and if their environment is somewhere that you want to work in. Ask TONS of questions!! This is where you long hours of company research beforehand really takes centre stage as you can focus on certain aspects that intrigue/concern you as well as allow you to ask about "rumors" you may have heard around campus/classes.

While I would only hit in that last point if it was really a big issue (e.g. the local office is shutting down and moving to ____), the idea still stands. ASK!

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

yep, I find interviews are 90% personality and 10% abilities. I never look at it as an interview I look at it as a meet and greet. I try and get casual conversations going as much as possible. Ask questions but more than that ask elaborating questions that not only show you know what you are talking about but lead to general chatting about a topic.

People can pretty much assume you have the skills or at least the skill set to be sitting in that chair. Now you just need to show them that you are the best person for the company (not the job).

Know what you want to do.
Know what you want in 10 years
know what you want out of the company
know what you want from the company*

*this one is always over looked. People are so focused on what they want in ten years they can come off as only wanting a job for X and Y then you will go on to bigger and better. Know how you want to grow with the company. A good question is always, 'Tell me about growth opportunities within your company? Do you hire within or generally recruit managers from outside sources?" <- while you may not be up for a management job this shows you are forward thinking and career oriented.

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Moge

Well I would say, so far, this week’s interviews have gone well. All in all I had 11 interviews Tuesday, and 3 preselect interviews with previous day presentations Sunday and Monday.

I focused my efforts on industrial construction, and within that I focused on Project Controls positions. Those took up 75% of my day, and I split the remaining day with highway and commercial construction companies. All the companies that recognize project controls as being important part of their business practically guaranteed me second interviews over the course of the next few weeks. Some of them even talked about offers yet none committed themselves to a figure.

At noon, selected students were allowed to dine amongst the company representatives, and high ranking faculty. It was a fancy catered event, with lots of good food and décor. There were three guest speakers, as we ate, discussing things from the business related impacts of the recent hurricanes to details of the Construction Industry’s relationship with LSU’s College of Engineering and the Department of Construction Management. We sat at round tables, each sitting 8 people. I ate with two classmates, the three representatives of one company, and the head of the CM department. The two girls I brought with me added the right amount of fun and conversation, making the event more social and pleasant.

Then the coolest thing of the day happened. A representative from another company, whom I had interviewed with earlier, walked up to my table and asked if he could have a word with me. I excused myself from the table as everyone else looked on with amazement. The representative asked if I could do him a favor. He said he had some paperwork heading my way, if anyone made me an offer before or after his offer arrived, would I please talk to him about it before I accepted any other company’s offer. He ended saying that I come January I had a place with his company, if I wanted it.

The rest of the day I was walking on air. I handled the remaining interviews with much more confidence.

To cap off the end of the day, one company invited Danyale and I to dinner. As the company representative and I waited in the lobby for his boss and Danyale to arrive, another company called my cell phone to arrange a second interview. All in all the day went many times better than I had anticipated.

Great news Cy. Sounds like you'll have quite a few companies to consider. One thing tho. Does D know about?

Not to raise a hornet's nest or anything!

Grats again Cy.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

That's awesome!

I know you've been working long and hard for this and I'm ecstatic for you and your family. More than you knowledge and skills, you've proven yourself to be the type of person companies are looking to hire.

and confidence never hurts going into additional interviews. When I interview people, I can usually tell people who have jobs vs those that don't.

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Dalaran: Arindel - Frost Mage (Mining/Alchemy)
Dalaran: Roran - Paladin (Weaponsmith/Blacksmith)
Dalaran: Baine - Rogue

that is just amazing! I guess all that time away from WoW actually did you some good. Just don't do anything rash or you will end up like Liro and then you will have to start borrowing his "10 Billions Reasons I cannot Log In to the Static Group This Week" book.

Seriously though, your hard work paid off now it's time to reap your rewards.

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Moge

Yeah, she knows.

It is like this, the girls this far into the curriculum are 4.0 students or darn close. They keep great class notes. Just about all of them lack real work experience, and they don't know anyone at these interviews. In an industry full of men, I imagine the girls feel semi isolated.

I try to talk to them, get to know them, and introduce them to both the professionals and students I know. I know a lot of people in the industry, or friends who know people. These girls have six months to a year before they graduate and they need some serious networking. The girls are looking for internships before they graduate, so helping them meet people on the inside of companies is something I can easily do. They are no immediate threat to my job pool because they are looking for internships. Plus I rather sit with them than a couple of guys fighting over the same positions.

In turn I have a good source of notes and study guides. And some of the company reps appreciate being introduced to the ladies. It is a win win situation.

It's going into it's third edition - wish me luck!

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Liro
"The english language is not a wedding gown, it doesn't get better the more lace you add. It is instead a thong. Less is more." From /.
I need to remind myself of this regularly.

Cyrus

aka Big Man on Campus!!

In all seriousness tho, that is very awsome of you to do for them. Sounds like you guys have a great thing going between the notes and networking.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Hope everything works out for you man.

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"Chatfield, I think there's something wrong with our bloody ships." Admiral David Beatty, upon watching the battlecruiser Queen Mary explode at the battle of Jutland.

My name is Tobias Smith and I approved this post.

So, I've been interviewing like crazy for the past month. I decided that 27 weeks of travel in a row is no longer something I'm interested in.

So far, I've got two pretty good offers from research/design companies in the DC area... both with good-sized raises. I also had a first meeting with Microsoft , and got very positive feedback.

Hmmm.

I'm wondering, though. When they inevitable ask the question "So what do you want to do when you grow up?"

Should I answer "I want to move to San Fransisco and make video games"? I'm thinking no...

Unless those other offers are going to disappear, I say take it as far as you can. With 2 good offers in hand you can push them a bit harder if you like (to maybe get in division more suited to your wants. But, with your military connections, I'm sure they have you slated for an area.)

Suck up to them and tell them you want their job, when you grow up .

Get a move on it, we're wondering if any of us will get hired.

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Dalaran: Arindel - Frost Mage (Mining/Alchemy)
Dalaran: Roran - Paladin (Weaponsmith/Blacksmith)
Dalaran: Baine - Rogue

Friday I went to my first "second interview". It was with Boh Brothers, a large construction company here in the south. The interview went well; I met with the department head, answered several questions, then they took me out for lunch and gave me a chance to hangout with several employees.

The best part about Friday was when I went home I had two other requests for a second interview on my voice mail, and a third one in my email. The companies are Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), MAPP Construction, and The Shaw Group. KBR wants me to fly to Houston Nov 6 and 7. They are planning a banquet that Sunday and interviews with several department heads that Monday. The other two are local interviews that I will knock out Monday.



Jacobs Engineering is the one that pursued me the hardest during construction recruitment day. I have not heard anything form them yet. Danyale reminds me that Jacobs said they would have paperwork heading my way, which leads her to think something from them will be in the mail. She says it’s too soon to start getting worried.

and she is right.

You spent how many years studying? a couple/few weeks won't hurt. You've got the talent and it appears the peronality to fit with many compaines. So relax, you appear to be in the driver seat.

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Dalaran: Arindel - Frost Mage (Mining/Alchemy)
Dalaran: Roran - Paladin (Weaponsmith/Blacksmith)
Dalaran: Baine - Rogue

Today my day started out pretty bad.

It was the first real cool morning we have had here in Louisiana.... So it was the first day I decided to wear my jacket. My mom and Danyale buy nice ones for me every year, but I never get to wear them because it never gets clod enough.

So I put my sweet cell phone in the pocket of my jacket, hop in my car.... and crunch... I crack my screen between my leg and the steering wheel. I wanted to cry. I don’t think I can live without it. I use it for everything. Between so many interviews and group meetings it seems like my phone and more importantly its colander saves my life every day.

So for that reason and a couple others, my day sucks.

But there is light at the end of today’s tunnel. I am going on a third interview, this time with the president of MAPP Construction. I pray that this interview bucks my latest trend of bad luck. I need something good to end this day. Wish me luck.

Good luck.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

I am flying to Houston tomorrow to do a second interview with KBR. Between the plain ticket, hotel room, and dinner, they are spending almost 1K on me. I guess they like me so far. I wish Danyale could come, she loves all this wine and dine stuff.

I like the office but they need to pay me if they want me to move to Houston.

Good luck!

I had my fourth interview with a government research company in the DC area last week. Oof. It was a 7-hour interview, complete with a 45 minute briefing that I had to give about my leadership experience. It's for a nice 15%-20% pay hike, and one day off each week to work on my PhD! A pretty sweet deal.

I nailed the interview, and let them know about all the other offers I had... and that I was only considering them because I loved the idea of being a technical advisor to the government, and working for a non-profit company.

Anywho, I got an answer on my cell phone voice mail on Friday from their HR department that they had 'amazing news' for me, and to call back immediately to hear their offer. Unfortunately, I didn't see the message until 6PM, and no one was in the office when I called back! Urgh, so I'm patiently waiting until Monday to hear the offer...

Definitely a good sign. Good luck!

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Romsuiag (Brad)
Former and Third President of Avian

Wednesday morning I had a second interview with Turner Industries. Their presentation was much better than I anticipated. I did not have a good opinion of Turner (I worked with them before), but my Wednesday visit improved that opinion some what.

Wednesday afternoon I had a second interview with Jacobs Engineering. He told me that he had no questions for me because I had the job already… I just needed to choose a salary that would make me happy and a start date.

Thursday evening I flew to San Antonio to do a Friday second interview with Zachary. The guy from Jacobs called my house while I was flying, and Danyale talked to him for more than thirty minutes. He was flying out of town next week and he wanted me to choose a salary before then so that we could come to an agreement before he left town.

Friday Morning I emailed him from my phone (/cheer SX66) requesting a high salary thinking we would work down from there. To my surprise he responded agreeing with that salary and that start date. Now everyone things I could have asked for more, but honestly I would be pleased with 18% less. So I am very pleased.

The rest of Friday I was scheduled to have interviews with two different guys while I was in San Antonio... but after we talked they ended up having me visit their bosses and colleagues and it turned out to be something like seven interviews. They put on a good show, but my hart was not in it because in the back of my mind I knew I had a virtually unbeatable offer in my home city.

Between the sleepless nights, early mornings, interviews and flights, I am exhausted.

That's awesome news and I know you've worked your butt off for years to get to this point.

I happy for you (and Danyale). Just make sure you can have enough free time to still play with us here at Avian.

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Dalaran: Arindel - Frost Mage (Mining/Alchemy)
Dalaran: Roran - Paladin (Weaponsmith/Blacksmith)
Dalaran: Baine - Rogue

Congrats, buddy!

WOOT! Congrats!

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Romsuiag (Brad)
Former and Third President of Avian

Beers on Cyrus!!

Congrats to both you and D Cy.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Very nice! I'm always happy to hear an Avian doing well.

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Dr. Golga Bolg
SWTOR - Golga
Rift - Gnarlwood: Golgar Golgantua Golgate - Retired
WoW - Dalaran: Bolg Golga Virrok All Retired
SWG - Golga Bolg - Doctor (Resident) Retired
Eve - Edge Finn - Limbo
Section 2 - (Former) Director
What am I playing now?: The waiting game

Congrats man!

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TheMole
Section 5
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Now Playing: WoW
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