How Employers Are Screening Applicants

How Employers Are Screening Applicants How Employers Are Screening Applicants A survey of 300 people involved in the hiring process at their company shows how your social media presence increasingly affects the decision making process before you even get to an interview.Explore more visuals like this one on the webs largest information design community Visually.

7 Signs Your Interview Went Well

7 Signs Your Interview Went Well7 Signs Your Interview Went Well7 Signs You Aced Your First InterviewLooking for signs that your einstellungsgesprch went well?Candidates usually report one of two opposite reactions after walking out of their first job bewerbungsinterview. They either feel they did extremely well or, unfortunately, that they failed completely. Then, they spend a few hours (or days) mulling over every small detail of the interview in their minds, reading into what happened. This can turn into something that an old mentor of mine referred to as RR Review and Regret notlagelagelage a constructive use of anyones time.If your mind is spinning after an interview, take a deep breath. According to a survey by Management Recruiters International, it takes the majority of candidates three interviews or more to get the job offer. However, the first interview is a big step in the right direction.It is easy to feel confused as you think through what happened in the job interview. Human communications are inherently messy. Add some interview jitters and you get a recipe for misreading the situation. Did the hiring manager frown because she did not like your answers or because she was not feeling well? You have not heard from your recruiter in over 24 hours is that a bad sign?Can you ever get an accurate read of how well you did in that critical first interview?Interviewing is not a perfect science. It can be difficult to predict the outcome with 100 percent accuracy. However, there are some common trends among the successful job interviews the ones that ultimately lead to an offer. Read on to see if you can spot one or more that apply to your situation.Your interview ran longRecruiters and hiring managers do not like to waste time. If they feel that you are not the right fit for the position, they may cut the interview short.Keep in mind that sometimes there is more than one possible explanation for a situation. If your interview ended sooner than you expe cted, perhaps an urgent issue demanded the hiring managers attention immediately. Despite best efforts, work emergencies do happen, whether it is a glitch in the payroll system, an urgent update to a board presentation, or a system conversion gone wrong. An interview running long is a great sign that it went well, but if it doesnt happen for you, it doesnt automatically mean youre out of the running.The recruiting manager seemed to enjoy the conversationPay attention to the hiring managers body language and overall demeanor. If they look relaxed, immersed in the flow of the conversation, and focused on you, you have some good signs that the interview is going well.Try not to read too deeply into the reverse of that experience. If the hiring manager seems distracted, it is possible that they have already made up their mind and are simply going through the motions to check the box. It is also possible that job stress, deadlines, or illness is a factor. Stay professional and do your be st to focus on the conversation.You got some tough or unexpected questionsIn past interviews, hiring managers have asked me to solve puzzles, describe myself in three words, do a budget-to-actual analysis across 20+ subsidiaries, and write a mock-up report to an imaginary client. If the hiring manager asks you some technically difficult (or even oddball) questions, remember that they are not trying to trick you. The intent is usually to gauge how you approach an unexpected situation. Your response to a tough question can give the interviewer insight into your creativity and ability to deal with pressure something that your resume, no matter how polished, cannot do as effectively.If you dislike oddball questions, you are not alone. Handling an unexpected question with poise can be difficult. This little trick may help Remember that the interviewer probably does not care whether you get the right answer to how many gas stations there are in the United States. They are looking for ins ight into your logic and problem-solving patterns.Here are some strategy points on answering logical or oddball questions in a job interviewThrowing up your hands is the single worst thing to do. Remember that you get points for effort and creativity.Being quiet for 45 seconds and then blurting out 75 1000000 is probably not your best strategy either.Make sure you understand the question (this also buys you time to think). Then, take the problem from the top and talk it the entire way through. It is OK to make assumptions, even if they are off. Define your assumptions clearly, and focus on demonstrating your thinking and communication skills not on getting to the holy grail of the right answer.For the record, my track record of getting the perfect answer to oddball questions is 50 percent or less. I got the job offers anyway.You got the office tour or met other professionals who work thereA routine tour of the office by an internal recruiter carries less meaning than an impromptu o ne done by a hiring manager as they walk you back to the reception area. If the interviewer took the time to walk you around the office and make a few introductions, chances are they can see you joining the team. Use this opportunity to make a good impression and get a feel for the company culture and your would-be co-workers.Related5 Ways to Evaluate Company Culture During a Job InterviewThe interviewer tried to sell you on the company and the positionWhen the manager goes into detail about the companys benefits, pay, perks, and its great culture, they are trying to sell you on the position. This is a great reminder that while the hiring manager is interviewing you, you are interviewing them as well.The interviewer asked specific questions about your transitionThe hiring process does not end with the job interviews. Depending on your situation, there may be background or medical checks, training, non-compete agreements to consider, and references to check. If the recruiter or the h iring manager wanted to know the details of those, or your available start date, you have some good signs that they are seriously considering your candidacy.The interviewer or recruiter discussed specific next steps with timingThe best sign that your interview went well is if you have the next interview scheduled before you leave the first one The next best thing is if the manager was specific about expectations.Did you ace the interview?As you consider these observations, keep in mind that it serves you best to take the interview process at face value. Regardless of how confident (or not) you feel, your guess is only a guess until you have an offer in your hand. Continue to prepare, show up, and do your best in every interview.Finally, remember to observe what you can about the company and the hiring manager, and pay attention to any red flags that may be there. If the hiring manager spoke badly about the person you will be replacing, could not explain the job clearly, or kept che cking their phone during the interview, consider what it would be like to work with them. Do not get so caught up in analyzing your performance and whether you had a successful job interview that you lose sight of everything else.Click on the following link for more interview advice.Make sure your first interview goes well with professional interview coaching. Check out our sister site, TopInterview.Recommended ReadingOfficeHours How to Ace Your Next Job Interview13 of the Smartest Questions to Ask a Hiring ManagerHow to Be a Great Candidate Even If Youre Underqualified for the JobRelated Articles

Tips to Succeed as an Engineering Consultant

Tips to Succeed as an Engineering Consultant Tips to Succeed as an Engineering Consultant Tips to Succeed as an Engineering ConsultantStuart B. Brown, founder and managing principal of consulting firm Veryst Engineering, Needham, MA, likes to say that to be a successful engineering consultant, you have to be bipolar.But as might be expected, his definition of bipolar is elend the traditional one. You have to be an expert, he says. And then you have to be able to do everything else.Hes learned over the years that clients hire a consultant for his or her expertise but after assessing the situation, consultants often recognize that the clients problems require a totally different skill set. Consultants must develop the ability to understand clients problems, empathize with their pain, and find solutions, he advises.The right response is Heres the solution, and I can do it in this amount of time. You might notlage necessarily be using your specialty, he says. But if you find a way to sol ve a problem, clients will be happy.For example, his firm was hired by an athletic shoe company to investigate why some fluid-filled, shock-absorbing shoe components were failing, he notes. The decision was based on its expertise and familiarity with the failure modes of polymers and how they handle stress under impact conditions. After meeting with the client, a major project became helping to develop a childrens activity shoe that included sensors, circuitry, and LEDs to measure how fast a child was running and then display that speed on a set of LEDs on top of the shoe. After completing the project, the client applied and received a patent on the invention with Brown and some of his colleagues as co-inventors.Although this expertise was part of our skill set, it was not the reason for our original retention, Brown says.Best PracticesPeople come to consultants for several reasons they dont have the time to come up with a solution, they dont have the people, or they dont have the e xpertise. If they perceive you as being the best and a problem-solver, you have the beginnings of building a client base, Brown says.Brown, who holds literary and geschftliches miteinander degrees as well as a B.S. in mechanical engineering (ME) from Washington University, an M.S. in ME from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in ME from MIT, believes there are steps and practices engineering consultants need to take and adopt to have a successful career.Be better than anyone else in somethingWhen you are young, you must have as an expectation and objective that sooner or later you are going to know something better than anyone else in the world, he says. Maybe you wont pull that off. Maybe youre the best in the state or the country, but if you have that agenda and you think intelligently about what people will need or want in the future, you have the opportunity to get people coming to you because you have that expertise.Develop as many tools as possible while young because thats when learning is easiest. Increase the size of your technical toolbox as much as you can.Offer a strong point of view people hire consultants for their idea and opinions.You need to have an ego because no one wants to hear from someone who doesnt have a strong point of view, he advises. A client doesnt want to hear things like, Maybe youd like to try this, or, It seems like a good idea to me. Clients hire a consultant to provide an answer, and most clients are smart enough to recognize that you arent operating with perfect information because they arent either and thats why they hired a consultant to begin with, Brown explains. You have to form an opinion, defend it, and deliver it competently so that people will act on it and come back to you. Why would you want to hire someone who says, I dont know. Maybe this is something you should do?Dont be afraid of marketing. Someone said the best marketing is done by people who may not be the best but who are persistent. Dont let someone saying , Were not interested, make you disheartened. It is a learning experience, he advises. With consulting, you can explore different types of work to find what you want to do and find the types of clients with whom you want to work. You can only do that by trying. So being out there and marketing a lot matters enormously, he says.As a final word of advice that may sound like a cliche, Brown says the best marketing is a happy client. Thats why its important to work very hard to make sure current clients are happy because they will come back to you.Nancy Giges is an independent writer.You need to have an ego because no one wants to hear from someone who doesnt have a strong point of view.Stuart B. Brown, founder and managing principal, Veryst Engineering