Job Interview Tomorrow, interview checklist

Are you ready for the job interview tomorrow? Follow these simple steps

You just landed a job interview tomorrow!

I have a job interview tomorrow! WTF do I do!!? Where do I start? What do you do when you receive a call out of the blue and face an unexpected job interview tomorrow?

When I look to fill a position, the hiring manager needs that position filled yesterday. To the hiring manager, their unfilled position is the most critical out there. Put four hiring managers in a room with unfilled positions, and you will have a steaming pile of urgency. When I call or email a candidate, the resume looks good, and I want to figure out if you are “the one” as quickly as possible. If you aren’t the one, time is wasting. I need to move on to the next candidate. At the very least, I want to tell the hiring manager, “I have spoken with three candidates and have two more coming in.”

Hiring manager is a grandma who wants a baby

The hiring manager is the equivalent of the overbearing mom from the old country who wants grandchildren. I don’t want to walk past that hiring manager’s office. I know they will run out of their office, hands waving in hysteria, asking for an update more recent than the one I emailed that morning. We have all had the same conversation. “Mom! You don’t force things like finding love.” (Or the right candidate.) You could be the candidate we bring home to Mom, AKA hiring manager. We could be about to pop the big question to you. “Will you marry me?” AKA, would you work with us?  There is urgency, and this is how you ended up with an interview tomorrow.

Urgency 

I needed the candidate to come in yesterday, but I will settle for a job interview tomorrow. I don’t want to seem overly anxious, but I’m being grilled by Grandma, the head of the department, and I need to bring a girl home! There is nothing worse than raised eyebrows. Does he like girls (in his job?) Does he know where to look for a date (where did he post this job)?

I know that you will probably do better in the interview if you have a few days to figure out what to wear, get a shirt to the cleaners, and do some research on our company. Shit rolls downhill, and some weeks, the hill is steep. Grandma (department head) is questioning Mom (the hiring manager), and Mom is breathing down my neck.

Avoid the situation

If you are ever asked if you can come in for a job interview tomorrow, do your best to avoid the situation. Explain that your mother is in the hospital or has a doctor’s appointment. This sounds dramatic, but here is the flip side: Talk about your daycare, dentist appointment, or any mythical appointment that will lead to a single conclusion. This job is not that important to you. When I hear “I can’t make it in tomorrow,” what I hear is “we aren’t important enough for you”. Where there is a will, there is a way. Nothing is impossible!  This is all about priorities.

Will move mountains for Mr. Pitt

If The Situation from Jersey Shore asks you out on a date tomorrow, it is interesting, but you aren’t going to move mountains to make it work. If Brad Pitt were to ask you out on a date tomorrow, you would make it work. Not only will you make it work, you will get your hair done and find a new pair of heels.  If Jennifer Aniston asks you out, you will detail the car and make it work happily. There isn’t much of a workaround if Mom is in the hospital. I am not going to be the asshole that says. . .  “can you postpone that operation for a day?  The hiring manager wants to meet you”.

If you are in a situation where you have a job interview tomorrow, here is the “1 day to get shit done” checklist.

Ask the recruiter three things:

1. Ask the recruiter about the appropriate dress code and follow it. The only thing worse than coming in underdressed (because you didn’t know what to wear) is coming in underdressed when you were told what to wear. Remember, the recruiter is putting their reputation on your name. They will help you look good.
2. Who are you meeting with? You may meet with the recruiter or a hiring manager. Take names and hit up LinkedIn and Google.
3. Ask for any advice they may have for a candidate. You may be surprised at how much help a recruiter can provide if you ask.  Remember, they want you to look good, too.

Company website:

1. Product and Services: If you are interviewing with a Fortune company, only focus on the high-level information and what is pertinent to your discipline.   Take notes and bring these to the interview. Conspicuously display these notes to the interviewers during your interview. (That’s nasty)
2. Careers: You can learn more about the company culture. Often, the career page explains the company’s philanthropy, benefits, and its values, among other details.
3. Leadership Team: This will give you an idea of the dress code and the types of backgrounds the company seeks. Do further LinkedIn and Google research on the CEO and the executive who heads up the department you are interested in.
4. Press Section: Find out anything you can about recent announcements or news. You want to stay up-to-date on the latest products, promotions, and more.

Company reviews

Glassdoor can provide good information, including the management styles and salaries of the company in question. This site may also provide you with interview questions that are commonly asked during interviews. Both employees and candidates post reviews and interview questions here. This can be a great resource.

Google the CEO and the C-level person who works in your discipline. Google the CFO if you are interviewing for an accounting position and the CMO if you are interviewing in the marketing department. Blog posts are a great reference in an interview because they give insight into what is important to that person.

Look for reviews on any products or services from this company

Social media

LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to gather as much information as possible about the people you will be interviewing with. Some of the folks you are interviewing with may not have much listed on Google. The odds are high that they will have a profile on LinkedIn.

Check your LinkedIn network to see if anyone you know has a connection with this company. They may work there, be a contractor, or have a second connection.  Call these 1^st connections. Don’t waste time with email. You only have a day, and email might not be quick enough. See if they have any advice for you on the hiring process.

Check the route

If you have the time, visit the company the day before to find out exactly where it is, how long it will take you to get there, and where to park. You should arrive in the lobby 10 minutes prior to your interview.  Not 20 minutes and not at the start time.  10 minutes. You do not want to arrive 7 minutes late and blow up your opportunity before your interview begins.

Practice your introductory pitch OUT LOUD. Have an outline that you can refer to if needed. You will most likely be asked, “Tell me about yourself.”  There is no excuse for failing this question. A short (less than 2 minutes) pitch about you.  Ninety seconds on how you are relevant to the position or your philosophy on getting the job done, and 30 seconds that shows a little bit about your interests and personal side.

Crush mints

Lastly, go to the store and buy some mints. Crush two of these before you go into the building—not one, but two. Lack of breath mints has started many interviews with a bad taste in the interviewer’s mouth.

Getting an interview tomorrow is not optimal, but at least you are in the game, and with a plan, you can maximize your opportunity.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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