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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rodrigo Istalindir" data-source="post: 2527475" data-attributes="member: 2810">I interview people, and I read the resumes.  That said.....1.   I read your resume, but I want to see how much of that was something someone else wrote for you, or was boilerplate you copied, or was pure BS.  You'd be surprised the number of times I've asked someone to recap their job history and have it not jibe with their written resume (whether on dates, or responsibilities, or whatever).  Or, you seem nervous, so maybe letting you talk for a few minutes about something that you should be pretty familiar with will give you a chance to settle down and become more comfortable with the process.2.  This is a personality question more than a skills question.  If you respond 'I'm a better candidate because I am really detail-oriented' when I'm looking for a big-picture guy (or vice-versa), I'd like to know that.   (Though I usually frame this question less competitively -- eg 'Why are you the right person for this job?' for example)  It's also a chance to differentiate yourself.  Everyone says 'I'm a hard worker' or 'I'm good at following directions'.  In one interview I had, though, I responded 'I'm the better candidate because I'm interested in  how IT interacts with the rest of the business and not just someone who's going to sit in the back and fix things'.   They offered me the job based on that response.  I didn't take it....I sometimes go on interviews even when I know I won't take the job -- being able to practice your interview skills in a safe environment never hurts.  And you never know -- I went on one a year out of college where it was for a rinky-dink junior helpdesk position, and after the interview they said they also had a net admin position opening that they hadn't advertised yet, would I be interested?  Ended up working there for 10 years and climbing almost to the top.3.  The military has the concept of the 'force multiplier' -- eg if I have air support for my tanks, it makes them 10x as effective.  The right person works the same way -- the perfect complement to the team makes the whole much more than the sum of its parts.  And the reverse is even more true -- I've been stuck with 'force divisors' -- people whose work habits or personality or skills so conflicted with the rest that we actually accomplished less with more people.   It can be really hard to get rid of someone, even in 'at-will' states, especially if you have a paranoid HR department.  So I'd much rather wait and get the right person when I can.  'Good enough' isn't good enough for me, sometimes. So, you want advice?  * Go on as many interviews as you can get.  The more you do, the easier it gets.* Interview the potential employer while they are interviewing you.  Ask questions about the company, about their needs, projects, areas of concern, and explain how you can help them, as concretely as possible.  (I had another interview where I showed them how I'd solve a network problem they were having.  They couldn't pay enough to get me to take the job, but they asked if they could hire me as a consultant to implement that solution, and that turned into some periodic extra income).* Research the place before-hand.  Know what they do.  If they've been in the news lately (in a positive way  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> ) mention it -- 'That article on you in InfoWorld was really intriguing'.  Sure, it's sucking up a little, but it demonstrates that you've done your homework and came to the interview prepared with more than your resume.* References.  If you are looking for work in a specialized field (as opposed to general office work or such) get two sets of references.  Get one set that can speak to the technical skills you possess.  Nothing hurts more than when I call someone's reference and that person demonstrates that they have no idea of what you do.  If you are applying for a computer job and list someone as your reference that doesn't know the difference between Windows and Office, find someone else.  Then get another set of former supervisors, if you can, that can speak to your work habits and other personal qualities.</blockquote>

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