out
The Last Guide to Networking You’ll Ever Need at
http://www.collegerecruiter.com/lastnetworkingguide.php).
Seems like a lot, doesn’t it? It really isn’t. It is time well invested, especially since you will then go into the meeting armed with one of the best assets at your disposal:
information. This genuine understanding will take much of the “mystery” out of the first visit, make you more relaxed, confident, and assured that you are going in there to share the BEST of what you have to offer.
Down to the Nitty Gritty: The Job
Okay, we have looked at the forest, examined the tree, and now it is time to see what this process is all about. Where do you fit in?
Perhaps it is a bit presumptuous of me to assume that you have already obtained a copy of the detailed job description. Indeed, when you first considered the position, you should have contacted the company to obtain a job description before you even submitted your credentials for consideration (if such detailed information was not already made public).
Not only will a thorough review of the job description give you a better idea of what your responsibilities may be, it also gives you a clearer insight to your own qualifications, both from a skills-standpoint, and goals as well. In other words, you might have the skills to do the job (or at least the groundwork to grow into it), but is it a good fit for your longer term objectives? This will require some advance thought, because ultimately one question may arise during the interview: “Why did you apply for this job?”
What will be your answer?
Also, while the detailed job descriptions are important for you to consider, bear in mind that they may not always be that accurate. For instance, the description may have been written to the specific, dictated notes of the executive in charge, reviewed by other team members, and finalized with their input. In this case, the description will most likely match the reality of the employer’s expectations.
On the other hand, the job description may have simply been drafted by a mid-level team member at the last-minute request of his supervisor. He spends 45 minutes working on it, submits it to the supervisor, who then glances over it between meetings, shrugs and says, “looks good to me,” and moves on to the next demand of the moment
and moves on to the next demand of the moment.
In cases like this, the description was written for one purpose: to have a job description on file—not to give candidates a better idea of the job itself.
In reality, you may not have any real way of knowing the circumstances under which it was crafted, but odds are if the document is less detailed, then there was much less thought and planning put into it.
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The above is an excerpt from The Last Guide to Interviewing You'll Ever Need, which is available for sale for $17 in our bookstore or for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. Students know that good experiences helps to build a good resume and that good resumes help you land interviews, yet how many of us have been shown how to interview well so that we can get hired? Written by Keith F. Luscher specifically for the job hunting students who use CollegeRecruiter.com. To get hired, you must know how to interview well. Read this book and you will. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter. |
