January 2016 TEN Newsletter

Hi TEN Members,

Over the past few months, we decided to explore some useful tips and techniques designed to help improve your interview experience.  Some of these newsletter topics included:

• “The 3 Questions That Matter Most When Interviewing For A Job“
• “Don’t Be Afraid To Ask These 5 Tough Questions In A Job Interview“
• “10 Good Ways to ‘Tell Me About Yourself‘”
• “17 Tips to Ace Your Next Phone Interview“
• “Nobody Hires Between Thanksgiving and New Year…Right?“
• “New Job for the New Year: How to make it happen“

If you didn’t get a chance to review any of these articles, or if you would like to review them again, please click on the links above.

We’d like to start by wishing you all a Happy New Year.  Each new year usually brings on some much needed refreshment and signifies the time to start something new.  If find yourself open to new career opportunities, now is usually a great time to explore these avenues.  We find that many employers are now actively interviewing potential hires as projects and budgets have been set for the year.  The timing for both parties can be a recipe for success.  We’ve presented you with tips in the past on how to improve your interview experience.  The article below, although written from a different angle, is intended to do the same.  Below our job openings section is this month’s featured article “Top 10 Interview Mistakes”.  Hopefully this will serve as a reminder during your exploration.

We hope you enjoy reading the article below as much as we did.  As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us for any assistance in your career search.  And, remember, at eNamix Inc. we don’t simply place temporaries into jobs…we help people find and define their careers with the utmost care.  That’s the eNamix way!

Job Openings

 

Visit our candidate portal where you can search, view and apply for our latest jobs AND connect with us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/enamix to see ongoing discussions and jobs that come up between newsletters. Here are our latest job openings:

• Business Developer/Account Manager – Irvine, CA – $150k+ DOE
• Sr. Technical Recruiter – Irvine, CA – up to $100k+ DOE
• Sr. Manager, IT Security – Irvine, CA – $180k+ DOE
• BSA – Great Plains – Irvine, CA – up to $108K
• Technical Services Consultant – Laguna Hills, CA – up to $120k+ DOE
• iSeries Systems Manager – Anaheim, CA – up to $140k+ DOE
• Systems Analyst – Irvine, CA – up to $85k
• SAP WM Application Architect – Irvine, CA – up to $130k
• .NET Developer – Irvine, CA – up to $108k
• PPC Consultant – West Hollywood, CA – Contract, Rate DOE, Possible CTH
• QA Analyst – Mission Viejo, CA  – Contract, Rate DOE
• Marketing Data Analyst Lead – Santa Monica, CA – up to $120k+ DOE
• Senior Network Engineer – Irvine, CA – up to $120k
• Senior Systems Engineer – Irvine, CA – up to $110k+ DOE
• Cyber Security Engineer – Irvine, CA – $120k to $140k DOE
• Jr .NET Developer – Brea, CA – up to $55k+
• .NET Developer – Irvine, CA – up to $120k+ DOE
• Sr. Product Manager/Director, Unified Communications – Los Angeles, CA – up to $165K
• (VP level) Product Strategist – Emerging Ecommerce/Payment Processing – Santa Ana, CA – $150k to $200k
• Sr. Java Ad Server Engineer – El Segundo, CA – up to $150k
• Sr. Python Developer – El Segundo, CA – up to $140k
• Xamarin Developer – Irvine, CA – up to $120k
• DevOps Engineer – El Segundo, CA – Rate DOE

 

Top 10 Interview Mistakes

 

Interview Mistakes You Need To Avoid

By Alison Doyle

What shouldn’t you do when interviewing? Here are the top ten interview mistakes, blunders, and errors a candidate for employment can make. Spend time preparing to interview so these don’t happen to you!

Top 10 Interview Mistakes

1. 1. Don’t Prepare – Not being able to answer the question “What do you know about this company?” might just end your quest for employment, at least with this employer. Background information including company history, locations, divisions, and a mission statement are available in an “About Us” section on most company websites.

 

Review it ahead of time, then print it out and read it over just before your interview to refresh your memory. Also check the company’s LinkedIn page and Facebook page, if they have one.

• Avoid This Mistake: How to Prepare for an Interview

 

2. Dress Inappropriately – Dressing inappropriately can work both ways. You will certainly want to wear a suit if you are interviewing for professional position. When interviewing for a summer job at your local theme park or as a lifeguard, for example, dress accordingly in neat and casual attire. If you aren’t sure what to wear, visit the organization and watch employees coming in and out of the office to see what they are wearing, or ask your agent.

• Avoid This Mistake: How to Dress for An Interview | What Not to Wear to a Job Interview

 

3. Poor Communication Skills – It’s important to communicate well with everyone you meet in your search for employment. It is, however, most important to positively connect with the person who might hire you. Shake hands, make eye contact, exude confidence, engage the person you are speaking with, and you will let the interviewer know that you are an excellent candidate for this position – before you even answer an interview question.

• Avoid This Mistake: Take the Time to Practice Interviewing

 

4. Too Much Communication – Believe it or not, a recent candidate for employment, who, by the way, didn’t get the job, didn’t hesitate to answer his cell phone when it rang during an interview. Leave the phone behind or at least turn it off before you enter the building. Same goes for coffee, food and anything else other than you, your resume, your job application, and your list of references. They don’t belong at an interview.

• Avoid This Mistake: What to Bring to an Interview

 

5. Talk Too Much – There is nothing much worse than interviewing someone who goes on and on and on…The interviewer really doesn’t need to know your whole life story. Keep your answers succinct, to-the-point and focused and don’t ramble – simply answer the question.  In most cases, keep your answers to a minute or less and keep the content supportive to the question.

• • Avoid This Mistake: Use Non Verbal Communication to Impress

 

6. Don’t Talk Enough – It’s really hard to communicate with someone who answers a question with a word or two. I remember a couple of interviews where I felt like I was pulling teeth to get any answers from the candidate. It wasn’t pleasant. So, even though you shouldn’t talk too much, you do want to be responsive and fully answer the question as best you can.

• Avoid This Mistake: Review Proper Interview Etiquette

 

7. Fuzzy Facts – Even if you have submitted a resume when you applied for the job, you may also be asked to fill out a job application. Make sure you know the information you will need to complete an application including dates of prior employment, graduation dates, and employer contact information.  Be specific and accurate with the facts.

• Avoid This Mistake: Be Prepared to Describe Your Employment History

 

8. 8. Give the Wrong Answer – Make sure you listen to the question and take a moment to gather your thoughts before you respond. Like the following candidate, you’ll knock yourself out of contention if you give the wrong answer.

The interviewer had completely described a sales and marketing position to the candidate. She emphasized that cold calling and prospecting were the most important skills and experiences needed for the position. The candidate responded to the question about what she did or didn’t like to do in sales, with these words: “I hate to do cold calling and prospecting, and I’m not good at it.” That response ensured that she wouldn’t get the job!

• Avoid This Mistake: Review Sample Interview Questions and Prepare Responses

 

9. 9. Badmouthing Past Employers – Your last boss was an idiot? Everyone in the company was a jerk? You hated your job and couldn’t wait to leave? Even if it’s true don’t say so. I cringed when I heard someone ranting and raving about the last company she worked for. That company happened to be our largest customer and, of course, I wasn’t going to hire someone who felt that way about the company and everyone who worked there.

It’s sometimes a smaller world than you think and you don’t know who your interviewer might know, including that boss who is an idiot… You also don’t want the interviewer to think that you might speak that way about his or her company if you leave on terms that aren’t the best.

• Avoid This Mistake: How to Answer Interview Questions About Bosses

 

10. Forget to Follow Up – Afraid you didn’t make the best impression? Are you sure that you aced the interviewed? Either way, be sure to follow up with a thank you note reiterating your interest in the position and the company.

• Avoid This Mistake: How to Follow Up After an Interview

 

Finally, even if the interview does not lead to an offer of employment, don’t take it to heart. Learn from it and move on to the next opportunity.

• Maybe You Can Get Another Chance: What To Do If You’ve Blown A Job Interview

 

Your eNamix Strategic Staffing Team

© eNamix 2016 | 15707 Rockfield Blvd., Suite 150 | Irvine, CA 92618 | 949.916.9810

Citations

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewsnetworking/a/interviewblund.htm