Interview? Or Interrogation?

I like to think of interviewing as dating. Employers can sometimes think of it like their opportunity to interrogate candidates.

Take a FUNemployee named Matt. He had two interviews recently. Going into it, he was prepared, calm and armed with questions. Too bad that he never got a chance to ask even one.

He was grilled by his interviewers who were trying to determine if he was a good fit for the job and the company. While he felt like he successfully answered their questions, he had little clarity about what his role would really be.

When you're FUNemployed, a company looks at Matt and thinks that he has no leverage. He'd be lucky to have a job, from their perspective. While this is true for many, there is something to be said for both parties liking one another. There's nothing worse than an employee starting a job and realizing it's nothing like what they expected. No one wins in that scenario.

Here's my tip of the day: if you have questions and don't have time to ask them, ask if you can follow up with the interviewer via email or your HR contact to ask your questions. Showing engagement and interest can work in your favor. Having all of the information can only help everyone in the end!

"How Did You Get Your Job?"

Since I've got my job offer, the most frequent question that I've been asked (other than "What is it?") is "How did you get it?" I wish there was a secret.

Actually, I take that back. I got a job at a company that is established, yet only recently embraced digital marketing. Their mantra is to forge full steam ahead--quickly and decisively. That's why I have a job today.

When you're unemployed, you have little to no leverage. Companies can choose to take their time with you because they feel like you'll be around if there aren't any better options. Some companies won't even consider you if you're unemployed. I think it's important to have freelance gigs or something that you're working on to help defray this discrimination. Technically, I'm still in the interview process at several companies. They chose not to pull the trigger because they didn't feel any pressure.

Another warning sign: beware the "newly created job." I interviewed for three of those. No one has been hired for any of them. While the position may be needed, if there isn't someone doing that job now no bean counter in the world is going to allocate funds in this up and down economy.

My best tip is to keep your ears to the ground. Read industry trades. If an ad agency wins news business, keep your eyes peeled. (This is generally a sign of change within a company so it applies even if you're not in the ad biz). If a company has better than expected earnings, check out their careers page. If an industry is hot (anything tech & digital would qualify) learn who is leading the pack.

I got a lot of interviews from applying to online job postings. I think I could've been smarter earlier by doing what I wrote in the paragraph above and set up job alerts at target companies (I did this for the job I got).

Recruiters, meh. I got nothing from them, other than some inside scoop. It's worthwhile to talk to them, but if they were to get you a job, the company has to pay them. The company already has enough resumes. Don't rely on the middleman to get you a job. BUT they may give you some ideas about companies that may be hiring. You know what to do...Go get 'em tiger!