The second step in getting a job is having an interview with a potential employer. The first step was sending your application and after careful review by the company, you are seen as a candidate for the vacant position.
The employer obtained this information through an ad that was placed in the local newspaper, a referral by someone in the company, a headhunter, or by a person who simply submitted an application via the company’s website.
The first thing an employer will usually look at in order to get a reasonable impression of the job applicant is that person’s resume. Given the fact that so many apply for the same position, a resume review will usually take about 30 seconds; so with limited words, a job applicant must be sure that the resume is well written and grammatically correct.
During the interview stage, most employers want to know more about person since resumes only give a limited amount of information which might consist only of the person’s name, age, address, contact number, social security number, and employment history.
The employer will likely ask about the experiences, lessons and accomplishments an applicant has had while working for another employer. This will usually include how that person handled situations in the company, challenges of his/her position and relationships with co-workers.
Another question might be the applicant’s relationship with family members. Such relationships and interactions with others will show character, poise under pressure and state of mind in his/her dealings with other people, both casual acquaintances and those with whom s/he has had closer relationships.
An employer will usually ask questions like, why a job applicant applied to his/her company in the first place and where s/he would like to be in 5 to 10 years. Long term questions such as this will show if there is dedication for the job being applied for and if the company can provide something beneficial for both the applicant and the employer.
Companies follow a certain budget in hiring qualified personnel which is why the interviewer will ask how much one desires to get for the job. If what is being asked for is too high, the employer will usually ask if the salary is open to negotiation.
After the employer asks questions, time is usually given for the applicant to ask questions in return. This is an ideal time for the job applicant to learn a little more the company s/he might be working in and to get a feel of the company’s potential.
If there are no more questions, the interviewer will then signal an ending to meeting and call with an option to have the applicant back if indeed a return visit (follow-up interview) is merited based on that applicant’s performance during the initial interview.