Tony Beshara

• tags:
• interviewing
• employers

You have to research the prospective employer.  For students, the career center at your school can really help with research resources.  The primary benefit of the Internet to your job search is its help to your research.  Years ago at our company, we had a library of catalogs and brochures about the companies with which we did business.  Our candidates would review those before they interviewed.  The Internet has changed all that. 

• tags:
• interviewing
• leads

1. The Candidate did not adopt a committed, passionate, "failure is not an option" attitude about finding a job. Many job seekers think that just because they have a new degree, or military training, or some other advantage, that it's going to be easy to find a job. They have absolutely no idea how many interviews and interview cycles are typically required to find a job. They have no idea of the massive number of cold calls it takes to get an interview. Surprised and unprepared to make that commitment, candidates will often quickly grow frustrated with initial rejections.

• tags:
• communication
• interviewing

Since you don't have a lot of business experience, you may not be aware that often, especially for an entry-level position, the initial interview will be conducted by a third-party instead of the hiring authority.  The interviewer who does not have hiring authority is usually going to screen out far more candidates than he or she screens in.

• tags:
• employers
• interviewing

I will now teach you the absolute best way to conduct an initial interview.  Utilize this technique and you will be successful almost every time.  Most of the time, once you get the interviewing authority answering your questions, they will "load your shotgun” so that the answers you give will hit the target.  Let’s begin:

• tags:
• interviewing
• communication

The strategy for follow-up interviews is not a lot different from the strategy used in the initial interviews.  To a certain extent, you're going to do exactly what you did in the initial interview – with a couple of added steps that give you the advantage.  The process is very simple, but most people don't think to do it. 

• tags:
• interviewing

I don't like social interviews.  Most people are not very good at mixing risky business events, like an interview, with social events that involve meals.  I would recommend that you avoid these interviews if possible, but you may not have a choice...

• tags:
• interviewing

If you understand that you are always selling yourself and that you have nothing until you have an offer, answering interview questions will be easy.  Interviewing is not a "two-way street."  It is a "one-way street” until you get the job offer.  Once you have an offer, you can then ask all of the questions you want to see what the company is willing to do for you. 

• tags:
• interviewing

So now you've reached the finals and are thinking that the end is near.  Wrong! 

• tags:
• interviewing
• employers
• communication

Below you will see actual instructions, questions, and evaluation forms used by one of our clients.  The client is a financial organization, so many of the specific questions are financially oriented. You can see that the interviewing authority is given specific instrucitons as to exactly what to ask and what answers to look for.

You can never be too prepared, so find a coach to work with you through this practice interview.

• tags:
• interviewing

The only way you should alter your presentation in the second and subsequent interviews is that instead of asking, "What do I need to do to get this job?" at the end of the interview, you should ask the interviewer this question:

• tags:
• interviewing

The longer the interviewing process takes, and more people who were involved in it, the less likely it is that you, or anyone else for that matter, will get hired.  There is no standard time span for the interview process.  I've experienced clients that took 15 minutes to decide, and I've experienced others that took 18 months.  I’ve seen many that started with urgency, but ended with no one being hired. 

• tags:
• interviewing

If you have been called back for a second interview, there's a tendency to think you are on your way to getting a job.  Wrong!   While it is true that you should be congratulated for making it past the initial interview because 90 to 95% of candidates do not make it that far, the race is far from over.  The initial interview was necessary for you to get to this level of the interview process, but once you advance, the competition only gets harder!

• tags:
• interviewing

Once you and the hiring authority have reached the end of the interview, you're probably going to get an idea of what the next steps might be.  Don't be afraid to be assertive about pushing yourself into the next steps!

• tags:
• interviewing

From my personal experience, here are the major mistakes that graduates make in the face-to-face interview.  I also asked two professionals at major New York investment banks, who interview entry-level candidates on a regular basis, to corroborate these findings.  (These are senior, professional bankers, not H.R. folks.  They are the hiring authorities – the real deal!)  Here are the major mistakes:

• tags:
• employers
• interviewing

Versus an HR person or other third party, it is much easier to prepare for an interview with the actual hiring authority.  The hiring authority takes long-term, personal responsibility for the decision.  Most of the time, this person is responsible not only for hiring you, but also contributing to your success in the job.  Usually, his/her success is impacted by whether you are successful or not.  This person's reputation is on the line with your hire.

• tags:
• interviewing

No matter how much preparation and planning you do, no matter how good your resume is, no matter how good your contacts are, no matter how good your grades are, and no matter how prestigious of a school you have graduated from, it is the interview process that is the most important factor in getting hired. 

• tags:
• interviewing

I will now teach you the scripts used to secure interviews.  Be sure to keep a written record of your call on this form so you can call people back in the future.  In fact, it will keep very good records of everything you do.  You don't know how long it is going to take to find a job, so I suggest that you call people back after a month to remind them a second or third time that you are job hunting. 

• tags:
• interviewing

"Those who say some people were just lucky because they were in the right place at the right time don't realize that the lucky ones show up at a lot of the right places a lot of times.”   
                       Tony Beshara

• tags:
• interviewing

Here’s one example of the phony advice being offered to new graduates and other first time job seekers: “pursue ‘informational interviews’ as a way to expose yourself to an organization.” Supposedly, employers are willing to accommodate a fact-finding interview, an “informational interview,” even if they do not have an open position.