(this is a work in progress)

I was floored the first time I interviewed a candidate to work for my company. There are so many simple things you can do to increase your chances of landing that dream job. I also got a taste for how recruiters work on the employer side of things. Here are some tips:

Interview Do's:

• sign up for everything the company has to offer. Try to understand why they do what they do and think of some insightful questions about the products or business that you can ask during the interview.
• visit their web site and the sites of their competitors, figure out how they are different and get a good feel for their industry.
• learn as much as you can about the people who will be interviewing you. Stalk the shit out of them.
• make notes on things they can change. If you're interviewing for a marketing position, try to get into their sales funnel and see how they operate.
• follow up after the interview with an email and/or a hand-written thank you.
• in that email, map out the first 30 days should you get hired.
• practice beforehand. practice a lot. You won't be able to predict the conversations, but you might need to fall back on some pre-canned, well-rehearsed responses.
• start the conversation with a brief (2-3 minute) overview of relevant skills and achievements in past work. Say things like, I did X which directly resulted in Y.
• ask the interviewer about their goals and how someone in your position can help them achieve those goals.
• be excited to show off your own work
• be confident without arrogance.

Interview Don'ts:

• whine about your previous job or co workers
• bad mouth any other applicants
• use racial or homophobic slurs (yes, i have seen this happen more than once)
• be afraid to say you don't know something. An interviewer might be trying to figure out how you act under pressure and how long you'll noodle before asking for help.

It is worth looking at this blog post about how a startup called sendOwl hires. The sections on resume filtering and interviews is great - https://www.sendowl.com/blog/how-to-hire-people-for-your-startup-or-sme.html

Recruiters:

Their job is to make money. Find out how they are paid. the recruiters i have used as an employer typically take a one-time payment that equals 10-20% of the hired's salary. this means the more money you make, the happier they will be. get to know some recruiters, have beers and get on their short list for when a lucrative opportunity arises. You might be able to make some deals with them to sweeten the pot.