Job Interview Coming Up, Advice?

[03 VENOM]

I have a job interview coming up with this company. USIC | Leading Underground Utility Location and Damage Prevention

Does anybody work for them? Or interviewed with them? It's for the Locate Tech position.

This company does their interviewing. About Us

 

[RocketSurgeon]

Dress nice even though it's for a locate job. Bring two copies of your resume so that you can look at yours when they ask you questions about it.

Brush up on behavioral interviewing questions ("tell me about a time when.."). Google behavioral interviewing questions and prepare answers for some of them so that you don't get caught off guard. Know the STAR response... situation, task, action, result and format your answers around that.

Earlier this year I did a ton of interviews and almost all of them used that behavioral BS. Good luck!

 

[aaandht]

Check glassdoor.com. it's a great source. I've had a couple interviews with big companies recentl and it was I great source.

Just be yourself and its going to be fine.

 

[G04cobra]

I'd recommend taking more than 2 copies of your resume and doing some research on the company. Take notes and ask questions. Make sure you are engaged in the process and not just part of the process if that makes sense.

 

[James Snover]

The day before the interview, get a haircut. You would not believe how many guys shoot themselves in the foot by showing up looking straggly. The morning of the interview, shave, but don't go crazy. This is not the time for a razor cut. Again, I have seen guys come in without a shave, and its like deducting fifty points off the top.

No sneakers or athletic shoes. Get a cheap pair of dress shoes at WalMart, if you have to. Even those will look nice for a day or two, and you just need them to look nice for a few hours.

Have five or six copies of your resume. If it's a panel interview, most likely everyone there will want a copy of it. Having enough copies for everyone automatically makes you look good right out of the starting gate.

Try not to be nervous, but don't hide it if you are. But do try and keep your head and work through it. They can't fault a guy for being nervous in an interview, and they will be watching to see if you can still think even if you are nervous.

Get a nice long-sleeve shirt, no loud colors and definitely _not_ pink (you are safest with a plain old white), and get it dry cleaned and pressed a day before the interview. Get a tie to go with it. If you don't know how to tie a tie, the people at the clothing store can set it for you, and all you will have to do is put it on the morning of the interview.

Do not, under any circumstances, talk politics. No religion, either.

Talking about yourself: it's going to be necessary, even if you don't like to talk about yourself because you think you might be bragging. Just remember that the goal of what you are saying about yourself is to show them what you are capable of doing for them. That is what they want to know: "What can you do for us, tell us why we need to hire you?" If all you have is to say that you're a hard working, ethical guy who likes to make sure the customer gets what they pay for, then go with it.

You don't have to be the smartest guy on the block. A good attitude, a good work ethic, and a good presentation (see above: haircut, shave, long-sleeve shirt, tie, dress shoes) will do you better than an IQ of 170.

Good luck!

 

[RocketSurgeon]

Check glassdoor.com. it's a great source. I've had a couple interviews with big companies recentl and it was I great source.

Just be yourself and its going to be fine.

+1 on Glassdoor. I used it extensively during my job hunt but forgot to mention it above. Several of the companies I interviewed with asked brainteasers and some O&G related questions that I would not have known the answers to had I not previously read them on Glassdoor. May not be as useful for OP as a third party company is conducting the interview but it's definitely worth checking out.

Be sure to let us know how it goes, OP.

 

[B0B]

clip your fingernails, chew a piece of gum right before you go in but make sure you ditch it before you go in. speak clearly, give them direct answers to their questions. Show confidence.

 

[svtaddict]

be confident but not cocky

 

[thomas91169]

Dress nice even though it's for a locate job. Bring two copies of your resume so that you can look at yours when they ask you questions about it.

Brush up on behavioral interviewing questions ("tell me about a time when.."). Google behavioral interviewing questions and prepare answers for some of them so that you don't get caught off guard. Know the STAR response... situation, task, action, result and format your answers around that.

Earlier this year I did a ton of interviews and almost all of them used that behavioral BS. Good luck!

This.

Be prepared for a TOUGH interviewer. Know the standard questions "Tell me a bit about yourself", "Whats your strengths/weaknesses", etc. Write them down and memorize them. If they ask you the "tell me a bit about yourself" dont back yourself into just talking about your resume; theyve read that, they know it already. Expand on what made you the person you are today, for me since im in construction, I brush upon growing up with legos and building things and always wanting to know how everything works, and that at almost every point in the day im looking at things and dissecting them in my mind, ill let them know my upbringing and area was a manufacturing basis for the valley at one point so it was natural my progression into a manufacturing/construction field even with zero formal education past HS.

My GF is a HR Manager. I get the insider scoop on how to act when it comes to interviews. Luckily for me though, just about every legit interview ive been to for a company that wanted to hire me and wasnt just interviewing to meet a corporate procedure when the position was already taken, have all been very casual. I do formal interviews shitty so ive always prepared for the worst but hoped for the best.

Try to connect with the interviewer. If they touch on anything they do in their life or how they go about doing something, grab onto that and build from it. A really good interviewer will not only see you doing this, but realize that you can take command of a situation even if you are going in at a disadvantage.

 

[thomas91169]

Also, look into the company, their history, and expand on what skills YOU have that can not only help yourself grow, but help them grow with you.

 

[03 VENOM]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[GOTSVT?]

Suit and tie!

 

[BlownAway05]

a shot of a jack (or two) to calm the nerves.

 

[Bad500Chris]

The day before the interview, get a haircut. You would not believe how many guys shoot themselves in the foot by showing up looking straggly. The morning of the interview, shave, but don't go crazy. This is not the time for a razor cut. Again, I have seen guys come in without a shave, and its like deducting fifty points off the top.

No sneakers or athletic shoes. Get a cheap pair of dress shoes at WalMart, if you have to. Even those will look nice for a day or two, and you just need them to look nice for a few hours.

Have five or six copies of your resume. If it's a panel interview, most likely everyone there will want a copy of it. Having enough copies for everyone automatically makes you look good right out of the starting gate.

Try not to be nervous, but don't hide it if you are. But do try and keep your head and work through it. They can't fault a guy for being nervous in an interview, and they will be watching to see if you can still think even if you are nervous.

Get a nice long-sleeve shirt, no loud colors and definitely _not_ pink (you are safest with a plain old white), and get it dry cleaned and pressed a day before the interview. Get a tie to go with it. If you don't know how to tie a tie, the people at the clothing store can set it for you, and all you will have to do is put it on the morning of the interview.

Do not, under any circumstances, talk politics. No religion, either.

Talking about yourself: it's going to be necessary, even if you don't like to talk about yourself because you think you might be bragging. Just remember that the goal of what you are saying about yourself is to show them what you are capable of doing for them. That is what they want to know: "What can you do for us, tell us why we need to hire you?" If all you have is to say that you're a hard working, ethical guy who likes to make sure the customer gets what they pay for, then go with it.

You don't have to be the smartest guy on the block. A good attitude, a good work ethic, and a good presentation (see above: haircut, shave, long-sleeve shirt, tie, dress shoes) will do you better than an IQ of 170.

Good luck!

Follow this.
And send a Thank you card in the mail.

 

[Katy TX5.0]

Know wtf their company does and ask questions you actually want an answer to.

 

[lobra97]

lie about everything.....truth will not set you free...

 

[wurd2]

I think James Snover pretty much covered it.

I would also add that you should make eye contact with people when you speak. Take care not to mumble or speak while looking at the ground. Talk slowly, calmly, clearly, and loudly.

If you're asked a question you don't know the answer to, start your response with the fact that you don't know, and state this confidently with no shame. Then perhaps elaborate on how you might go about learning the answer for yourself or what you think the correct answer is. Whatever you do in this situation, don't try to talk around or conceal the fact that you don't know the correct answer.

Lastly, please watch the interview scene in Step Brothers before you leave the house for the interview...and hope one of the interviewers is named Pam. Don't mess this part up!

.

 

[wurd2]

Know wtf their company does and ask questions you actually want an answer to.

This is a good point.

Have a few intelligent questions for them regarding their business!

.

 

[wurd2]

If you're the type that doesn't like talking, or struggles doing so, spend a lot of time listening to people talk, and pay careful attention to their articulation. Online lectures and TED talks are great for this. It may sound funny or strange, but this is a fantastic exercise for readying yourself for speaking and articulating well.

.

 

[03 VENOM]

The interview went great yesterday. I just got a call from them today. They set me up to go on a "ride along" with a current locate tech next week. To see exactly what they do and make sure the job is for me. I'm pretty excited!! And than in a couple weeks the paid training starts.

The only thing I might not like is, they work like 50-60 hours a week. Sometimes they work on Saturdays. I've been out of work for awhile so this job is better than nothing.