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You guys know I love helping you out however I can, right? Well, in this in between time between talking fall things and the holidays (yeah, it’s coming soon), I was trying to decide what I wanted to talk to you about. What could I help you with? What do I like to talk about? Then I realized something that I use to talk about all of the time: career advice, job hunting, and the job process.
The job hunt is the worse process. It’s all a numbers game (every time, even when you’re older). You apply to hundreds of jobs, you get maybe 20 calls back, 4 in person interviews, and then maybe one (or if you’re lucky, two) offer. Or maybe you get no offers and you have to just keep going. It can really get a person down. When I was approaching the end of grad school, I was all over this process. I was applying to jobs left and right, always updating my resume, and then getting ready for calls.
For today’s post, we’re going to skip a little of that. We’re going to fast forward through some of the applying (though we can come back to that if you want), and pretend that you’ve gotten to the in person interview. Since the interview can be pretty scary, we’re going to talk about what to bring to an interview, so you can be prepared and feel empowered to walk in there and rock it!
Also, for the record, this outfit is not what you should wear to your interview. But, it would be great to wear when you’re prepping your bag the night before!
J.Crew Factory Lace Tee
American Eagle Jegging
Everlane Day Glove
Kendra Scott Rayne Necklace
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J.Crew Factory Lace Tee
American Eagle Jegging
Everlane Day Glove
Kendra Scott Rayne Necklace
What To Bring To An Interview
A professional looking bag
Okay guys, you NEED to carry a good bag to your interview. I actually have one or two bags set aside specifically for interviews. These are the bags that look nice. They don’t have to be expensive bags, in fact, I have one from H&M that looks great! I just aim for one leather (or faux) leather shoulder bag that’s big enough to hold everything below but is NOT oversized.
Your resume, cover letter, references, and samples of work
Anything that you’ve emailed to the hiring manager or they’ve asked for in the past, bring a copy of it with you. Actually, scratch that, bring at least three copies with you. If you know how many people you’re meeting with, bring enough copies for every person you’re meeting with plus two.
Why? Well, there’s a pretty good chance that all of these people will already have a copy of your cover letter and your resume with them, but you don’t know. There’s no harm in bringing a copy of it with you just in case.
There’s also a second reason that I’m going to discuss more in a later post, but I’ll talk about it a little now. I like to review my resume beforehand to know what I’ve put on it. I’ll sometimes tweak my cover letters and resumes for the job I’m applying to, so when I’m going into the interview, I like to know what facts or stories AREN’T included in what I’ve sent to them. This way, I have new stories or examples to pull out just in case I need them. I also then know what to reference on my resume, if need be.
Finally, bring samples of your work in case it needs to be shown. The only case in which I would only bring one copy is if you’re a designer, or something that involves a portfolio. In that case (though I’d need to check), I’m guessing that you’d only need to bring one copy of your portfolio (but designs/artists, please correct me if I’m wrong and you’d need to bring more samples of your work!).
The biggest thing though? Don’t forget to print this all out the day or night before. Don’t wait until the last minute to get it done. You don’t want to worry about smudged print all over the copies of your resume!
My smart phone
Have you ever gotten lost on your way to an interview? I have and it’s the worst. Use your damn GPS so you don’t get lost and run late. You can also use it before hand to listen to something calming and prep yourself for the interview. However, once I get into the building for my interview, my phone goes on silent and do not disturb. Sometimes, I may even put it on airplane mode. You do not, under any circumstances want your phone going off during an interview. That is 100% not okay.
A list of questions you to ask the interviewer
I always have a list of questions to ask the interviewer prepared. These questions come from a few different areas: first, you should have done your research on the company at this point, so you should try to have at least one question ready about the company and it’s work. Second, your job specifically, and finally, how does the job fit into the company as a whole. This works best if you meet with different departments in person, but these questions can include questions like: How do you see this role fitting into the company and working with other departments? What are some of the qualities you’re looking for in an individual to fill this position? If all else fails, my back up question is “What does your time line look like for filling this position?”
Breath Mints
Odds are you’re going to be shaking hands and getting within breathing range of people. So stinky breath is a no-go. If you can brush your teeth beforehand, do it. If not, breath mints will be your best friend. Throw them in your bag and pop a few before you head in to your interview. Everyone will thank you (in their heads at least).
A brush and touch up lipstick
You never know what havoc walking outside or public transportation could take. Stick whatever you need to do touch ups in your bag just in case!
A positive attitude
If you walk in with a bad attitude, you aren’t going to get the job. I repeat, if you walk in with a bad attitude, you aren’t going to get the job. Start off with a positive attitude, and you’ll immediately start off on a good foot. So what does that mean? A positive attitude means that you’ll show up a few minutes early (about 5 minutes, no more than 10), be polite to who ever greets you at the door, and then make eye contact and smile throughout the interview.
Even if you think you said something stupid or something bad happened, just let it pass over you, and move on. You’ve still got this and you can ace this interview!
Do you have any suggestions for what you need to bring to an interview? Leave them in the comments below!
Photos by Kimberly Graydon
