Re: Interviewing Strategies

[jewahe -at- comcast -dot- net (Jeff Hanvey)]

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "w w" <mizerati -at- gmail -dot- com>
> Hello Folks,
> New to the site... I am a novice tech-writer and am interviewing tomorrow
> for a JUNIOR tech writing position with a medical/ pharm administration
> company. It is a perm position and the req. didn't mention any of the
> advanced utilities, like RoboHelp or Framemaker, so I'm pretty comfortable
> with what I expect the environment to be. My question is, does anyone have
> any last minute advice for me?...
> Thanks in advance,
> -Mizerhan

Others are giving you pretty good advice about handling yourself during the 
interview, but I'll share some of the "non-interview" things I like to do.

I like to get to the interview early enough that I can sit down and relax for a 
minute. Take five minutes to put aside all the papers and just breath and focus 
on being calm (I get very nervous around new people). It also gives me a chance 
to surreptiously wipe my sweaty palms before shaking hands with the interviewer. 

I also check out how the company presents itself to the world. Is the reception 
area clean? What does the "decor" (for lack of a better word) tell you about the 
company? Is is an extremely formal environment? modern? quirky? The decor is 
often complemented by the way people are dressed - not just the interviewer and 
receptionist.

I pay particular attention to the receptionist's attitude, since s/he is usually 
a low-level person, and his/her attitude is reflective of how the company treats 
people. I also pay attention to how people interact with the receptionist, for 
the same reason. 

If the interviewer leads you past cubicles, try to get a look at them and see 
how people are treating their workspaces. Are most of them overloaded or messy 
(that could be a sign of understaffing or overworking)? Are they personalized 
with pictures and what-nots, or all of them sterile (that could be a sign that 
there is a lot of turnover in personnel or location, they use a lot of temporary 
workers, or that the employees don't feel at home in the cube)? Do you see any employees 
socializing? Are they smiling or do they seem angry, or just concentrating on 
the task at hand? Are there a lot of documents left on the printers, fax 
machines, or copiers? What types of "reminder" notes are taped to the walls. 

One of the things I also like to do is to check out the bathrooms and break 
rooms, if possible - especially if the company is the only one in the building 
(not a shared facility). The state of these rooms tell you a lot about how much 
the employees respect the company and its facilities. Also, check out the dates 
on the documents on the common bulletin board...are there a lot of overlapping 
docs, indicating that nothing is ever taken down? Are the dates in the past? 
That can give you a clue as to how the company communicates with its employees.

That's all I can think of right now...

JWH
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