Thus, mentally prepared, emotionally ready, professionally attuned (other cares and worries put aside), and properly attired, you arrive for your first interview. Your style and manner should be natural and consistent though you may meet with different executives.
What can you expect during the first visit? What kinds of questions will they ask? What are they after? Expect to be treated courteously and professionally. If for some strange reason you are not¡ªwrite the place off.
An accountant was kept waiting 45 minutes by the director of a hospital who flew him in from out of town. The director dashed by once, looked at him as if he knew who he was, but said nothing. Later, during the interview, the director seemed grumpy. He never fully excused his lateness. Despite the accountant’s gut telling him otherwise, he accepted the position and lived to regret it.
Be wary of the rushed, those who take several telephone calls during your visit, and individuals who speak in their native tongue (a foreign language to you) to colleagues present, unless they excuse themselves.
Expect to initially be given a sense and picture of the company, which may vary slightly depending on the personality and professional discipline of each executive you meet. They will generally offer information and be open to questions. They are, in part, selling, you on them. Personnel may give you an orientation and a broad view of the firm. Your prospective manager may be much more specific and deal with the nitty-gritty of the job. His manager may describe elements of both.
And they will also ask all kinds of questions about you in order to determine your “technical” suitability, does he have the experience and intelligence to do the job. All the while, management is considering “chemistry.” Can he fit in with us? Much that the headhunter asked will be repeated and in more depth, and the executives will also repeat themselves (during your separate meetings with them) and ask similar questions.
You can anticipate many of the company’s questions:
What do you see as the key elements in this position? What specific experience do you have to qualify for the job? Why do you want this post?
How do you propose to help/improve/increase productivity here?
What are your strong and weak points?
What are your achievements/successes on your assignments?
How did you go about accomplishing these goals?
What have you liked and disliked about your positions?
What do your management/clients/peers think of you?
Why did you leave each of your former positions? What did you basically do in each of your past jobs?
The interview is not a grilling. It is usually fairly relaxed on the surface with a lot of questions and answers from both sides. Prospective employers may ask questions in a sequential fashion, reviewing your resume (as prepared by the headhunter) chronologically. Or they may inquire about particular points that interest them and therefore jump back and forth.