Interviewing is a Full Time Job

Here's what I've really been up to. My paid vacation is coming to an end, so I have been spending the last few weeks on the interview train, going 100 miles an hour. I've made it a point to choose wisely the companies I want to spend my energy on. At this point in my career, cultural fit and a passion for the company's product is important. No more chips for me. I want to work for something that really "matters".

Now being on the opposite side of the table, I started out a little bit out of practice (Hey - I was the interviewer for the past 7 years..). It's a full time job - not just spending time at the actual interviews, but the mental preparation for each one is time consuming, but very valuable. In the past months, I've learned a few things.

1. Be yourself. Yes, prep and make sure you know your stuff, but don't sound too canned or too prepared. Relax. Watch your body language.

2. Research the people you're interviewing, not just the company. A good source, other than google, is linkedin. You'll catch a a quick glimpse of people's profiles. You'll also impress the interviewer when you talk about their past successes, or their interests. Also - ask the recruiter or other people you know for some background. Recently, a recruiter gave me an excellent tip: one of the people I was interviewing with was actually trying out for the same job. Knowing that allowed me to stay away from sensitive topics.

3. Be early. Wait in the parking lot if you have to. Yesterday, I arrived at one company 15 minutes early. As soon as I parked, they called to ask if I was in the area because they wanted to start earlier. I was there. They were impressed. And I got a full hour with a very important person. Otherwise, it would have been 45 minutes. Would have been my loss because he was a valuable person to meet and learn from.

4. Very few interviewers respond to the post-interview thank you notes. Those are the ones I have a tremendous amount of respect for, and who I will seek out my first day on the job. So, if you are ever the interviewer, please respond to the candidate. A simple "It was great to meet you, too. I wish you lots of luck" will suffice.

5. Do not go to an interview right after a heavy meal. Your energy will be low and you'll probably smell like food :) And God forbid you actually burp during an interview. Yikes!!!

5. Go to the bathroom before the interview. Check yourself out in the mirror and do what you have to do. I"m glad that's a habit of mine, because the other day, I looked in the mirror and my jacket wasn't buttoned right. Buttoned lopsided. I looked like a complete idiot, which I know I'm not. Little things like that make an impression.

So much for the interview tips. I'm now soliciting petitions from everyone so I get the new, exciting job I've been praying for. Sign your virtual petition for me and send it to the man above.

I'm back and I'm Pissed! (Blame it on Passwords and Cables)

Someone reminded me today that it's been 7 weeks since I last blogged. I have no excuse other than I've been busier than a bee....and to think I'm actually on a paid vacation. But this is a good venue to vent about two things that royally piss me off.

1. Passwords. I've just spent the last 2 hours trying to figure out how to get into this blog so I can post. Forgot my password. Sometime ago this site told me that the same password I use for most other things is "weak". So today, I have a password for my bank, my credit card bills, my healthcare, wsj.com and nytimes.com, my investment banker's site, my multiple email addresses, my car's online payment site, and this blog site, etc etc etc......and all of which are different. Not my fault. Some want 6 characters..some want 8, some want text and numbers, some want that with a symbol, blah..blah...blah. Jesus H. Christ, when will someone figure out that this is a problem for those of us with age-accelerated-attention-deficit disorder!!!!!???

2. Cables. If I removed all the cables in my bag, my left shoulder would be even with my right. In my bag, as I'm sure is in yours, are cables for my mobile phone, laptop, ipod, etc, etc. Then, I have to bring plug converters for Europe, the UK (not part of Europe, of course) and Asia. That's on top of the already-entangled wires for my iPod earphones, mobile phone headset, webcam and a slew of others. My laptop weighs a mere 3 pounds. But wouldn't you know it.....the list above weights 5. I will kiss the hands of the person who invents a one-plug/one-cable fits all.

Ok. Enough venting. It's a beautiful sunny day. I'm sorry it's snowing in Munich and raining in London. I love California in the spring.