The particular job I am applying for is an entry-level position with a national bank. The job involves incoming calls, steering customers to the particular service that meets their needs, and some cross-selling of products. I did well on the phone interview. I always seem to do well on the phone interview and I’ve never failed to get a follow up face-to-face interview. What’s my secret? It’s not very hard to impress on a phone interview. Here are a few quick tips.

1) Prepare for the phone interview: This can be done a multitude of ways. First review all information that the company has sent you. Inevitably the first question is typically have you had time to review the material we sent and do you have any questions. Even if the material is standard issue and not terribly informative find a question to ask and write it down before the interview. Even if you have no questions give a quick synopsis of the paperwork or at something that you liked about description of the position and benefits. Also think of some questions that the interviewer could ask you. A few questions I’ve fielded are: Give an example of a time when a customer was upset, and you went above and beyond to fix the problem?; When have you failed at something and how did it make you a better person?; What is an achievement you are most proud of? When have you had to give bad news, or say no to a customer and how did you handle it? You want to be able to answer these questions clearly and concisely without rambling so before the interview think of some situations in which you have excelled and others where you have handled adversity. I’ve honestly found about four of these situations that can be tailored to any questions an interviewer has to throw at you. Remember your goal is to get a face-to-face interview so don’t show your whole hand during the phone interview.

2) Find a quiet clean space: Yesterday I posted about cleaning my desk. Seemed a bit inconsequential at the time but it was essential in taking a phone interview. I made sure that the TV was off, my music was off, nothing that could make noise or distract me was anywhere near me.

3) Have appropriate material on hand: You want to have what the interviewer has easily accessible to you. This means have a copy of your resume, along with a pen and paper for taking notes, any information regarding the job that has been sent to you open on your computer or at the very least a print-out on hand. It may sound like cheating but don’t be afraid to reference the original material sent to you when asking questions in a telephone interview.

4) Use good customs and courtesies: This can be especially tricky in this day and age. For instance my interviewer, lets call her April Smith, didn’t use a title in our e-mail interaction before the interview. It’s perfectly acceptable to set some ground rules at the beginning of the phone interview. I asked her if she wanted me to call her Mrs. Smith or April during the interview and she appreciated it. You don’t want to get too informal. Other things you can do are say “Thank You”, sound enthusiastic, use words that reflect a positive demeanor. This isn’t natural to everyone and I learned to fake it ’til you make from years of working in the service industry but it did some good.

and finally… Send an e-mail thanking him/her for their time and to let them know you look forward to the face-to-face interview. This will confirm that you have all the information and that you are prepared for the next step in the hiring process.

Hope this has been helpful.

Finding a job. Stage one: Preparation.
For this you will need: One work area you will not leave; one computer with internet connection; one printer/scanner and preferably a fax machine; one Daily Planner; one padfolio with three ring binder and legal pad; coffee, one large pot of; a healthy dose of focus; under no circumstances should you have any distractions.

Ok so that didn’t sound as cool as it does in the novel from Irvine Welsh but it is a start. Admittedly my own work area needs a bit of work so that will be the first thing I accomplish. Excuse me while I clean…

Before and after…:

Needs some work.

It’s not much but baby steps. Also, Murphy’s law has struck. For all of those sending out resumes for months on end only to get an endless stream of “you suck” letters, hang in there. In the last week alone I’ve gotten a telephone interview and a face-to-face. Neither one is my dream. job but it’s a starting point. Just when I started to re-evaluate my brute force method for finding a job it has started to yield some promise. I will be back later in the week with a primer for resume writing, and trust me it is cheaper than a career counselor so stay tuned.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128871366

A blog is also a good networking tool.  I am using it to connect with those recent graduates looking for jobs, as well as the gainfully employed who have had success in their job search.  Just so there is no confusion I have a job, as a bartender, which is definitely not where I see myself in twenty years, or six months for that matter.  Most people blog to share their common interests (food, movies, music, etc.) and certainly there will be some posts on slow job search days to express other interests however, this blog will primarily be about my job search.  I sincerely believe that through communication and shared experience this blog can help myself as well as others avoid the pitfalls of the career search or at the very least as a way for others to laugh at how badly I am failing at this whole get a job thing.

Since this is my first foray into a movie review let it be know unto all that this may be a bumpy ride.  Let me start by saying I enjoyed this movie.  Previous films I have enjoyed starring Leonardo DiCaprio being Catch Me if You Can(2002), Gangs of New York (2002) for it’s sheer violence which bolsters my hetero street cred, oddly enough The Beach (2000), Basketball Diaries (1995) and The Quick and The Dead (1995).  Although I hate to admit it there was a brief moment in Titanic where I fell in love with the idea of the Leo-sicle after all of the bad acting.

The Brilliant concept that drives this movie is that a vast majority of actions take place in someones dream.  Similar to The Matrix, where it is possible to manipulate the environment around you.  I admit when I heard the concept and saw the trailer I immediately thought of The Matrix. What makes the concept so brilliant is the fact that it is more able to suspend disbelief when the action is occuring in a dream.  For most action films I have a hard time suspending disbelief.  For instance my experience in the military has made it almost impossible for me to enjoy any film with some sort of military theme (although I enjoyed The Men Who Stare at Goats for not taking themselves too seriously) exclusively for the fact that most military bureaucracy would kill anything even remotely resembling action in a movie script.  In this film, although there were questions unanswered, which I will not address here, I was able to say O.K., we are in a dream world… Anything goes.  Despite the fact that most action happens in a dream world it was still pretty grounded,  conventional weapons, very little flying, no effects from the parts II and III of The Matrix Trilogy.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s character was fairly well-developed.  You understood why he was doing what he was doing although most was shrouded in mystery.  Ellen Paige’s character felt like an afterthought, thrown into be cute and intelligent.  Sir Michael Cain lends credibility by being in the credits but contributes very little to the actual film, even less so than his contribution to the soon to be Batman Trilogy. Surprising performances were turned in by Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Also if you look closely in the opening scenes you can make out Wiley Wiggins A.K.A. Mitch Kramer from the film Dazed and Confused as the original architect.

While whoever scored the movie is back at it again with the heavy and ominous foghorn sounds reminiscent of Batman Begins that seem to work with the action in the film.  I wouldn’t expect flight of the bumblebees to play during the fight scenes.  The way the director chose to layer the action added to the suspense of the film as well

If you enjoyed The Matrix or any other of DiCaprio (Listed above) or Christopher Nolan movies (The Dark Knight, Batman, Memento) then you should see this movie.  If not it’s still a movie worthy of checking out if for no other reason than so you can talk about it with your co-workers around the watercooler without sounding like an uninformed tool.