Enthusiasm at the Interview

Penelope Trunk’s blog today talks about interviewing for a job, and how sending a thank-you note afterward is too late to show enthusiasm for the position. It’s a pretty good post, overall, but she made one statement that really struck a chord with me: “…most hiring managers are subconsciously screening for enthusiasm. Because people want coworkers who are excited about their job. Ironically, though, most people who are interviewing for a job go into that interview unsure if they want the position, and they tell themselves they’ll make a decision based on the interview.”

If hiring managers want me to be enthusiastic about the job at the interview, then they should tell me as much as possible about the job before they bring me in for an interview.

Ads that say things like “experienced secretary needed for busy office” or, worse, “Girl Friday needed” don’t tell me anything. (Okay, well, the second one does. It tells me I don’t want to work for you because you are either stuck in the 1930s or you are a male chauvinist pig. And yes, I have seen at least three ads in the last five years that stated only “Girl Friday needed” and a phone number.) Tell me how many people the position supports, what the five most crucial responsibilities are, and what sort of office you have.

Ads that say things like “Secretary needed for five realtors in a fast-paced, professional office. Responsible for client relations, website maintenance, marketing packages, and event planning” are much better because they tell me a WHOLE LOT about the place and the job.

• “Professional office” means I won’t be wearing jeans, shorts, or sandals to work, and there may or may not be a Casual Friday. I probably also won’t be dealing with front or back cleavage, armpits, or bare knees.
• “Five realtors” tells me that “fast-paced” is going to be an understatement. And that the job is going to be high on the multi-tasking and competing priorities scale. It also tells me that knowledge of the real estate market is going to be a plus.
• “Client Relations” tells me I’m going to be working with customers, including both happy people and mad people, and probably answering phones, monitoring e-mail, and typing correspondence.
• “Website maintenance” tells me that I’d better have some clue how to work a computer and perhaps some experience with DreamWeaver or another web design program. A plus for you would be a list of sites I’ve designed or maintained, or printouts of some web pages I’ve done.
• “Marketing” means working on advertisements and flyers, so I’d better have a basic knowledge of design and some understanding of at least one desktop-publishing application. A portfolio of my previous design projects will be a plus, as I can show you what I can do at the interview.
• “Event planning” means working with vendors, negotiating contracts, and managing a budget. And probably working with audio-visual equipment, including laptops and projectors and microphones. It means making sure that “chef’s choice of dessert” does not mean the caterers are going to serve partially thawed cheesecake with Hershey’s syrup on top at $7 a person. And having the ability to cope gracefully, quickly, decisively, and efficiently when the keynote speaker shows up drunk. Or late. Or not at all.

So I already know a lot about this job before I even send my resume. And if I KNOW that one or the other of these responsibilities is beyond my abilities or something I hate, I’m not going to apply. Which saves both of us time and money.

Admittedly, a five-line ad costs a little more than a two-liner, but it will save you from wasting time interviewing candidates who are not interested in or qualified for the things that you need them to do.

And why not just go on and tell us what the salary range is? “Salary commensurate with experience” is USELESS. Everyone pays their employees based on their skills and experience. No surprise there. I HATE interviewing for what sounds like a $50K position only to find that it pays $28K. Wasted my time AND yours.

Telling me about the job and not playing coy about the general salary range means that I will KNOW I want this job when I come to see you for the first interview. It makes the interview worthwhile for both of us. And then when I follow up with my thank-you note, you will remember my shining eyes and eager expression, and you will know you have a viable candidate on your hands.

Tags: job interview, want ads, Work Life