Interviewing

How to Thank Your References

by Kat on 11/08/2011 · 82 comments

in Business Etiquette, Career, Interviewing, Networking, Transitions

Steve's 80's Party, originally uploaded to Flickr by Bob. B. Brown.Reader C has a great question about thank yous to your references…

I’m anxiously awaiting a few job offers–and am wondering if a $100 gift card to a delicious local restaurant is an appropriate thank you for each of my references? (The potential offers are for healthcare-related opportunities–hospital positions and consulting gigs.) What have you done in the past?

I first misread this question as how to thank your interviewers. (No gift cards to interviewers!) I think this is a cute idea, but one that could be tweaked to make it even better:

Instead of gift cards, take your references to lunch. Ask their career advice, what they think your strong suits are heading into any new job (and, just for your ears, what they think your weaknesses might be!). Ask them how they got to where they are, what they might have done differently given the clarity of hindsight. And then… stay in touch with them. Tell them how you’re doing, ask them to lunch once a year or so and see how they’re doing.

This is how you turn a work colleague into a mentor, at least in my experience. But if you’re far away, a gift card is a nice idea. (Although, truth be told, I don’t think I’ve ever thanked my references with any specific “gift”!)  (Pictured above: Steve’s 80′s Party, originally uploaded to Flickr by Bob. B. Brown.)

Readers, how do you thank the people who serve as your references on your resume?

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Tales from the Wallet: Negotiating a Great Salary

by Kat on 06/17/2010 · 84 comments

in Career, Interviewing, Money, Tales from the Wallet

Fossil - Weekender Checkbook Clutch (Bright Orange) - Bags and LuggageReader A, a CPAA with 12 years of experience, writes with some great questions…

How does one negotiate a good compensation package? I have only ever worked for local firms. The salary data online seems to reflect “big 4″ or equivalent pay scales. I have talked to a few headhunters and they all seem to think I should be making more than I am. What do I do when a prospective employer asks point blank what I am making now? I don’t want to lowball myself.

This is a particularly apt question in light of this post on the Bucks blog, calling attention to another blog posting wherein the author admitted to “bumping” her current salary up $5,000 when her interviewer asked what she was paid, and then asking for another $5,000 when they offered her the job with a “matched” salary.  Long story short:  it’s illegal to lie about your salary in job interviews! So… don’t try that tactic.

Pictured:  Fossil – Weekender Checkbook Clutch (Bright Orange), available at Zappos for $48 in orange, black, camel, espresso, green, and fun florals. Love the colorful insides and all the pockets.

Our recommendation would be twofold.  First, let’s say that you’re at Company X.  if you can get TWO job offers from Company Y and Company Z, you can sometimes play them against each other — we would probably avoid naming names, at least unless pressed, and see if company Y will increase your salary to match what company Z is offering.  Don’t leave Company X out of the mix, either, unless you’re looking for a new job because you hate your old one — rather than quitting outright, talk to the Powers that Be at Company X and say, “Company Y has offered me $__ to jump ship!”  And see if Company X will match it… and then go forward from there.

A second recommendation would be to really look at what your lower-salary job is actually giving you.  Do you get four weeks vacation?  How are your health insurance benefits?  Are there other perks, like discounts to a local gym, or on-site daycare?  We would factor that into the discussion, once the interviewer raises the issue.  For example: “I currently make $__ in dollars, but there are a number of perks that I’ve enjoyed for years and that you don’t offer.  To be honest, I would probably put a pricetag of $5K on those perks.”  Be totally honest — and KNOW what perks the interviewer does and does not offer.  In fact, this discussion might be a good time to assess those intangible perks.

This great article from CBS MoneyWatch also suggests classics like asking for a signing bonus, a performance bonus, stock options, or asking for more perks.

Readers, what are your best tips for salary negotiation?  Any great victory stories to share?

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How Not to Gain Weight Over the Summer Recruiting Season

by Kat on 05/20/2010 · 92 comments

in Career, Fashion, Food, Interviewing, Lifestyle, Networking

Business lunchSummer is nearly upon us!  As law school, business school, and college  interns flood the workforce, calendars fill with networking lunches, team building meetings, and “get to know your coworkers” cocktail parties –  all with lots of food (and alcohol).  Reader A is particularly worried about the summer associate life in BigLaw:

I’m about to start a job as a summer associate at a Big Law firm. I’ve been told to expect daily lunches out, and been warned about the corresponding weight gain that usually happens. I’m particularly sensitive about not wanting to be the High Maintenance Associate–if I’m daily asking for “dressing on the side,” will I come off as obnoxious? Any tips for navigating the summer? Thanks.

This is a great question, because the summer can be a really difficult time for both those being recruited and those doing the recruiting.  We’ve talked about business lunch etiquette before, and we’ve also talked about trying to diet while working a corporate gig — but now let’s talk maintenance.  (Pictured:  Business lunch, originally uploaded to Flickr by Frederic della Faille.) Some tips:

- Follow an 80/20 rule. There are a lot of opportunities to overindulge during the summer, both at work-related events and non-work related events.  Do your best to follow a sensible, healthy diet about 80% of the time — and only aim for the steak frites / gourmet fried chicken / etc. entree about 20% of the time.  If you’re a heavy drinker, realize that most of your 20% choices will be in the alcohol field — there are a lot of liquid calories there.

- Seafood is your friend. Ounce per ounce, fish and shrimp have much lower calories than things like steak or red meat (leaner meats like chicken and turkey fall in the middle).  So long as you’re not ordering something fried, the seafood section of the menu should always be where you head first.  (Caveat:  salmon is on the fattier side — but it is filled with so many healthy Omega 3 oils and other benefits that we frequently eat it as a “splurge.”)  Watch out for rich sauces with butter or cream — and don’t be shy about ordering it on the side.  (We don’t think anyone will give you trouble for ordering things on the side — if you’re really sensitive,  perhaps try to make no more than 2 modification requests when you give your order.)

- Salads aren’t always the best bet for your meal. The dressing can be a problem, as noted by our reader, but other additions like croutons, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and cheese can make salads extremely high calorie.  We recommend ordering the plainest salad option as your appetizer — most restaurants serve mixed greens — and it really should not be a problem to ask the waiter to put your dressing on the side.  (Here’s one of our favorite tips — ask for lemon juice on the side, and spritz it over the plain salad.  It’s good by itself, or — if you are having a bit of the dressing, it really makes the dressing “pop.”)

- At catered parties, try to be aware of how many hors d’oeuvres you’re eating. We’ve heard different rules for this — some people have a 3/1 rule, whereby they have to eat 3 healthy things for every 1 unhealthy thing they eat.  This author’s personal goal is to try to focus on the healthy foods (veggies, sushi, etc.) and only splurge on 3 really yummy hors d’oeuvres.

- Avoid drinks mixed with sugary liquids like tonic, juice, and liquors like triple sec. Instead of a vodka screwdriver, get a vodka soda.  (Soda has no calories.)  Or, better yet, stick with wine or beer.  It is in your best interest to avoid getting drunk at a work event, for more reasons than we can count.

- Finally:  Pay attention if your clothes are getting tighter. We like to use our jeans as a sign for when it’s time to cut back, but a particular belt, pair of pants, a sheath dress, or even a button-front shirt can be a gauge.  The trick is to wear them frequently enough (or at least try them on) that you notice.  (And, dear readers, bad news:  if your sheets still fit on the bed, the dryer is not shrinking your clothes.)

Those are our top tips — readers, what are yours?

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Should Your Interviewer Get a Thank-You Note or eThanks?

by C on 03/09/2010 · 121 comments

in Business Etiquette, Career, Fashion, Interviewing, Networking

Should you thank an interviewer with an email? We’ve wondered about this for a while as well, so reader J’s question strikes us as particularly interesting…

After an interview, everyone knows that it is good manners to send a perfunctory “Thank You” note. However, is it still recommended that the “Thank You” note be a hand-written note sent through snail mail or is it equally appropriate to send a “Thank You” after an interview via email? I am old-fashioned and still send a hand-written note on nice Crane & Co. stationary, however, an email “thank you” would certainly get there faster. I am not sure what is considered appropriate these days!? Any thoughts??

First, we would say that the thank-you note should be far from perfunctory — it reinforces what you spoke about in the interview, why you’re qualified for the job, and allows you to clarify anything that you worry came across poorly.  (Pictured:  Orange notecards, 25 thermographed notecards for $152 at Fine Stationery.)

That said, we’re sort of torn on how to send your interviewer their thank-you note. For us, it mostly comes down to a question of time (we are masters of the 7th-day thank you, which is just about the longest you can wait to send one). For the most part, then, we have done e-mail thank yous at least since 2003 or so. We have made exceptions for that, however. For example — a few years ago this author had a coffee catch-up with a man who has been a guiding force in my career since before grad school, the uncle of a friendly colleague, who happened to be working in my dream job. He and I have only met a few times over the past decade — I doubt he would recognize me on the street, even! — but his advice has not steered me wrong. We met for coffee, and again he gave invaluable advice, and I decided to send him a personal, hand-written thank-you note. As I was writing it out, it suddenly felt weird — my handwriting looked so messy on the page. My personalized stationery, normally reserved for Grandma and aunts, suddenly felt too “too.” It all felt maybe a little too… emotional. Girly. Not professional. Still, I struggled past these concerns and sent him the thank-note by mail.

Cut to 2 years later and I was trying to find our last correspondence to meet with him, and was alarmed to find no thank-you note in my e-mail files. Had I not sent one? It was only a very visual memory of dropping the note in a mailbox that jarred my memory. He never mentioned the note, so I have no idea what he thought about it (if anything). Still, that was the experience with the note. So our $.02 is to send the thank-you note by e-mail: gets there quicker, you know it was received, and you have a record for your files of what you sent.

But readers, what has your experience been? Let’s take a poll… and please comment below.

poll by twiigs.com

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How to Put Your Best Self Forward During a Skype Interview or Conference Call

by C on 02/25/2010 · 30 comments

in Business Etiquette, Commuting, Fashion, Interviewing, Networking

Our first thought when we got this request was, “garsh, these times we live in!” followed by, “of course, we will all be doing these very soon”…

Help! I am a 1L interviewing for summer associate position and the firm has decided to do a skype interview. I am terrified I will look washed out/ too made up/ etc on camera. Any tips for hair/makeup? Also, my career service office recommended wearing a nice blouse, but I feel a suit would be more appropriate.

Wow. Ok. We’ve only used Skype a few times (on our Mac laptop, primarily) to talk to a bestie who lives in London.  From our limited experiences with Skype, we would have to say:  it does not seem to be the most flattering. You don’t know where to look, because you want to see the screen and see what they’re doing, but you should be looking at the camera, and nothing is eye level, and it’s all very weird.  (Pictured:  nick skype, originally uploaded to Flickr by nedrichards.)

Some tips:

1) Download the program NOW, if you haven’t before.  Start playing around with it.  You may even want to see if there’s a way to record yourself talking on Skype (or talking on the other end of Skype) so you can practice — really practice — where to look and how to do it.  Make sure your sound is good, make sure your Internet connection is good. Our guess is that your computer should be nearly eye level in order to do this.

2)  Make sure everything about the call is professional. What’s your username?  If possible get something resembling your e-mail address (even if it has a random number after it) — there are no points for creativity.  Next, look around the room where you’ll be interviewing.  If there’s a blank wall behind you, fine.  If it’s your giant poster of Robert Patterson, you might want to find another locale.  Given our choice, we’d go with a bookcase behind us, but really, just make sure there’s nothing that could be misunderstood as reflecting poorly on your personality or character.  We’d also make sure that if you have any roommates (or a significant other, or kids, or even pets) that you barricade yourself inside a room, perhaps with a sign on the door about how you’re in the midst of a telephone interview and appreciate silence.  (Turn off the ringer on your landline, if you have one, and the ringer on your cellphone, if you use one.)

2) We’d wear a full suit. It will get you in the “interviewing” mindset, and will help you feel more professional during the interview.  In this About.com article on video interviewing, the Tech Expert for Skype recommends avoiding patterns unless you’re sure how they’ll look (dots look worse than stripes) and staying away from bright colors (sky blue looks great, but red/hot pink don’t look so hot). You could just do the top half of the suit (we’re sure we remember some comedic anchor joking about only wearing boxers during the newscast) but this could work against you — you might have to walk across the room to get something.  Play it safe; it’s an interview.

3) For makeup, we would advise paying attention to undereye circles, flyaways, acne, and so forth. We’re a bit surprised to see the advice from the Skype expert, suggesting women wear “high-definition foundation (creating soft-focus effect in any kind of lighting), blu ray high-definition matifier (refines lines, minimizes pores for a polished look) and blu ray high-definition lip gloss (for a high shine, plumping effect)” — perhaps this is the world to come?  As luck would have it, Sephora has a lot of those things on sale right now from the CARGO line of products — for example, this bronzer is $15 from $30 (CARGO blu_ray™ Bronzer Medium Matte).  Not on sale, but also fits the bill: this HD foundation from MakeUp Forever (the primer, MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microperfecting Primer 0 Neutral, is $32, and the foundation, MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Foundation 115 Ivory, is $40). The concealer from the same line is $28 (MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Concealer 315 Ivory).

4) Finally, focus on your posture. Because you’re in your own house you may feel more at home — don’t; this is still an interview.  You might also want to be wary of awkward pauses in the interview, when you might be tempted to fidget, look bored, or allow yourself to be distracted (as you might during a pause in a telephone conversation). You’re still on camera; act as if you’re sitting in that person’s office.

Readers, please weigh in (particularly if you’ve interviewed someone via Skype!)…

(L-4)

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Polls on hose, and thoughts on other interview accessories

by C on 01/28/2010 · 129 comments

in Fashion, Fashion Gaffes, Interviewing, Lifestyle, Networking, Pantyhose, Polls, Tights

Today’s reader mail comes with a ton more of questions about interviewing…

I’m a 3L and have an interview next week with a panel of district court judges for a judicial clerkship. I have a few questions with regards to my upcoming interview:

1.) I (and the interview) are in the Midwest, so it’s cold and snowy outside. I am planning on wearing a black skirt suit and am wondering if it’s appropriate to wear black tights with my suit? Or would pantyhose (off-black) be more professional?

2.) What do I do about a coat? Is it ok to wear a wool coat over my suit? I’m not sure if there will be anywhere to hang it or leave it once I get to the courthouse. Or should I just leave it in the car and just suck it up during the walk to the courthouse from my car?

3.) What about a purse? All I’m planning on bringing with me are copies of my resume, writing sample, etc. so I don’t necessarily need a large bag, but I don’t know if it’s unprofessional to bring my purse and carry the paperwork in a leather portfolio.

Good luck on the interview!  We’ll go through all of your questions…

First, on tights — this keeps coming up, and so we’re going to run some polls today.  Our default answer, previously, was that off-black pantyhose should be worn with a dark skirt suit.  However, readers in the past have disagreed with us, saying nude/sheer is more appropriate (check out their suggestions for the best brands in the comments here). We’ve also heard of folks who hate tights with a suit (which we also disagree with — tights, to us, are fine for any day when you’re NOT interviewing or something similar).   So, without further ado:

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

In terms of the wool coat — it always pains us to see women wearing ski jackets or other short jackets over a suit. Maybe we’re old school, but a nice wool or cashmere overcoat — long enough to cover your thighs — will never go out of fashion. And of course you can wear it on top of your suit. For your interview, we would absolutely recommend wearing a coat — your common sense and judgment is a valid subject on the table, and if it’s cold out, common sense dictates you should wear a coat. You’re probably going to have to take the coat off to get through security, though, so we would just carry it, folded neatly, from that point forward. (Furthermore, there’s no real excuse for not having a proper wool coat right now, as tons of places have them on deep discount. Pictured above: Larry Levine Wool Coat with Camel Hair, part of the crazy sale that’s going on at Smart Bargains for today only. Was $279, now marked to $119, with an additional 40% off at checkout — comes to $71.)

Finally, as for the purse/portfolio issue — we’ve seen women do it both ways, and have never thought less of someone we interviewed because she carried a portfolio. (That’s what most of the guys do, isn’t it?) Personally we’re fans of carrying a nylon or leather tote bag, though, to hold both the portfolio or folder as well as the contents of our purse. We would suggest, however, that whatever you carry should be as professional and grown-up as possible — so leave the backpack with reflectors on it at home.

Readers, what say you?

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