So what do employers want?

Ok... so I will step in from the perspective of the Employer. I have owned a growing company for 11 years now. We are constantly hiring. However, our payscale is low but our schedules are flexible (we have professional actors, performers, archeologists, etc on staff who need time off to pursue their "other" job).

Here is what I look for in an interviewee:

1) Self confidence WITHOUT cockiness. Show me you know what you know... but be honest about what you don't know... and explain a willingness to learn.

2) Team Player: If I see and interviewee walk past one of our staff who is obviously struggling with some boxes and they don't offer to lend a hand, I know I have someone who is too internally focused.

3) Ask Questions! Asking about the philosophy of the company, the history and the challenges we have faced shows that you care about our culture. We want someone who will fit in... but not be a clone.

4) Respond to calls and emails IMMEDIATELY. Nothing burns a bridge faster than not returning a call to tell us you have decided to go with another job offer. It's either a sign of self importance or cowardice. Neither of which belong in our company.

5) Ask about the dress code ahead of time. That way you don't show up in jeans for a suit environment. But also, don't assume "casual" means jeans with holes in them.

6) Send a thank you email. Snail Mail letter is not rated better by us... but we're geeks. However, a nice letter that has a personal touch to it (quoting some points from the interview) is a good idea.

7) Be nice to the front desk. Sometimes the receptionist has more say than you think.

8) Listen carefully to the job description and frame your answers specifically to the job. Don't go into great detail about your really cool hobbies unless you are SURE they are important to the job. We get a TON of hobbiests who miss the boat on this one.

9) Go out on a limb. Ask for a tour if one is not offered. Ask to see where your job would cause the most impact. Watch the operations and ask questions about them. Seek understanding. Don't stop asking until you really feel like you understand. TAKE NOTES! This shows you are paying attention.

10) DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If your interviewer leaves you with an assignment - to get a certain reference or visit a department to talk to someone on your own - follow up IMMEDIATELY with the results. Do NOT wait... even a couple of days shows you are "too busy" with your life and this job doesn't mean much.

And lastly, if you decline a job offer, do so with grace and style. We had an HR Director candidate turn us down after the final interview... but she offered AND FOLLOWED THROUGH on training our staff on some important compliance issues to hold us over until we hired a new director. She did this FREE of charge. You can bet your bottom dollar that if this woman ever comes looking for a job from us and we have an opening, she will be hired on the spot.

Hope this helps.

For what its worth, it isn't easy on our end, either. We have to find someone who fits our culture, who communicates well, who adores working with kids, who is RELIABLE and who doesn't mind a bare bones compensation package in exchange for what will likely be the most fun job they have ever had. Even those who have moved on to other higher paying jobs do so reluctantly. It's hard to leave a job you love for one you might not... but pays more money.

Great advice here. I'm a Director of HR and I could probably go on for hours about what you should and should not do. Obviously the first thing I'm going to look at is your work history. I will want to know why you have been unemployed for 2 years. With this economy it is more common now for someone to be off that long, but I will still want to know why. Also, why did you leave your last employer, are you eligible for rehire, can I contact for a reference? Never bash your last employer, even if you left on bad terms, don't tell me how much of a jerk your last boss was. The comment about treating the employees with respect is HUGE. I've had many candidates blow their chance because they treated my admin like crap, or they called and thought the person who answered the phones wasn't anyone of importance when it was actually a manager. You should follow up, I actually prefer email because I'm on the road most days. Don't come across too pushy, if I tell a candidate that if you have not heard from someone in a week then contact me. I do mean a week, not 2 days. You wouldn't think some of these things really matter but they are behaviors we observe, can you follow directions, etc? Come prepared to the interview, bring your resume, know what the job is, research my company. When I ask why you want to work for my company I want a good answer, not "I need a job". If I give you an application to fill out, FILL IT OUT. I hate when someone puts "see resume" on the job application. Coming too early is a pet peeve of mine, usually 10 minutes is good enough. I've had people come in 30 minutes to an hour early, I'm not ready for you but now I feel like I'm rushed because you are waiting for me. Also, come alone. Do not bring your mom, spouse or child to the interview. I had someone come to an interview with their 2 small children. While I was interviewing him the kids kept wanting to talk to him. It's disrespectful to me and you are not focused in the interview.

Finally, my biggest pet peeve of them all. When responding to emails make sure you respond professionaly. Use complete sentences and sign your name. Also, address me. Dear ME... Many times i have candidates respond to me with just a short sentence like "I can meet u on friday" Yes...they used "u", not "you". If I ever see that, I delete your email and your are no longer a candidate. I usually see this with the 20 something candidates, they email me as if they are texting me.

I hope this helps a little. Stay positive and keep looking!!!!

Here is a link that I have saved on my computer for a couple years. There are some great tips in here

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/MSN/Category.aspx?categoryid=IV

Some people had GREAT advice, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but in my line of work, I interview for scholarships and also interview for open job positions at our Institute, so I have some experience on that side of the fence.

Here are a few "red flags" that I don't think anyone mentioned yet.

Your email address. It needs to be professional, your name, nothing crazy or fancy, no long strings of numbers. I've seen things like "postmodernpanda," "questionqueen," "zenonsworld," "whattheheck," and other things like that. Now, I do interview mostly younger people, and for a while, we were told never to use our names, but times have changed, and if I get your resume with an email like this across my desk, I'm going to raise my eyebrows at you. This won't necessarily cross you off my list, but you are definitely going to have to work harder to impress me and show me your professionalism and maturity. I've told some of these people that they really need to work on this.

If your resume shows a lack of commitment, I am definitely not hiring you. I had many candidates who had multiple master's degrees and they were working on another. I'm sorry, but at a certain point, that's just ridiculous. You need to commit to something and start working in the field or go for your doctorate's. Multiple MA's makes you really look uncommitted, unreliable, and directionless.

Similarly, if you left a good job to go back to school (typically for an advanced degree) when you very easily could have kept it and gone to school at the same time (as many, many people do), I'm not hiring you. Especially in today's economy, leaving a job and just expecting that things will work out for the best and wanting to take the easy way by getting a job that isn't full time or isn't as time consuming just makes you look silly.

In both of those cases, even if your resume is stellar and you have a great education and great job experience, I don't like what I see. I don't want to hire someone who is unreliable or wants to take the easy way. I want to hire someone who I know will commit to this job, focus on it, and give it their all.

Other things: I second the temp agency idea. My husband did that and got hired on full time because of it. Also, at one point, he wasn't offered a job solely on the basis that he was making twice as much at his previous job and they didn't think he would be happy working for so much less. So that might have happened to you too.

Friendly and respectful communication is key. After a first round of interviews, I told a bunch of people (that never even got an interview) that they didn't get the job. Only ONE person responded and said thank you for the opportunity- even though we had never been in touch before. So when the person I offered the job to turned us down, you can bet that he was the first person I called in for an interview! On the same vein, being pushy is bad. I had a very strong candidate call and email me two days after the interview when I made it clear that it was going to be at least a few weeks. He was pushy and arrogant, and when I had to tell him no, he got very defensive and then never contacted me again. All that did was demonstrate to me that I really had made the right decision. In fact, his persistence is what pushed me to say no outright. I would have continued to consider him if he hadn't done that, but after that, I just crossed him off the list.

Listen to the questions that your interviewer is asking. I had numerous people answer questions incorrectly just because they weren't listening. One question that I asked was "when doing research, what do you avoid?" ... I was looking for "wikipedia." I only got that answer twice out of almost twenty interviews. They went off on how they research and how they find good sources... not the question!! Another big one was when I asked "what are your most cherished values?" I got answers like "family, friends, etc." when obviously the question was talking about your VALUES, not what you VALUE. Big difference. And another tip- for a question like that, good answers are things like "honestly" and "loyalty." An answer like "tact" is definitely not a good answer.

Best of luck to you!