Just Relax: Questions That Make Interviews More Conversational

I think I’m one of the few people who enjoys interviews. This doesn’t mean I’m immune to the anxiety that comes along with them, but I look at interviews as conversations with people who are doing what I hope to be doing down the road. Shifting the framework about interviews not only helps ease the tension, but it will also helped me to learn more about the company and the industry.

From my experience (and I’ve had a lot of it in the past year), the key to changing attitudes about interviews is to be prepared. We’ve all heard it before: research the company and prepare questions. The latter has been invaluable – no matter what type of interview I had.

Having questions prepared is critical – and not to make you look better in the eyes of the interviewer, but to help you understand the company and the position better. Think of things you need to know about the company before agreeing to work there, and don’t be shy about asking the person interviewing you.

I have a list of questions I always pull from that match what is most important to me in a work environment:

• How is the company organized? How often do entry level employees interact with executive leadership?
• What’s the company’s vision for the future?
• How can my position help the company achieve its goals?
• Does your company have a mentorship program? Is it formal or informal?
• How does your company’s evaluation process work?
• Do you have professional development programs? What types?
• What is the typical career path for an entry level employee?
• How did you get to where you are now?
• How would you describe the culture here?
• How do you think your competition views you?
• What’s the ratio for teamwork versus individual work?

Most interviewers will cover key topics, but if they don’t, you should never leave an interview without asking the following:

• How many employees does the company have?
• What are the responsibilities of the position?
• Who does a person in this position report to?
• What are the next steps in this process?
• May I have your business card?

Not only do these help me understand the company and position more, but it also allows me to get to know the interviewer – who is most likely in a position that I’d like to be in one day. It always comes back to networking, people!

Whether an interview is for an internship, a job, a scholarship, or a promotion, the important thing to remember is that it should be a conversation that provides both parties with more information and a better understanding of who they might be hiring or where they could be working. Just think of it as another way to meet more people, and you should be able to breathe a little bit easier before your next interview.

I think I forgot why I started blogging in the first place. Did you?

 

Warning: This post does not have subheads, bullets, or lists. Just good old fashioned prose will fill your RSS feed today, so if you don’t have the time to read full paragraphs, I suggest you save this for later (or cheat the system and mark it as read, if you’d like). While I hope you stick around, I won’t be offended if you leave. We’re a fast-paced culture, and I don’t know about you, but I need a breather. Join me, if you can.

Last night, I had the fantastic opportunity to hang out at the Capital City Brewing Company with some of the brightest bloggers from Gen Y. As many of you know, I am part of the growing BrazenCareerist blogging community – a group blog written by Gen Y professionals – and the guys behind BC, Ryan Healy and Ryan Paugh, hosted a meet up for those in the D.C. area. Besides being a great time, the event also rekindled my passion for writing… which was the whole reason I started blogging back in November.

While sipping a beer and mingling with my new friends, Ryan H. made a joke about how all he seems to blog these days are “5 ways to do this” or “7 ways to do that.” I laughed, and nodded in agreement – my post from yesterday was exactly that.

“But, that’s all people seem to read,” Ryan said.

It’s true. According to my WordPress stats, my most popular posts are my “how to” guides. If a post doesn’t have subheads or lists, I can almost guarantee my readership will be below normal. I stood there thinking about that, when I realized something: I’m not getting paid to blog - I’m doing this for me to help hone my writing skills, to do something I love doing, and to interact with others who might have similar interests.

But the blogging community can be harsh. When I graduated from college and made the move to D.C. to start my first job, I stopped blogging with any sort of regularity. It was a very stressful time for me and blogging was one of the last things on my mind. I knew I was losing readers and fewer people were linking to me or stopping by for a chat in my comments sections. It came to a point where I dreaded looking at my site stats almost as much as my depleting bank account. Both result in unnecessary bouts of high blood pressure.

Slowly, I started blogging again but nothing changed. Visits to my site stayed static, even on days I posted I’d only see a slight jump. Defeated, I’d hang my head over my battered keyboard. Not even a year old, and my blog had already lost its momentum.

I would ask questions on twitter and no one would @reply me. I wrote what I thought were interested or helpful posts, and even asked questions at the end, with little to no response from my once engaging and insightful readers. I started feeling… invisible.

Talk about depressing.

I thought I had blown my chance and that my blog was fading from the tiny radar it was on a couple of months ago. Then, as I talked to the talented bloggers from BC last night, I realized how whiny and narcissistic I was being. I don’t mind if 500 readers turns into 200, and 200 turns into 10 – those are still 10 people I’m connecting to through my writing, something that would be much more difficult to accomplish without social media and blogging. Just look at all the great people I met last night, people I would never know if it hadn’t been for PR Interactive and BC.

Agency Tour Provides PRSSA Students with Motivation, Insight

This might be hard to believe, but before yesterday, I had never been inside a PR agency. Now that I have, I don’t know why I waited so long. The experience informed, enlightened, and motivated me, and I encourage every student to participate in an agency tour either individually or as part of a group.

As an executive board member for USF’s PRSSA chapter, I collaborated with the rest of the e-board as we planned our first agency tour in over two years. Our Vice President, Carissa Caricato, suggested touring Roberts Communications, a leading integrated communications firm located in the historic Ybor district in Tampa. Roberts is renowned for reaching out to PR students at USF, and immediately agreed to host our members for a tour of its offices.

When I arrived at Roberts with our president Theresa Sharkey, I didn’t know what to expect. As soon as I stepped into the office, I relaxed. The physical layout of Roberts is conducive to creativity and productivity—large open spaces, calming yet colorful walls, and trendy art décor. I’m beginning to appreciate the various cultures of different agencies, and this is why touring an agency is important in the job search process. Experiencing the professional environment can help you formulate an opinion about the type of work the company produces, and will give you a better idea about your level of compatibility with the firm.

After the tour, we participated in a dynamic question-and-answer session with four Roberts employees: President and CEO Colleen Chappell, Principal Christine O’Connor, and recent USF graduates Katy Parsons and Meggan Mabry.

Each person offered their own perspectives based on their statuses in the company, and they provided some outstanding advice for young PR professionals:

• Constantly Raise Your Hand – President Colleen Chappell encouraged us all to take every opportunity we could to advance ourselves professionally and to learn about the industry. She said she got where she was today because of her curiosity and tenacity, and that’s what she looks for in future new hires. She said she never cowered from a job because she didn’t meet the qualifications—instead she proved her determination and commitment to educating herself, which helped her land prominent roles throughout her career. So don’t be afraid to raise your hand to ask questions and accept new challenges.
• Send Thank You Notes and Build a Portfolio – Principal Christine O’Connor echoed Colleen’s advice about being courageous, driven, and committed. She also said that Roberts will not interview anyone without a portfolio, nor will she hire anyone who does not send a handwritten thank-you note after an interview. This is practical advice means students need to start collecting work for portfolios ASAP. Christine said that the work could come from internships, extracurricular activities, and even classes. And whatever you do, go stock up on stationery for those thank-you notes!
• Go for your Dreams – Both Colleen and Christine told students to go for their dreams, especially while they are still young. Colleen explained how when she graduated she only wanted to work in Miami or New York, and there was no stopping her. She said the experience she gained while working in another market helped her immensely, but she also got the “Miami bug” out of her system and was able to happily relocate back to Tampa. This motivated me to keep looking for jobs in the D.C. market, which is where I want to live after graduation in May, and I hope it does the same for other students looking to work in markets outside of where they go to school.
• Reach out to Professors and Professionals for Assistance – Meggan and Katy stressed developing mentor relationships with professors and area professionals. They said this can help when creating your résumé and portfolio, finding jobs, networking, or preparing for interviews.
• Set up Informational Interviews - Christine said that students should set up several informational interviews with various firms or companies, and should not actively seek employment, but use these opportunities to learn more about the organization and the industry. Even though that particular company might not have an opening, if you impress the interviewer, he or she might pass your information along to a friend who does have availabilities.

After the discussion, we all went to lunch at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. Several other Roberts employees joined us, and while it was a great networking opportunity, it was fun to have casual conversation with people who are doing exactly what I want to be doing in the future.

PRSSA is planning another agency tour at Spark Brand sometime in April. We’ll keep you all updated. For those readers not in the Tampa area, I hope you will suggest this to your own PRSSA/IABC/FPRA chapters or plan one for yourself!

Warning: Don’t Forget About Face-to-Face Networking!

I’ll be the first to admit it—I’ve caught the social media bug and I’ve been networking extensively with PR practitioners via online media. But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the importance of meeting people in the “real” world, too. This past Tuesday I attended an Under 40 Networking Event with my friend Tory, and the night turned out to be quite eventful. Here’s a little play-by-play littered with commentary:

Tory, a fellow PR student at USF, flooded my MySpace comment wall with demands that I accompany her to a networking cocktail hour. At first, the idea intimidated me even though I couldn’t determine an exact reason why. Hesitantly, I agreed to go. I mean, what college student would turn down a $5 event with drinks, food, and local professionals?

After our Design class ended on Tuesday afternoon, Tory and I rushed back to my place to make ourselves look more presentable and professional. We chatted about our expectations for the night, and I felt pangs of anxiety start welling in my stomach. I had attended events like this before through PRSSA, but usually with a much larger group of peers, where as Tory and I would probably be the youngest professionals at this particular outing. Luckily, Tory is a very confident and well-spoken student and I prayed some of her poise would rub off on me.

Before the event, we met up with one of Tory’s friends—a successful, well-connected realtor in the Tampa Bay area. Although I’d never met him before, conversation flowed easily and though we weren’t talking about the communications industry, it was insightful to hear from someone close to my age who was making a name for himself in his field.

This is why these events are so important. While it’s great to connect with those in communications, it’s still imperative to meet those outside of your industry to learn about the business world in general and to practice your conversational skills with those in other fields.

When we arrived, we searched for parking in the most narrow and alarming parking garage (almost positive I saw sparks fly from the car behind us as it scraped up against the spiraling ramp). Then, we took an ear-popping elevator ride to the 47^th floor of one of the most intricately designed buildings I’ve seen in downtown Tampa. The interior design resembled photographs I’ve seen of the Titanic, and I joked with Tory about taking strategically posed prom pictures on the elegant staircase. Too bad neither one of us had a camera… those could have been some highly entertaining shots.

Tory’s friend was supposed to be the gateway to all things networking once we got inside, but he quickly disappeared into a crowd of USF alumni, who had turned out in full force at this event. Left to fend for ourselves, Tory and I decided to mingle with a few USF employees. As I slipped into easy conversations with perfect strangers, I realized this wasn’t so bad—in fact, it was really easy and was great practice for formal and informational interviews. I learned to pick up on conversational clues that helped me generate questions that the person would want to answer, and would do so in detail. This is common sense, but something I was never consciously aware of before this.

Our quest for gourmet food that is essentially the holy grail for all college students led us on a tour of the room, and helped us navigate our way into various conversations. Unfortunately, no matter where we were in the room, it seemed as though the food always managed to run out right before it reached us. This was, in my opinion, a form of brutal torture.

Once we realized that our mission to find food had failed, Tory and I lingered around the bar area where we met three young professionals who work for a small investment and equity firm. One of them is the Director of Marketing at the company, and was very interested in our public relations career goals. Usually, I shun anything having to do with numbers and finance, but hearing him speak about his work really intrigued me. Had I not gone to this networking event, I would have never considered financial and investor relations something that interests me.

I would go into more detail about the rest of the night, but I don’t want to brag. I will tell you that Tory and I ended up participating in a wine tasting for Bonny Doon, a premiere vineyard in California. We also ate a 7-course, 5-star meal that included ingredients I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I ate—such as ostrich tenderloin and apple and endive salad. All for FREE. Ha. This from the girl who’s been living off of PB&J for the last two weeks.

All I have to say is that networking face-to-face has its perks, and I hope more students take advantage of networking events in their area to interact with those already in their careers. Good luck and happy networking!