How to fill up an interview when applying for a job in the US

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These mistakes are inherent in candidates for work in a law firm, as well as in IT and other companies in the United States. Moreover, misses occur in candidates for the position, regardless of their origin, language or citizenship. However, the most obvious to us are the curiosities and blunders of the Russian-speaking candidates who either did not have time to study the business and cultural customs of America, or stubbornly refuse to do so.

Having lived in America for more than 20 years, I notice more and more the difference in the cultural, psychological and business characteristics of Russians and Americans. It is quite interesting to observe cultural phenomena that are accepted or permissible in Russia / Ukraine / Belarus, but which cause a smile or bewilderment in the United States (and vice versa). The lack of understanding of this difference and the typical for Russians “in a foreign monastery with its charter” negatively affect the chances of being hired and cause damage to careless employers. Therefore, I will share my subjective opinion and many years of observations on what can and can not be done when applying for work in the United States. Without claiming to be universal, I hope that these aspects will be useful to professionals who are looking for work or are hiring.

1. Stage One: How to Get an Interview

• Resume - one page. No exceptions. Some people ask - what if I have an IT professional qualifications (certificates, projects, skills, programming languages, etc.) that do not fit on one page? But even IT-shnik should not go beyond the page in the resume itself - it is better to customize one resume page for an IT employer. To stick everything and everyone in the 5-page summary is to bury the main thing in unnecessary details. All the same, because the employer is not “clinging” to a sheet of records, but only a few moments in a resume, and your task is to get to the interview and slip through this first barrier. And now further - “if you need a complete list of my skills, then here’s an additional page of my qualifications and experience.”

• Resume - format word or pdf. You can not write a resume directly in the text of the email, only as an application. Possible, of course, a link to cloud, but even dropbox already bust, which causes the employer to strain.

• None zip and rar-summary (dial-up no one else has). Photo (very modest) - may be on the summary, but not necessarily.

• Do you even know that F7 is a spell check button? So did you mean “responsible for expansion of network or expulsion of network?

• Smaller “art” and ruffles in the design of a resume - severity is paramount.

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• Only the official structure of the resume (read any benefits to this effect or take good examples), but I personally like the structure: skills (skills), education (education), experience (experience / employment) - the last 2 are in reverse chronological order.

• Transmittal letter (cover letter) - desirable, but not necessarily a separate file. This is possible even in the text of the email. If this is a file, I will also save it as a daddy (now you have 2 times as many lottery chances to be opened in my documents). Or at least a short email with a personal appeal, if you know the addressee. Letters with “Dear employers... ”(in the plural!) Are not considered at all, as well as the appeal to undisclosed recipients from the princes. Do not know who to write - Dear Sir / Madam enough.

• How can you call your resume resume.doc or my_resume.doc? Do you want to store this file on ___ computer or on the computer of a potential employer? Or do you want me to sit and manually rename it? When I do another file copy to a folder, and at the same time this file also has the name resume.docwhat happens to your file? That's right, it gets under copy and replace and magically disappears. Yes, and how I exactly _vas_ will find in the folder with dozens of faceless nameless files summarizes? Pupkin_July 2014_resume - acceptable name.

• Both resumes and interviews should show your professional interests. Everything and everything - jack of all trades (jack of all trades) - no one is interested. There is a risk of “not getting into” the desired vacancy, but it is less than the risk of the impression that there is no focus in life and profession.

• Nowhere and no emoticons. I swear - someone managed to insert a smiley in the name of the resume file! It is clear that a smiley makes your file different from resume.docbut does not increase your chances, but rather the opposite.

• Resume - high school (high school) information is not needed, it does not interest anyone, you are already in adult life.

• Clean your Facebook and note that almost all employers check your social networks, and you don’t need to give everyone access or publish your photos where you are very drunk or in a very erotic way. Well, only if you are not looking for work in these specialties.

2. Stage Two: Before the Interview

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• You can not be late (Moscow excuse "traffic jams in Washington" does not work).

• If you are late (earthquake, accident, wheel has struck) - call (called heads up call) to the office and warn. The girl who was an hour late (but at the same time she called and apologized a lot, gave a clear explanation) was in our rating several orders of magnitude higher than the girl who was late for 10 minutes, who answered the question with a hint “Did you get lost?” Answered: “Yes No, I parked the car. ” Even the word “sorry” was missing. No chances.

• There are, of course, curious cases with delays - one of the candidates confused the day. So she personally came to “apologize” even without a prior call. Pretty bold and original. I considered that the “puncture” was properly corrected. Plus - since no one is immune from mistakes, the person showed that he can take responsibility for them and act in the future in the right way.

• You can not come earlier. You can go for 2-5 minutes, but in no case, not earlier! Arrived earlier, find the office, find out where to go, but do not enter in any way ahead of time - walk around the building, sleep, “smoke.” But to enter 15 before the minutes is considered extremely indecent, and you put the person who interviews you in very uncomfortable position. I'm not even sure that I was more annoyed - being late or coming early. A person comes to 15 minutes earlier, at this time I interview another person, I have meetings, every minute is registered, and then someone comes earlier and sits above his soul. If you need a job - hold the door until the appointed time.

• You came to hire not in the brothel. Perhaps extravagant clothes and pleases the eye of interviewing workers and future colleagues, but for the manager, this immediately suggests that such a person will bring confusion into the work environment. Taste and measure.

• You came not to load wagons and not to the laundry. Office clothes (one step more formal than the "form" of the employer).

• In the USA it is very hot in summer. But deodorant is applied to the body, it does not take a shower. If the smell comes from you that your employer has watery eyes, it distracts from the essence of the conversation.

• Nails, hairstyle, clean shoes - everything should speak about a professional approach to business.

• Russian guys - white socks in America are worn only in the gym.

• Gentlemen - only a suit for an interview (well, if you are not at all sure of the opposite). At least a shirt / pants or decent business clothes. It is clear that in kitsch companies there may be a different culture, but the simplification of clothes is easier to transfer than the transition to a more formal plane.

• If you work as a waiter - no problem, hard times, this is not a negative factor, it can even be the other way around - the person is ready to gnaw the ground, self-sufficient and will hold on to good work with the prospect. But if you came to the interview in the same clothes in which you work as a waiter - believe me, you should wear these clothes for a long time - do not take them down.

• You are our dear Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian girls, we know that you are all very beautiful, and that you are well watching yourself. Slightly reduce the heat and battle coloring at the interview, if you are still going to work at work.

3. Stage Three: the actual interview

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• Without familiarity. Mr. and Ms. No “you”, only “you”.

• You can’t - “What does your company do?” When you come to the interview, you should already know everything about us that is written on our website and on the Internet. If you don’t know, it means you’re not interested in us. Well, accordingly, it’s the other way around.

• Listen carefully to questions. One of the candidates answered “yes” to the question of whether this is a workplace for her temporary. The other is that this job is for her rather not a chance for a career, but only a staging post (stepping stone). Girls, why did you come?

• If you are asked, are you a person? windows or mac (iphone / android), you don’t have to answer that “yes makos are only for the rich and stupid” - especially if the employer is Macairand in his hands iPhone (real example of an interview with my client who hired programmers). This is not sincerity, it is idiocy and lack of manners.

• Listen and do not interrupt. Never.

• Joke in moderation.

• “Do you make decisions in the company democratically?” Let me immediately answer for all employers: no, decisions in business are a complete dictatorship (in which sometimes discussion is allowed at the stage of developing a decision, but not its adoption or execution).

• It is important to show yourself from the good side for everyone and show your ability to get acclimatized in the team - the boss decides, but the team has a great influence, and misses the interviews and incorrect behavior towards future colleagues is wrong, as they can “kill” you right there.

• You must ask questions about the company and future work. But not those questions that are answered on the website of the company. Clear and direct questions about the career, the people, the average duration of work (in years it means), the employee’s areas of responsibility, other financial and non-financial aspects of employee remuneration (Benefits), training, specific responsibilities - everything is acceptable.

• In the US, there are questions that employers are not allowed to ask. For example, age, nationality, religion, political beliefs, past drug use (while the current one is ok, moreover, you can make a drug test in a company a condition of employment).

So you can avoid these topics and do not provoke / do not substitute the employer. If you want to share something from this - “I have a child, and I will have to leave early,” then keep in mind that this is your prerogative, and you must take the lead.

• You must show sincere interest in what you will do at work, so you should start with what you expect from me, what are my areas of responsibility? (what is expected of me? и what would be my responsibilities?). The advantages are also your clear answers, indicating that it is you who can best cope with these responsibilities (with examples from the past, this is generally beautiful).

• You must show that you are organized and quickly learnable. One of the key points. There is an expression for athletes - trained / trained (coachable). For me personally, one of the key factors. I'm ready to teach, but I'm not ready to repeat the same thing 10 times. Well, the expectation of the employer - your growth and development and that you __ similar tasks will do, without the need to chew everything.

• Americans have such an expression - “when they tell you to jump, you can ask 'how high?'”. For some reason, Russians perceive it as “being a fool”, whereas for Americans this expression means discipline, zeal and diligence (maybe even excessive) - but this is in the blood of Americans as workers. First, show that you are, above all, a good soldier now, and that only then you can grow to a good commander. So when you are asked to “jump,” you can ask “how high”, but never “why?”. Again, a good employer will explain to you why, but more often you will have to either understand yourself or simply be an executive until you become a boss.

• You must show that you are always interested in career growth. Even if he seems to be not very interested in you. Growth - it means a more valuable person in the company to perform the task, no one is interested in plankton.

• Do not press hard and do not emphasize questions about salary - an interview, especially the first, is not the right time for this. In any case, with the current level of unemployment and the army of valuable personnel.

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• It is possible to touch upon abstract topics, but in moderation and less politics is a dangerous rut, and you can fit in the wrong arc. The employer is also a person with his own views and beliefs, and there is no need to turn against him.

• ... “I study in the evenings, and sometimes I have to ask you to ask for leave early for exams or lessons, what kind of a policy is there in this regard?” - Ok, even excellent, a person learns and grows. Compare with the boorish ultimatum - “I study, so I will not be on Wednesdays”.

• Do not be too loud and ... arrogant - I do not want you to control me or my office.

• ... but you can’t be too quiet - it’s hard for me to entrust serious work to a person who goes out too fast and gives up under stress. Moreover, in relations with the outside world it is often necessary to still be sometimes tough.

• In no case do not make your problems the problems of the employer - far from work, no car, children, kindergarten - this all burdens the employer and turns the decision on employment to charity. And this is not where you want to start a career in the company. All these problems may exist - but your attitude should be such that it is your problem, and you will solve them, not the employer (he will help, but it should be his desire, not a duty). The attitude of the employer and his help in solving your questions will come by themselves if you are a valuable employee. So do not behave like Sharikov:
"I can not stay without food, where am I going to grub?".

• “No, I do not have a work permit, but I’m ready to work illegally.” And this was said when applying for a job in a law firm - my employees would be less surprised if the candidate offered cocaine to them.

• ... the correct answer to the question above (also from real life, I practically quote) - “No, I do not have a work permit, but I’m ready to go with you for free practice (internship), I will try very hard, and if you find me decent (and I’m sure it will be so), I will be very grateful if you support my application for a work visa, which I myself am ready to pay. ” If it were not for another worthy candidate, then I would take this person to the position of assistant lawyer.

• No need to promise that you are ready to work here forever, but you should at least show that you are set up for the long term (in America it is at least 2-3 of the year). The answer - “yes, I would have at least something temporary” is deadly for your chances. We know that you are cunning, saying that we are ready to work here forever. But it is not necessary to show that you are ready to “dump” at the first convenient opportunity.

• No need to say that you are ready for everything - the employer does not like people who are “ready for everything”, and that you are in a desperate situation (that means you don’t really know anything), this is already a game of charity, not hiring .

• Catch a balance between “I will do anything” and “I will do only that” and show your interest in a particular area, plus flexible options.

• Concerning salary requirements (salary requirements) - this is when an employee sets his minimum salary requirements; there is no single “scientific” opinion. My personal opinion is that the very announcement of these requirements harms the candidate. If you put in too little, you will lose in salary; if you put too much, then the employer will think that you are simply in the clouds in relation to the market, that you do not need a job. When I receive a dozen resumes for the position of acceptable lawyers and paralegal (legal assistant) - your demands, arrogance or self-sacrifice have no (positive) meaning for my decision.

• “You will pay me $ 50K per year!”. Seriously? And this despite the fact that man _nothing_ except defile can not do ... And how much are you willing to pay me for training and the beginning of your career? Even say I expect to be paid _ $$ any number_ - unacceptable. Approach the issue of salary more than diplomatically - better wait for the offer. If you are selected, then most likely payment issues are not priority.

• Questions about work hours, project managers, project management, insurance, leave (do not forget that there is no compulsory leave in the United States, so all that the employer gives is actually his voluntary activities, and in the US it is customary to give 2-3 weeks of leave) .

• No requirements to the employer, especially in the first interview. Well, this rule is valid only in one case - if you need a job.

4. Stage Four: Post-Interview

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• A letter of thanks for the interview (Thank you letter) - ALWAYS send within 24 hours (preferably on the same day). If you did not do it, you should not come to the interview. We occasionally make concessions - but the lack of a letter tells us that a person will need to be trained in professional etiquette. Minus.

• If you don’t hear from the employer for a long time, you can remind yourself of the so-called follow up - the letter can be sent 2-3 weeks later or before the date of the expected hiring decision (expected hiring date) you should find out at the interview. Follow the tone of the letter and in no case be pushy (in Russian - this is "insolent", but in fact the usual Russian behavior will already be considered impudent in America). We must remind ourselves very carefully. Key phrases - I was wondering if you made your decision - very diplomatic, any pressing means that you will be a headache for the employer.

• If you are taken as an intern / intern with a prospect for a future job, then show other employees vacancy announcements with the words - “oh so you come here” puts you in the position of tumbleweed with all colleagues and almost guarantees that except for internship nothing shines here.

• ... but it is also necessary to show that the employer is one and only, and that you really want to work with us. That is precisely at will, not under duress.

• Phrases like I expect your response this week from the candidate - this is a funeral march for your chances. You can not write to the employer. Learn cultural English.

Word expect has a completely different meaning (I expect you to do your job or She is expecting a baby). True, in Kiev hung announcement at the airport Hall of Expectations, and I only later realized that this is not a room for pregnant women, but a waiting room.

• ... if you are not bluffing and you really have a job or other attractive and unique features, such as pressure on the employer (leverage), it is quite acceptable that something like - It’s not a problem..

Conclusion

It is almost impossible to get information in advance and in writing that would allow an employer to hire you for a job. Summary - this is what in America is called get your foot in the door, and the 90% solution is based on the interview. And the factors mentioned above help me, as a future employer, to weed out the “headache” and answer the following questions:

1. Can a person do the assigned work?
2. is man governed?
3. is man loyal

There are shades of answers to these questions for each employer. But candidates for the workplace need to tune in precisely to these 3 columns that keep you in the workplace, and no other questions the employer, after all, are interested. The above examples and recommendations, even if you do not accept the deductive method as a basis for assessing your personality, are aimed at your employer not excluding you from the list before he reaches the answers to these essential questions.

Please note that the principles and suggestions described above apply to virtually any kind of employment, from a company manager to a programmer or secretary. For some reason, the Russians do not like and cannot “sell” themselves and consider any diplomatic behavior ... shameful “licking” and “insincerity”. But do not forget that in an interview (and in work) the employer is your client. And your ability to “sell” yourself as an employee to such a “client” (not to be confused with lies and misrepresentation) sets your upper limit to the ability to sell a company and its services and goods to customers of this company. Raise this bar higher. In the eyes of the employer - if you can not present yourself, you can never present the company in which you are going to work in the best light.

Dmitry Dubograev femida.us

Article printed permission Author.

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