Interviewing Success

Hello, I’m Tisha from Enchanted 3 Boutique. I’ve been involved in my share of interviews. Both conducting them and sitting in the hot seat. Recently, in order to cut down on my driving time, allowing me more time with my kids and on the business, I decided to apply for a new job and was called to do a virtual interview. As I was preparing, it occurred to me that I should share some tips, tricks, and thoughts with all of you in case you are preparing for your own virtual interviews. 

Let’s cover the tech first. You should always double check your internet connection. Nothing is worse than trying to answer a question when you have only heard half of it. You should also test your camera, microphone, and speaker. Lighting is important as well. Do not set up in front of a window with the sun streaming in. Your interviewer will find it difficult to see you and that’s part of the reason why it’s a virtual meeting instead of over the phone. 

Now that we got the basics out of the way, let’s talk about wardrobe. I know you are probably at home and it’s so easy to just stay in your comfy cloths. There’s also the running joke about business on top and pajamas on bottom, but what if you drop your pen, or get up for some reason? Do you really want the interviewer taking a peak at your Mickey Mouse jammies? No, so you should dress how you would for an interview at the office. You may also want to think about camera angles and make sure that if you lean forward that the camera is not looking down your shirt. You definitely do not want to show your perspective new boss that lacy new bra you just bought, or god forbid your comfy grandma one! 

Once you are set up and dressed what in the heck  are you suppose to talk about? Standard questions to be prepared for are:

✨ Tell us about yourself.

✨ How do you work in a team?

✨ How do you deal with change or stress?

✨ When have you taken on a leadership role?

✨ What are your strengths? Weaknesses? 

✨ How did you deal with a difficult customer?

When you are preparing to answer questions similar to these you should be ready to give examples of your personal experiences. The more you share of your professional self the more memorable you will be. The key is to always be professional and positive, even when discussing a negative experience. If you didn’t handle a customer interaction well, be ready with what lessons you learned and how you would handle a similar situation in the future. 

It is also a great idea to have questions ready for your interviewer at the end of the interview. This is a good time to turn the tables. It allows you to get some information about the company to help determine if it is someplace where you would like to work. Some good questions could be:

✨ What do you like about working here?

✨ What is the biggest area of opportunity for  the company to improve upon?

✨ What is the most important thing I should know about the position? 

I also want to share with you my ace in the hole. When I was part of a group interview for an on-call position, the candidate asked a question that really made everyone in the room take note. He asked:

✨ What can I do to improve my chances of getting the position?

That question really made us aware that he wanted the position and was willing to hear feedback. He was later offered the job. I now use this when I am interviewing and it seems to always be a moment that grabs the interviewer’s attention and are impressed by. 

There are also the curveball questions:
I was once asked

✨ If I was a board game which would I be?

✨ If you had to pick music for the whole staff to listen to, what station would you pick?

✨ If you were a part on a car, what part would you be?

✨ What is my favorite wine?

There are no right or wrong answers, just take a minute, you can repeat the question to give yourself an extra few minutes of thought and just be your authentic self. These questions aren’t meant to throw you off your game. They are just fun questions used to get to know the real you a little bit better. So just breath and have fun with your answer. 

Lastly, the most important thing is to relax. What better way to do that than to pamper yourself before and after the interview with some whipped body butter and sugar scrub with some of our signature scents using essential oils for their calming and relaxing effects? You can also hang up one of our beautiful signs with an inspiring quote to motivate you throughout the interview. We wish you success and happy interviewing!

We also want to hear what you thought of this week’s blog. Please leave a comment below with thoughts, your own tips and tricks, or new ideas you want to hear about for future blogs. I can't wait to see your feedback.