Tuesday, November 17, 2009

My First Telephone Interview

Because I didn't know they existed at the time, I completed my first telephone interview without first having consulted any of countless resources on interview etiquette and procedures. At the time, I felt perfectly confident, having once worked in an office environment. (I worked for a small office supply company in high school) Wasn't that enough? Apparently not, because I completely bombed that first telephone interview with Simon and Schuster's HR department. When the interviewer asked me, "Why do you want to work for Simon and Schuster?" which is a very common interview question, I didn't know what to say. Um, because you're a huge publishing house in New York and I know it will look good on my resume? I didn't say that, of course. I wasn't that naive. I think I told her it was because Stephen King was one of my favorite authors, which isn't the worst answer and not really the best either. I'm sure S&S doesn't appreciate being summed up by the name of only one of their authors. Now that I've completed and internship in this industry, I have a firmer handle on what this interviewer was trying to ask. They like it when you know about the industry and the company to which you're applying. Peruse the Internet for news reports and recent acquirements (books taken on).
The only experience on my resume at that time was my college literary magazine work. I expected her to ask questions about what kind of work I had done on the magazine, so I had my answers rehearsed and at the ready. But she threw me for a loop when she asked, "What would the advisor of the literary magazine have to say about you?" Um. I told her he would say he couldn't have done it without me, which is true since I created that magazine, but this answer sounds way overconfident. Instead, I should have discussed specific qualities that were necessary in order to complete the work involved with the literary magazine. This would show the interviewer that I've put thought into that question, instead of providing a sweeping overgeneralization that sounds awfully contrived. A great resource for interview techniques and sample questions is "Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?" by Ellen Gordon Reeves, who is the resume expert at the Columbia Publishing Course.

After months had passed and I heard whether I had nailed the opportunity or not, I sent a thank you note to the HR (human resources) representative who'd interviewed me. She got back to me right away to tell me they still had a position, and would I like to come in for my second interview? Since I had read up on interviews and how to behave during one, I felt totally confident in the second interview, which was in person, and I did get the internship!

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