Last week, I talked about how to prepare for a traditional job interview. This time we’re going to talk about preparing for another type of interview, one that’s becoming more and more common. Like the question about how to prepare for a job interview, this point was raised in the comments on my post, Recovering from a bad job interview.

In the comments, T.L. from Budget and the Beach mentioned that she had recently bombed a Skype interview. I’ve never had a Skype interview but I like that think that at some point I will. Whether it’s for a job or for a potential client or even talking to me about my book that I know is going to a bestseller (ha!), I would put money on the fact that one day, I will need to conduct an interview in this manner. And most likely, so will. And, just like getting ready for a traditional job interview, there are measures we need to take:

1. Check your internet connection. Make sure that it’s working fine and that there are no weather related conditions that could prevent it from going out. If you have crappy service, try to formulate a back-up plan if possible and ensure that you have a way of contacting the interviewer should your connection go down for whatever reason. I also recommend that you verify this plan with the interviewer ahead of time (and also make a plan in case the interviewer’s connection goes down).
2. Along those same lines, make sure that Skype is working properly. I have major issues with Skype. For some reason that I can’t explain, it stops working randomly and I can’t connect via video on most days. Even if I restart my computer, I only get about an hour. If you’re using Skype for an interview, do a test run with a friend or family member to make sure that Skype isn’t crashing, is starting properly, and remains connected. The worst thing that can happen is for you to be in the middle of a spectacular answer and have Skype drop out.
3. In addition to making sure that Skype is working properly, you should also test the audio and video quality. If possible, get a friend or family member to Skype with you about an hour before the interview. Check to see if you’re coming across clearly and if the sound isn’t all fuzzy and muddled. Or too loud or too soft. You don’t want to spend time preparing your responses and sounding as professional as possible only to have it hijacked by poor audio or video quality.
4. Control the noise level. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can ruin an interview more than barking dogs, screaming children, a nosy spouse or any other type of background noise. Not only will they make it difficult for you to concentrate and give your full attention to the interview, they can make it so you’re answers aren’t heard. Having an interview in an uncontrolled, noisy house can also give the impression that you’re not serious about the job. People can grant a little leeway but if it gets too loud, it’s a huge turn off. To combat this, try to schedule the interview when the kids are at school or napping. Put the dogs in another room. Tell your spouse to help. Take whatever measures possible to ensure a quiet, professional noise level.
5. Fix your appearance. As someone who works at home, I’m the first to tell you that it’s easy to work in my yoga pants and a baseball t-shirt every day. I don’t do my hair or wear make-up. My office is often a mess. But if I were being interviewed for a job, I would clean my office, adjust my appearance so that I didn’t look like I rolled from bed to my computer, and I would probably do the whole Weekend Update look (nice top, comfy pants. No one sees the pants anyway). It’s important to put some time and effort into your appearance, regardless of the method of the interview. Whether we like it or not, how we look does tell potential employers (or clients) something about us. Looking our best is an essential part of a successful interview.

Of course, in addition to this, I’d also take the other, necessary steps to get ready for the interview. And, now that I think about it, there’s probably a whole extra set of stress involved with a Skype interview.

I probably should start preparing for that now.

Am I missing anything? Readers, if you’ve participated in a Skype interview, what did you do to prepare?

Christian from Smart Military Money asked the question “how do you practice for an interview?” in the comments on my post, Recovering from a bad job interview.  I thought it was a great question and rather than just replying in the comments, I’d write an entire post about it. Because really, for those people who are still interested in traditional employment (and there are a lot of those people out there), practicing for an interview can give them a leg up during the whole process.

When I was interview, there were 5 steps I typically took (and they worked, too, because my success rate at getting jobs I interviewed for is pretty high):

• Research. I not only researched the company or agency I worked for, but I researched the duties of the position as much as possible. I would go online and read the job descriptions (note: most of my interviews were for state employment and the major functions were readily available this way). I would think very carefully about how my experience matched up with those functions and prepared canned statements with those matches in case the interviewers asked questions like “can you give us an example of the time you…”
• Made a practice run. Literally. I drove to the location a few days before the interview. That way, if I got lost, I did so ahead of time and not the day of the interview. Actually, this happened to me once. I was interviewing at an agency in Philadelphia, near the Art Museum and I got lost, I mean REALLY lost, in Fairmount Park. To this day, I still have no idea where I wound up. But I had to call the agency, almost in tears, letting them know that I was hopelessly lost. Fortunately, they were very patient and understanding (and I still got the job) but I never let that happen again.
• Dressed appropriately. Okay, so this is more a day of kind of thing but in the days leading up to the interview, I would try on various outfits (that matched the dress code of the place. My husband once showed up to an interview wearing a suit and the interviewers were in jeans. That was only slightly awkward) to see what looked best. I also determined if the clothes needed to be washed, ironed, dry cleaned, mended or if I needed something new. It’s best to figure this out in advance so you’re not wasting time the day of the interview. That day is stressful enough; no need to worry about clothes.
• Rehearsed questions. In advance of the interview, I would sit and talk to my husband or friends about potential questions that could be asked. I would write them down and then, in a mock interview with my husband (or stuffed animals or my dogs. Yep. I did that. Don’t judge me), I would practice answering those questions. It not only helped prepare my responses but I a) got some nerves out; b) figured what made me sound like an ass and what didn’t; and c) refined my answers. The questions I dreamed up didn’t always match what came during the interview but practicing the whole interview scenario definitely helped.
• Determined my 3 things. This is the best advice I ever received. I met (for free!) with a job coach to practice for an interview (since I hadn’t interviewed in 3 years) and not only did we practice my responses, demeanor and confidence, he drilled into my head this concept: Find three things that you want the panel to know about you. If nothing else happens during that interview, make sure you leave there knowing that you did your best to reinforce those three things. The “3 things” are going to be different for everyone since we all have different skills and strengths, but the concept applies.

It is crucial that you prepare yourself before walking into a job interview, whether that interview is with a potential employer, client or something else. It’s easy to lose out on business (and money) if you are not only sloppy in your appearance but come across as ill suited for the position because you didn’t take the time to practice.

Readers, how do you prepare for a job interview?

This post, written by me, was originally posted on Fiscal Phoenix. The content is reposted with permission. 

As a (former) government worker, I’ve attended my fair share of meetings (and I’ve probably attended your fair share of meetings). Where I work(ed), people love to meet. In one of my previous positions, my unit would hold meetings to talk about when we would hold meetings. It was ridiculous how much time was wasting sitting around a table, discussing nothing, getting nowhere and leaving with less information than I started with.

But more than the pointless aspect of most meetings, one thing I’ve observed is the poor behavior that runs rampant throughout those meetings. From entry level staff on up to managers and directors, there is no shortage of people who are rude and inconsiderate during meetings.

It’s important that you don’t set yourself up as one of those people. If you want to advance in your career and develop a reputation as a responsible, dependable worker, one of those surest ways to make that happen is how you behave during meetings. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Show up on time. Or even a few minutes early. Doing so shows not only that you are responsible enough to remember the meeting time but it also exhibits respect for the rest of the attendees. If you do need to show up late for an acceptable reason, don’t make a spectacle of yourself when you walk into the room. I have been at enough meetings where people have walked in late and caused such a commotion that the whole meeting had to stop. I have also been in enough meeting where the person calling the meeting keeps everyone waiting. That, to me, is the epitome of disrespectful behavior.
• Be prepared. Almost nothing makes me more upset than being in a meeting with people who are completely unprepared to talk about the agenda. It’s why agendas (for the most part) are sent out in advance. So the attendees can review and understand the subject matter of the meeting.  You look much more professional if you not only are aware of the meeting agenda but you are prepared to speak intelligently on the subject matter. And you bring the information that’s asked of you.
• Listen to the people who are speaking. Don’t whisper to your co-workers or pass notes or do anything that you would get in trouble for in a high school classroom. There’s a reason you got in trouble for it—it’s unacceptable. The people who are speaking may not particularly enjoy public speaking and those types of distractions are not only disrespectful, but they can throw a person off.  Also, before you interrupt with any questions, especially in the middle of a speaker’s sentence, wait for the person to finish.
• Watch your nonverbals. I once got into trouble from an old supervisor (who is a post in and of herself) because I was really pissy during a meeting and my body language showed it. Even though I wasn’t using words, my conduct was extremely unprofessional; that’s just as bad. While you may not know it, people are watching you (which sounds kind of creepy but it’s true). They are watching to see how attentive you are, if you’re alert and not falling asleep, if you’re engaged, your facial expressions…everything. All of these behaviors help others develop a perception of you, and it’s important that you make this perception as positive as possible.

Meetings may not be the most effective or efficient use of time but they do present an opportunity to show another side of your skills. If you can do that, then you’ve turned a waste of time into a possible stepping stone to a promotion.

This post, written by me, was originally posted on Fiscal Phoenix. The content is reposted with permission.

I recently wrote about what happens when a good job interview goes bad. It’s a terrible experience to know that you’ve blown an opportunity to get promoted or move laterally into a better position. But it’s not something that we can use as reason to never try again.

Recovering from a bad job interview takes time. Your confidence is shaken. You’re frustrated with the situation you caused. You’re angry that you let yourself screw up. You’re upset because you don’t think you’ll get another opportunity like that again. The list of negative emotions resulting from a bad job interview is infinite. But you can’t let it get to you. You need to take the situation and learn from it, and then move on.

Here are a few tips for moving on from a bad job interview:

• Allow yourself to feel all those emotions. Talk about how you’re feeling.  If you need to cry or scream, do it.  It’s healthy and perfectly acceptable. It’s hard to move on from a bad event if you don’t deal with it.
• Objectively review the interview. When we’re in the thick of our emotions, it’s difficult to think objectively about what went down. Once you’re not as emotional, sit down with your spouse or a friend or even just a pen and paper and talk about what happened. Make a list of everything you did wrong; don’t just blame the interview panel. You need to own what happened.
• Focus on what you can do to improve next time. Were you visibly nervous? Horribly unprepared to talk about your skills? Did you have a poor understanding of the company and/or position? How about your attire? Did you completely answer the question the interviewer was asking or did you skirt the question? If you find a deficiency in any of these areas, work on them for your next interview.
• Practice. This seems ridiculous but whenever I would have a job interview, I practice my answers to anticipated questions (stock questions like “how do you handle conflict” and “what are your weaknesses”).  I once had the opportunity to meet with a professional job coach (for free!) and he told me that practicing was the key to success. He also told me that you should go into any job interview with 3 things that you want to make sure you impress upon the panel. Practice these 3 things as well.
• Try again. Do not let yourself get so dejected from one bad interview that you convince yourself to never try again. You must keep applying and interviewing in order to get better (and to put the bad one even further behind you). One blown job interview is not the end of your career advancement. Trust me on that. Less than two years after my horrible interview, I was in a better job with even higher pay. Why? Because I refused to let it stop me.

I don’t know one person who’s interviewed perfectly every time. I think in order to get better, we have to mess up. We need to make those mistakes so we can improve our skills. Messing up gives us a chance to pause and reflect on our weakness, making us more viable candidates for the next position.

Readers, what lessons have you learned from bombing at a job interview? How did you recover and move on?