A FEW THOUGHTS FROM MY EXPERIENCE WITH INTERVIEWS - YOUTH AND OTHERS

I teach a two day class on this so here goes a few tips. Most people don't realize the importance of looking the part.  This is particularly true of youth.  Years ago I used the book Dress for Success to help with this point.  I am not sure the book has been updated, but the tests were interesting and prove how important what you where works or defeats you.  Also there was a book written by the same author John Malloy called Live for Success.  In the book Malloy hired 20 actors and tested for their knowledge of jobs.  Whatever they failed in he created a phony resume for that particular job and gave each an hour to study the topic.  He then sent them out to interviews.   Results were that 18 of the 20 got hired.  They interviewed the people who did the hiring, Malloy asked what they were thinking.  All said the people were very confident, friendly and knew how to carry on a good conversation.   Competence alone will not get you through the interview.  People skills are real important.  Malloy also discovered that not looking disparate helped, none of the actors had any pressure to get the job. 

Since I was getting so much resistance about judging people from youth.  I use two things that are successful.   One I showed pictures of people and asked the youth to tell me what they knew about them, just from the pictures.  They would get right into it.  Their education, how much money they made, and what kind of job they had etc.  Then I would present about 12 cans of soup some dented etc and they only chose the ones that they want, they never picked the dented ones.  So much for not judging. I always talk about what winners ware and the types of hairstyles that make people look like a winner. 

There is always a problem with kids in poverty, helping them get dress clothes to wear to the interview.  I have found two places that seem reasonable and they are Goodwill Stores and Churches seem to be a good source of clothes.

You might want to check out the following newsletters on interviews.  Let me know what your experience has been in this area.

Taking Control Of The Interview

Things To Do To Help Clients Become More Employable

Responses

One thing that comes to mind for me:  sometimes when I’m talking about interviewing with my participants of any age (or job seekers using the public Employment Network Center ) they express anger/frustration/victimization about “having” to do their resume a certain way or “having” to dress a certain way for an interview or a job.  One of the things that I point out is that one doesn’t have to do anything a certain way, but how one chooses to present themselves will impact how other people perceive them, and how one is perceived is going to impact other peoples’ reaction to them.  Another thing that I believe is that ideally we could all have jobs where we are accepted and embraced for being totally true to our inner selves, not having to compromise how we dress, talk, act.  The reality, however, is that most of us have to make certain compromises to our appearance and behavior to get/keep the jobs we want.  At some point one makes a decision whether personal style is more or less important than a particular job.  Even in our relatively small town, we have employers who are more tolerant about facial piercing and vibrant hair colors and other forms of personal self-expression which often makes them more open to hiring teens who have a stronger need than many adults to have an outlet for that self-expression.  Lastly, something else that I’ve shared with job seekers is that if I needed a new job tomorrow, I would be anyone the employer wanted me to be in order to get a job that would keep me from moving into a refrigerator box on the street, BUT I’d keep looking for a job where I did feel I didn’t have to compromise myself too much.  Aloha!  Bridget from Napa

I advice youths to put together a professional outlook. In this day and age, everyone is filling out an application, so I tell youths to make an impression and to get noticed, you must go one step higher and do things differently. Not only should they have a neat and effective cover letter/resume, go the extra mile and make sure the resume ends up in the
right hands. Shake that persons hands firmly and in initiate an on the spot interview by telling them about your intentions. Also tell them about some of the skills you have and allow that person to see your intercity and your hungriness to work. A firm hand shake is a must and when it is all done,  ask for a business card to follow up a week or two later. Youth Coordinator, Louis McDonald.

One of the most successful things I taught my son when he was in his teenage years and interviewing for jobs was to always look the person in the eye that you are talking to. Teenagers have a hard time with that one for some reason. You have to be able to communicate well. It worked for him and he was always hired on the first interview. By the way - that son of mine is now serving in the 101st Airborne and in Iraq .

Cathy M of MI

What I do for all clients is make them realize that "it is not their perspective that counts...but the interviewers....they are looking for something...help them find it...in you......"employer expectations" 1.dress...neatness, attire, breath, cleanliness, smell, finger nails, shoes, no smoking(stink) for non-smokers.....relaxed awareness is a phrase i used with athletes when i coached...this applies to the interview situation....give them what they want through preparation...preparation reduces anxiety.....2.difficult interview questions....rehearsal, mental prep......3.eye contact.. Handshake...body language....4.paper work....application resume...cover letter...reference sheet mini resume...thank you note.....5.follow-up...call back and thank you note.....in my class...the emphasis is on preparation...creating an excellent first impression...active listening...answering questions...using examples....closing...follow up....the samurai code expect nothing..be ready for anything is a good phrase to incorporate.....hope this helps a little..... Len oh

As far as your topic is concerned, I had an interesting experience recently.  I volunteered to do a workshop for LA Conservation Corps.  It was to be sort of "all you need to know about job searching in four hours" kind of overview.  So I planned to hit each of the topics from planning your job search to resumes, interviews, and personal presentation.  As I got into the session things went along pretty well until I came to the personal presentation portion.  Since my workshops are pretty interactive and I tend to ask a lot of questions, I opened it up to the group by asking them to tell me what kind of clothes they'd plan to wear to an interview.  (They were interviewing for jobs doing hazardous waste removal.)  Well, they sure had strong opinions about this subject!  And those opinions went from one end of the spectrum to the other.  Since this was such a heated subject for them I decided to start changing their minds by helping them to understand what it was they would want to convey to a prospective employer.  Which lead, surprisingly, to a discussion of body language....

This is where I was in for a huge surprise.  I learned that all but one of the young men in the room were ex-felons and several were military.  And they had tremendous concerns about their image.  Nearly all had been told they were too aggressive.  Some thought this was good, and some thought it held them back when they went for jobs.  And just about all were choosing what to wear based on this image - whether they were attemping to down play it or capitalize on it. We spent the next hour concentrating on body language and it was a revelation.  All these individuals who I thought wouldn't care about the subtleties of what their posture conveyed were completely engrossed in hand-shaking, eye contact, personal distance, and what to do with their hands while sitting in an interview. 

By the time we finished this, what to wear fell into place easily. They completely "got" it. It was quiet an experience - a very lively and enriching one at that.

--Cindra—

ALOHA!
We are proud of the aloha spirit and glad to see it had such a positive
impact on you. I am reminded of doing job clubs with patients from the
state hospital back in the 60's when we were trying to move them out of the
hospital and back into the community into jobs and community living. What
seemed to work best for appearance was using video tape and playing it back
so they could see themselves. One woman always wore wild hats until she saw
how she looked on video and then she was so shocked at how she looked, she
stopped and her whole style changed. It was an important message to others,
too.

The YWCA in Honolulu has a program called Dress for Success for
disenfranchised women preparing to return to work to help them have the
right clothes and look. I've started a program in two women's groups I
attend called "Buy One, Give One" to help supply the inventory at Dress for
Success.If I buy something new, something still good but no longer what I
want to wear goes out to the YWCA. Goodwill is a good place for they often
get new clothes from retailers when seasons or styles change that are
perfectly acceptable for looking good for a job interview. After all the
person is going into a new setting where everything about them is new.
Having a supply of current women's and men's magazines for review would
also help. I'd designate part of the group as employers and part as
applicants and let them provide the feedback. Teens can talk to teens and
be honest. Have fun with it. I'll be anxious to read how it goes later.
Watch out for hurricanes. I'm flying away to Iowa and Arizona tomorrow
night so will catch up when I return. Joy Patterson  HI

I find that the best way to conduct oneself in an interview is to answer every question with, "I'm too drunk to remember."

--Damien

I teach entrepreneurship to at risk youth in high schools, after school programs and intensive summer camps.  Awakening the entrepreneurial spirit can be a dynamic force in our communities and schools.  I have worked for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Sacramento County Workforce Development Department.  Until recently I was a Job Developer for PRIDE Industries where I developed curriculum for an E* Camp and E* Club, now I will serve in an innovative program Foster Youth Job Development for PRIDE Industries, Department of Human Assistance and the Placer County Office of Education.

I have attached my synopsis to share.  I have not attached the forms used in the course or my motivational presentation (this is proprietary information), this is just an outline that has evolved out of necessity. I look forward to any feedback and insights. Mike

Dressing properly tends to be an issue with this population, because they copy what they see in magazines and on TV. An employment agency that we work with has cut pictures out of magazines and put "yes" and "no" next to the pictures, with reasons why you should or should not dress that way for an interview.--Krystal from AK

Dress for success works.........   for kids, adults and seniors.

And the old adage of "how rich you look" makes a difference.\

More importantly, I have practiced the principles and tested them over and over.  I have gone shopping on a Saturday in my grubby levis and sloppy t-shirt.  On another Sat I have gone shopping in smart looking rich clothes.  Without exception, I am treated differently, based on how I am dressed.

When I travel, I wear a $700 suit with white shirt and tie.   It makes a difference of how I am treated at the airport, but the shuttle drivers to the hotel and how I am treated as I check in.    It is not uncommon to get free upgrades on cars and hotels rooms when I look rich.   However, when I travel with Levi shorts and casual clothes the free upgrades have not been offered.

I don't know if I told you this story,   but a few years ago I had put on enough weight that my 16 1/2' shirts and 34" trousers were just too tight.  I had pressure on the buttons of my shirts and could not button the collar.    So,,,, one day I went out and bought 17 1/2' shirts and some 36" trousers and got rid of my old clothes.  I immediately had people complimenting me on the weight I had lost.  Even my Dr that I see once a year, when he walked into the exam room, took one look at me and complimented me on the weight I had lost.

I started calling this my "celebrity diet".   One day as I was skiing with a good friend from Houston TX that is very wealthy, I told him about my "celebrity diet" during one of our rides up the chair lift.  He said........ hey...... you are the perfect size for a bunch of my suits that  I need to get rid of.   Would you like them..   I said I would love them and that I usually shopped at the thrift stores for second hand clothes anyway..  So the next time he came skiing he brought me 7 suits plus a dozen white shirts, all fresh from the cleaners.     I don't know how expensive the suits are, but I don't recognize any of the labels... and my friends tell me they are $1,000 suits....   ..... Gene