posted
I have a job interview tomorrow for a part-time bank teller position (25 hours a week.) The weekday hours are great and give me nights off for school and weekends off to see my boyfriend in the city. The pay will likely be decent (other banks in the area offer atleast $10/hour for teller positions) and I'll have good benefits for when I move out of my parents' house in a few months. I worked at a movie theatre doing ticket transactions, answering phones and running the customer service desk, so I consider myself well-qualified.
But I'm really nervous! Aside from being offered a retail job on the street last summer without references, I haven't had a job interview in six years.
I've already laid out something nice to wear, I know the location of the bank and how long it takes to get there, and while they have an electronic copy of my application, resume, and references, I'm also bringing paper copies just in case. I know the value of a firm, but not dominating handshake.
I'm sure most Hatrackers have been on this side of the desk and probably more than a few have been on the other side as well. What other tips/tricks/advice may help my interview go well tomorrow? What personal touches helped you land a job? What do those doing the hiring look for in an interview candidate?
I'm worried about my past job experience since I didn't work while in college, just during the summer and holidays, and I didn't work the last few due to some surgeries. Is there a way to play up my skills and learning speed to cover-up my lacking experience?
I'm a Liberal Arts major graduating in December and that degree always causes people to look twice and ask me what my career plans are. I told the bank recruiter I wanted business experience and work in customer relations for when I go into publishing (sales department). I think that sounds good enough. Since I'm not a business/math major, what can I do to distinguish myself.
In what little interview experience I've had, I'm usually offered a job at the end and then we discuss salary and benefits. Is this usual? Or should I expect them to call with their decision? Should I not discuss salary until the offer is made?
I've heard its important to have questions when they say "do you have any questions?" What kind of questions should I think about asking?
posted
Let them bring up money first. Don't be surprised if they say they'll call. Odds are they'll have plenty of applications and need to honor any interview appointments they've already made, even if they do think they might hire you. Playing up the publishing bit is good, as "liberal arts" tends to come across as "can't handle math." Remember that you're there to solve their problem, not yours. Emphasize what you can to do help them. Avoid any reference to future plans that would require you to leave the company within, say, a year. They won't want to put time and money into someone they know is leaving in a few months. Avoid nervous jokes, if possible. If you can't manage confident small talk, let the interviewee do most of the talking. You don't want any hint of desperation to show, or that this interview is the only thing you have planned for the day.
Make hand gestures in the upper half of your body. Studies show that this makes you come off as more intelligent.
Mirror body language: About 30 seconds or so after they switch body positions, mirror their change. Studies show that this increases like-ability ratings.
Come off as confident.
Avoid negative language. Phrase things in positive ways if possible.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Just be friendly and *try* to be relaxed. Most interviewers are very nice people and if they work in the office they are as likely to pick you for how well they think you'll 'fit in' as they are for your skills, provided you are minimally competent.
For that salary range there may be a fixed starting salary. Once they've offered a job, or if they bring up salary in the interview, it probably won't hurt to try some gentle negotiation, but I wouldn't expect them to budge. I also wouldn't expect to be offered the job on the spot. Expect them to promise a call.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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posted
The bigger the outfit, the more signatures have to be on the paperwork. I would not expect a bank to make an offer on the spot. And like Matt said, they probably have a starting wage, rather than a starting range. So the offer is likely to be The Offer. If you have a chance, try to find out a little about the bank before you go in. That makes you look intrested in them.
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Be interested, engaged, confident, and friendly. Smile. Tell the truth. In other words: Don't try to tell them what you think they might want to hear. Just relax and tell the truth.
Things not to say in response to questions: "I don't know." "That's a good question."
When I interview job applicants, there are a lot of things I'm looking for, but here's one that doesn't get mentioned often enough: Does the applicant want a job, or does the applicant want this job? I want to hire the person who has considered a range of possible options, and decided that this job is the one they want.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
When I interviewed for my current job (almost 10 years now), I was so burned out from interviewing that I had a real don't-give-a-crap attitude. By that I mean that I was tired of trying to appear more intelligent, more dedicated and more positive than the next guy, and not even getting a call back.
One interview was so bad the guy asked me questions from a sheet of paper and circled words as I gave my responses. He smiled and nodded affirmations, and had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. Apparently the applicant that said the most words from the list got the job.
So when it came time for the interview for my current job, I said what the heck, might as well make it memorable. So I made a big Tiramisu and brought it to the interview with nice (?) paper plates, napkins and utensils, then served it to the people I was interviewing with along with little cards with ingredient statements and my name (It's a food related business). I explained that I wasn't trying to bribe them, I just wanted them to remember me. It worked. I still make everyone (even the people with special diets or otherwise virtually impossible to please) a birthday cake and cookies at Christmas. Yeah, it's a lot of work, but nobody wants me to quit.
It doesn't have to be food. Just do something so they'll remember you out of the crowd of clean cut, well-dressed cookie cutter applicants.
Posts: 173 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
I've only done three interviews (and I had practically secured the jobs for two of them beforehand), but my best advice is to approach the interview like you would a normal conversation rather than a question and answer session. You want to come off as relaxed and confident. Make eye contact. Smile a lot (but only if it's real--fake smiles are terrible). If you have nervous habits, do whatever you can to stop them. (I tend to play with necklaces, so I stopped wearing them. I used to gesture a bit too much, so I carried a pen in one hand.) I would also start by asking if any of the interviewers need a copy of your resume; it shows that you're prepared.
Posts: 866 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Shanna - I just saw this - your interview may be over by the time you read my reply.
I work for a bank.
Emphasize customer service (they don't worry as much about skills with computer/teller experience, as they are going to train you on all that) -- what they really want is someone who is GOOD with people. Someone who smiles a lot, makes people (customers) feel good, and who can get along with fellow employees as a team without much "drama". Remember, teller lines are often pretty enclosed places for three or four people to work together very closely, so it takes some getting used to (depending on the branch and layout).
I know that if someone says they are "shy" they are usually pretty much disqualified right there - they want someone who will take initiative with the customer, not be shy about offering additional services the bank has to offer (yes, tellers take sales training); and someone who can handle a stress situation well with a irate customer or a bank robber. You might mention an experience from your past in which you handled a stressful situation well.
Hope this helps.
(oh - and don't expect a reply right away. They have to do background checks and a myriad of other things -- I didn't hear DEFINATE on my bank job until about four weeks after my interview!)
posted
I both interview people and am having an interview myself today. My best advice is to listen if they give you a little spiel at the beginning of the interview telling you the interview format and if there's a specific way they need you to answer questions. We have a very specific format we're supposed to look for in our answers, and if someone answers the questions without covering the things I tell them at the beginning of the interview they need to cover, I have to stop them and remind them of what I need and ask them to start over.
I will do this at least once a question and twice on the first question if necessary, because it's not how people naturally answer questions, and I make allowances for that. However, if I have to stop someone 2+ times a question or 5+ times total it gives me some serious doubts on their ability to follow directions, which is not something I want in an employee. So if they tell you something at the beginning, pay attention!
Breathe deep, and good luck!
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posted
Thanks for the advice everyone! I just got back my interview and I think it went well. After discussing my interests in the company and my past jobs, they told me about the responsibilities of the job and the incentive programs, then talked about things like uniforms and training. They said there will be more interviews and my recruiter will call to set those up.
So it sounded like they liked me. I listened, used my head, smiled, nodded, laughed at their stories. They liked my career plans for publishing and sales and were impressed by the fact that I'm currently writing my thesis away from school which they said must mean I'm "self-motivated." woot!
Only slight problem is that they like to keep people on for atleast a year and I'd really like to move into the city after the New Year (pursue some publishing internships and start living on my own). But they did say that if a teller has a good record and something comes up, then they may consider allowances in transferring.
So all and all, it went well. Thanks to everyone for their wise words. Just reading them helped me feel more prepared and confident.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Only slight problem is that they like to keep people on for at least a year
Yeah - that makes sense - it takes a lot of training to get tellers thoroughly versed in bank software apps and products and services, etc. -- they want a decent return on their training investment. But if you're good and they have branches in the city where you hope to move, I'll bet they will do the transfer for you.
posted
Eljay, can you elaborate on that/ give an example (can be a made-up one, I'm just curious about what it all involves, since I never experienced such interview structure)?
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by ElJay: I both interview people and am having an interview myself today. My best advice is to listen if they give you a little spiel at the beginning of the interview telling you the interview format and if there's a specific way they need you to answer questions. We have a very specific format we're supposed to look for in our answers, and if someone answers the questions without covering the things I tell them at the beginning of the interview they need to cover, I have to stop them and remind them of what I need and ask them to start over.
I will do this at least once a question and twice on the first question if necessary, because it's not how people naturally answer questions, and I make allowances for that. However, if I have to stop someone 2+ times a question or 5+ times total it gives me some serious doubts on their ability to follow directions, which is not something I want in an employee. So if they tell you something at the beginning, pay attention!
That sounds... bizarre. I'd think failure to follow such a rigid structure during the uniquely stressful environment of an interview would only tell me that this person gets nervous in interviews.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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posted
UPDATE: I didn't get the job. The recruiter called me just now and said they'd chosen to go with another applicant. But they said they passed my application onto another branch in the area and the manager there is "very interested." I have an interview with them on Monday. The job is for 30 hours though which is even better and since I've already done this once, hopefully I'll be less nervous this next time around.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Best of luck on this new development! I'm surprised they'd do that for you but that's great to hear.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I have given interviews, and it's the same thing. Because they are federal jobs, there are very strict procedures about how to ask the questions and rate the answers. This way, everyone gets the exact same interview so it's more fair.
Yeah, there are have definitely been candidates that completely bombed the interview because they didn't listen to the instructions.
[ July 13, 2007, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Javert Hugo ]
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posted
They must have liked you a fair amount to pass on your application. I would take that as a very good sign.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
It's not that difficult of a structure to follow, really, so it's not as bizzare as it sounds. And like kat said, the purpose is to make sure everyone gets a fair interview. Part of the reason is that we're a union shop, and there are a lot of internal transfers. . . people start at a less desirable job to get their foot in the door, and then apply to transfer to a more desirable one. If there is a qualified internal canidate, we must hire them before a qualified external canidate. And if there are two qualified internal canidates, we must hire the one with more senoirity before one with less senoirity. So we need our interview documentation to be very clear, so if someone files a grievance about not getting a job we can show why they weren't qualified and someone else was.
I'm not going to go through the full format, but the part that people tend to have problems with is that for each question we want them to pick a specific situation where they dealt with something and tell us about that situation. So the question might start "Tell me about a time when you used negotiation to. . ." And some people will answer "Oh, we get a lot of customers who want X, and what I always do is Y. . ." And I say "Okay, but remember, I need you to tell me about just one situation, so can you think of one customer you did this with, and tell me about that time?"
Remember, I know people have problems with this, and I give them instructions in the beginning of the interview about what I need to hear, and even tell them that if they start answering in generalities I'm going to have to stop them and ask them to talk about one specific situation. There's a lot of supposed studies behind it, apparently people give more honest answers when they're describing a specific situation and tend to exaggerate or take the best parts of a lot of different experiences when they're talking in generalities. I don't know if that's true or not, I just know that's one of the reasons we were given for why we do it.
So, I expect to have to stop people at least once or twice and remind them to talk about a specific situation. And if someone is obviously nervous, maybe more. But I've interviewed people who seemed perfectly relaxed, and no matter how many times I stopped them or how many different ways I tried to phrase it, just wouldn't/couldn't do it. And maybe the fault is with the system and not them, but if that's the case then it still wouldn't be a good job fit, because it's a call center and the entire job is fitting a defined process. So it's just as well we find that out in the beginning.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
That makes more sense. It's not that they aren't answering the questions in the correct format - it's that they aren't actually answering the questions that are being asked. That's a perfectly reasonable expectation and we've disqualified more than one candidate based on a similar deficiency.
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