Debbie Marquardt provides listeners with interviewing advice and discusses how to display yourself as a good fit for a potential employer.

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Debbie’s first pointer is that preparation is very important for success. You need to work before the interview to (1) identify what the company is looking for and who will be interviewing you, and (2) to search within yourself to know what you want to communicate about yourself to the interviewer. Think about what your strengths are and how you are you uniquely qualified for the job. There are also general characteristics that every company looks for such as leadership and perseverance, and it is important to get these across as well. A resume is just a page full of statistics so you need to bring it to life in an interview. The interviewer needs to get a better idea of whether you are the right fit for the company. To determine if you are the right fit for a company, ask employees within the company what the culture is like and search the internet for articles about that company. Both can be extremely informative about the company environment so that you can decide whether this is what you want and also to help the interviewer understand how you fit into the company’s environment. The more you can learn about the company and the company learns about you in advance, the better off you will be during the interview. Debbie’s recommends that during the interview you need to answer questions in a way that communicates the facets that are unique to yourself. It is important to have stories that display the skills you want to communicate so that not only do they see you have the qualifications for the job, but they also know more about you as a person. Her final point is to be sure that you ask for the job at the end of the interview and let the interviewer know how much you want it.

Debbie Marquardt is the Global Franchise Marketing Director for Procter & Gamble Professional, the away-from-home division of Procter & Gamble that provides cleaning products and solutions for the Foodservice, Hospitality and Building Cleaning & Maintenance businesses. Debbie has worked at P&G for more than 15 years on a variety of marketing assignments on Crisco, Jif, Charmin, NA Marketing Innovation and P&G Professional. Debbie graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education and then from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern with a Masters of Business Management in Marketing and Finance.

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Jason walks us through sample case questions and scenarios to help listeners get a better understanding of how to approach this type of interview.

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Jason explains that a case interview is unique and important because it puts a candidate in a real life situation. The interviewer can see how well candidates hold their poise, how well they listen to what they need to deliver in terms of the case, and how structured they are in their thinking. The first part of the case generally has some background of the case company and some financial data. The second part of the case generally provides a deeper element of information around a specific piece of operation. Here, he uses the example of a company’s call center. For example, the interviewer may provide information on how many employees work there, how many supervisors and how many people managed by the supervisor, how many new hires come into the call center, the breakdown of how employees spend their time, and some additional cost data. Next, the interviewer asks questions. The first question is open-ended to get the candidate talking so that the interviewer can evaluate his or her poise and listening skills. For example, “I’m the client and now you have information on the company. How do I reduce my costs in the call center?” A hidden term is “client”; the candidate needs to address the interviewer a certain way based on this subtle piece of information. A bad answer would be something along the lines of “I would reduce training costs and change the way employees spend their time.” This is not adequate as there is no context provided for why the candidate thinks such. The interviewer is looking for a context on how they define the problem, an answer that meets the problem statement, and a good set of facts that supports the answer. Jason continues to provide a very specific answer where he defines the problem for the client and provides specific answers based on specific facts. A great answer would also pull from the candidate’s own experience, whether that is from school, an old job, or an extracurricular activity. Jason also highly recommends that the candidate asks some question to provide a clearer answer for the client. He informs listeners that candidates can prepare for case interviews by having a clear mind and having a good feel for how they would structure a problem, structure the answer, and how to articulate that. Jason’s one recommendation for someone that is going to have a case interview is to read the book about structured thinking and communication, “The Minto Pyramid Principle” by Barbara Minto.

Jason is a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young’s (EY) Advisory Services practice. He has over 7 years of advisory experience at EY and 3 years of experience at Arthur Andersen. Jason focuses on finance and accounting process, system and organizational improvement for companies in the Oil and Gas, Media and Entertainment, Private Equity and Consumer Product industries. Jason resides in Denver, Colorado.

jason.snider@ey.com

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In this podcast, Joni Lusty walks us through the critical interview process to help listeners get the jobs they desire.

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Joni begins by explaining that to best position yourself for the perfect job, you must first determine what that perfect job is for you. Picking the job requires looking at the entire offer, including continual education offerings, 401k, benefits, salary, location and long term potential. It is critical to think in the long term: what position do you want to hold in 5-10 years, and what type of experience do you need to achieve that. For the actual interview, she stresses that you need to heavily research the company, attend socials, talk to employees in the company, and gather specific stories and details to show the company that you are truly invested in the job. C Companies seek people who have long term goals and ambition, but they want candidates that are going to be committed to the profession for the long haul. Other than research and preparation, a spotless resume helps land a job; get opinions from many different people with different point of views to ensure than the resume will stand out. In addition, find out the type of interview you will have. Have a few stories prepared for behavioral questions; try to sound natural and sincere rather than rehearsed. Finally, at the end of the interview, make sure you ask questions to show that you are very serious about this as your career and your future. Avoid talking about salary and benefits, but ask questions around what they see the firm doing in the future, why the interviewer came to the company, and why they are still there. Joni’s last piece of advice is to have a great attitude, let your personality show through, be sincere, and have fun with the process.

Joni Lusty is a Campus Recruiter at Ernst & Young and has been with the firm for 10 years. Joni is responsible for EYs recruiting efforts for the PacificNorthwest Advisory practice. Before becoming a campus recruiter, Joni worked as Audit Manager with EY in the Salt Lake City office. She graduated with her Masters in Accounting at Brigham Young University.
Joni is very involved in a number of EYs internal initiatives include the local Professional Womens Network and Social Responsibility. Joni also serves on the board of directors for Worldwide Association of Performing Artists, a not for profit arts organization.

www.ey.com/us/careers

www.ey.com/eyinsight/index.html

EY can also be found on Facebook

 

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Marlene discusses how to learn about work-life balance at a company during an interview, and why it is important to ask questions during the interview.

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Marlene believes that young professionals must take the time to understand what is most important to them, particularly where work-life balance falls in their own values. Before an interview, do research on the prospective employer such as reading the diversity mission and the work-life statement. At the interview, a student can ask about tools and programs that help employees succeed both at work and in their personal lives. Note that some industries are friendlier to work-life balance. Students can also look at a company’s track record in diversity, demographics, and number of minorities in leadership positions. Students may be worried that asking about work-life balance will reflect poorly on their work ethic. However, Marlene says that this all depends on how the student asks the questions and how much homework they have done on the company. She suggests starting by asking about the company’s vision and mission, and moving on to programs and tools that support them. Work-life balance falls under diversity, and if that is not in the top 5 most important things to the company, that should be a red flag for students.

Russ Finkelstein discusses what it is like to work for a nonprofit organization.  He talks about having passion for what you want to do, and how to show an organization that you are the right candidate for the job.

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In the current economy, the nonprofit sector has been taking on many societal issues, and it is a great and challenging time to be involved with nonprofit enterprises. Young professionals interested in working in the nonprofit arena need to learn how to adequately prepare for an interview. Preparation is the most important issue, because often candidates feel there is a lesser standard in nonprofit organizations, which is not true. Prospective employees should ask smart, specific questions that demonstrate they have invested time and energy into this particular job. Not only should candidates show that they are qualified and have necessary skills and experiences, it is also important that they show passion for the particular issue and the specific approach that the organization uses to address it. Although nonprofits may pay less than for-profit companies, an employee can still make a very good living. Prospective employees need to prioritize and make choices about their expectations and motivation.

Elliott Garlock gives advice on using available resources to get a job.  He shares tips on doing thorough research into your industry and company, and tells our listeners the things that he wishes he would have done differently while he was going through the process.

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Before a job interview, there are a few things that applicants should do. First, research the company and industry by reading the basics, such as the Vault guide for the industry, company, and competitors to build your knowledge on its background. Then, use social networks to find people that work at the company and have an informational interview with that person. Finally, ask that person to refer you to another person within the company so that you can have another informational interview. These interviews are very important and give you leverage during the actual interview.
 
As a college student, you should read trade magazines and blogs, and develop relationships with faculty.

Tiffany Norwood gives 10GoodMinutes listeners advice on salary negotiation from two perspectives: first as an employee working for large multinational corporations, and now as an employer in the area of information technology.

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When discussing salaries, Tiffany Norwood can speak from experience as both an employee and an employer. Before you even begin to negotiate salary, arm yourself with information on the value of the position and how it aligns with your experience. Do a lot of research and compare your position against certain parameters such as the size of the company. Get a good sense of the market value of your position and then set the expectation at the interview of what you would consider to be a reasonable pay. Even though you may feel it is taboo to discuss salaries during an interview, ask about the salary range, and if it is lower than you expected, offer the information that you found during your research and ask if their range is flexible.
The employer will react differently depending on how you bring it up the issue of salary. It is more effective if an interviewee is speaking from the perspective of the market value and demonstrates the value of the employee to the customer than just from a personal point of view. Speak from the perspective of the company rather than from your own perspective.

This podcast is part 2 of Scott Goodfellow’s interview with 10GoodMinutes. He discusses strategies on how to get noticed by recruiters. He shares pre-interview tips, specific interviewing strategies, and explains what makes a candidate stand out in an interview.

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Scott says that when he is looking to hire someone for a job in finance or accounting at Proctor & Gamble, he wants to see a broad experience base beyond those two specialized areas. During an interview, recruiters are not necessarily just looking for depth of experience, but for experience in leading others and making a difference. How do you set yourself apart from other interviewees? Go to career fairs and talk to the recruiters. Make sure everything on your resume is quantifiable – not just through action verbs, but through metrics. Once you get past the initial contact and into an actual interview, the recruiter will want to know how you are going to fit into the company and if you are willing to take on leadership. If you take an hour or two to really think through your resume, you can be prepared with direct, succinct answers. Lack of preparation can be a huge downfall, especially for undergraduates, since they haven’t had the real world experience of selling themselves. Familiarity is your best friend – get to know previous interns, speak to recruiters at multiple job fairs, and learn all about the company. Quality of preparation is more important than quantity of interviews. Alumni references can help, but are not the sole decision factor in an interview. If you don’t understand a question in an interview, try rephrasing it for clarification.

Scott Goodfellow discusses strategies on how to get noticed by recruiters. He shares pre-interview tips, specific interviewing strategies, and explains what makes a candidate stand out in an interview.

To download this podcast, click here
 
Scott says that when he is looking to hire someone for a job in finance or accounting at Proctor & Gamble, he wants to see a broad experience base beyond those two specialized areas. During an interview, recruiters are not necessarily just looking for depth of experience, but for experience in leading others and making a difference. How do you set yourself apart from other interviewees? Go to career fairs and talk to the recruiters. Make sure everything on your resume is quantifiable – not just through action verbs, but through metrics. Once you get past the initial contact and into an actual interview, the recruiter will want to know how you are going to fit into the company and if you are willing to take on leadership. If you take an hour or two to really think through your resume, you can be prepared with direct, succinct answers. Lack of preparation can be a huge downfall, especially for undergraduates, since they haven’t had the real world experience of selling themselves. Familiarity is your best friend – get to know previous interns, speak to recruiters at multiple job fairs, and learn all about the company. Quality of preparation is more important than quantity of interviews. Alumni references can help, but are not the sole decision factor in an interview. If you don’t understand a question in an interview, try rephrasing it for clarification.