Interview Tips and Light, Bright, & Polite 

It’s important to know tips and tricks when going into an interview. Interviews are the main way many employers hire their employees and it is their first impression of them of who you are so. Last week, I attended a call with several professionals from different backgrounds discussing jobs and interviews. Jennifer Lee who works at Microsoft recommends using LinkedIn and updating it every 6 months. LinkedIn is a professional website where employers can see the backgrounds of employees. Employees just have to list their information online for the employers to view. This website is key for employers to be interested in hiring workers. Another person on the call added to always include the solution during an interview. You do not want to answer a question that you do not know the answer to without providing a solution. For example, it is always best to express interest in the question the employer asks and tell the interviewer that “I will research this and find out more about it”. Employers like to see potential workers think outside the box and demonstrate problem-solving skills.

Moreover, there are more tips to know about when going into an interview. It's important to know what not to do. For example, talking too much and talking too little is not good when being interviewed. You want to find the sweet spot in talking just enough to cover the topic wholly and with detail. Talking too much results in a monotonous interview and talking too little results in vagueness. A helpful tip to talk just the right amount of time is to get your mind off yourself and on the other person who is interviewing you. This will allow you to listen to what they are asking and think before talking. Once these tips are put to work, talking the right amount will be no issue. 

Since an interview is the first impression that the hirer gets of you, it's imperative to know how to dress properly when showing up to an interview. 

These are the things to avoid when choosing your apparel for an interview:

• Flashy clothing
• Showing too much skin
• Wearing too much scent
• Excessive make-up
• Wearing dirty or wrinkled clothes

The goal of dressing up for an interview should be to look nice, professional, and sharp, and not to impress the interviewer with your good looks. As mentioned before, the focus should not be on yourself; rather on what you can bring to the job you are interviewing for and how you can bring your skills to the table. 

When the interview process is all done and said, you can choose to write a follow-up email to your interviewer if desired. Writing a follow-up email can be done for several reasons. First, you are writing the email to thank the interviewer for their time to sit down with you and interview for the job position. Starting off an email with thankfulness goes a long way and it shows the interviewer that you are a thankful person. The second reason why you would want to write a follow-up email is that the job position you are applying for is competitive and you need to stand out. You can highlight in your follow-up interview the skills and expertise that you bring to the company which can remind the interviewer how great of a candidate you make for the position. It's vital not to write in a boastful or snobbish matter; rather write in a way that shows you are qualified for the position and end it off with thankfulness. Follow-up emails are great to send when you are passionate about getting accepted into a certain job or profession. 

Josh Ochs the author of Light, Bright & Polite makes some great points in the fourth and fifth chapters of his book. 

In his fourth chapter, he discusses social media posts and strategies in the view of employers and employees. When you have a professional social media account you first want to be authentic and professional. You don't want to post things that are rude or obscene which glorify violence or promiscuity. It's best to only say positive things on your professional social media account and avoid heated disagreement. 

In contrast, what employers want to see on your social media account is volunteer work, involvement with subjects that interest you, and helping organize events that relate to your field. This shows employers that you are studious, selfless, hard-working, and curious. The great part of social media is that you can use it in a way that gives you the advantage to choose what exactly others see of you. Josh gives an example of Camille who uses Instagram to post pictures of her and her family to show she's sociable and kind.

In chapter five, Josh shares social networks that can be used to help people shine on their social media accounts. He talks about controlling what others see of you when they search for you on Google, creating a personal website to share projects, resumes, and volunteer work, and also creating a clear and concise bio. If your Google search results are not good, Josh recommends, "Create positive content to push the bad stuff down." I think I will definitely put Josh's advice to work for my social media account. I want to post more photos of me and others working on projects and being sociable as mentioned before. As I create my personal website, I believe it will help me go to the next level in my professional portfolio and help set me up on a road to success. I also plan to work more on my LinkedIn which Josh mentions multiple times throughout the chapters as something that is very important.