Interviewing is an important part of the job-finding process. It can be very stressful unless you are prepared for the meeting with a potential employer. There are three aspects of the interview process:

• Pre-Interview Planning
• Interviewing
• Following-up

It is very helpful to know enough about the organization interviewing you so that you can comfortably discuss the matters at hand with a background knowledge. You will also feel more confident and able to ask more relevant questions. This will make you appear more intelligent and motivated.

• Before you get started make sure to keep a written and/or computerized record listing:

• Research the company thoroughly. This is essential but it is often neglected. Try to find out the following information:

  - Products or services
  - Company history
  - Number of employees
  - Business methods
  - Distribution methods
  - Organizational structure
  - Kinds of clients or customers
  - Locations
  - Reputation
  - Philosophy
  - Industry standing/Sales or activity volume
  - Prospects for company growth

• The Internet is an effective tool in finding information on companies and organizations. You may check company web sites or:

  Hoover's Online
  Lycos TOP 5% Topic: Corporate Home Pages
  Jobs and Careers: The Fortune 500 Job Source

• The library is another good source for information. You may also be able to find some or all of this information in the Internet.

  - Annual reports
  - Catalogs
  - Press releases
  - Other company literature
  - New York Times Index
  - Business Periodicals Index
  - College Placement Annual
  - Business Directories
  - Trade associations and professional society publications
  - Almanacs
  - Yearbooks
  - Magazines
  - Newsletters
  - Computer databases

First relax, take a deep breath, and think about all of your skills, accomplishments, and abilities.  Are you talented, outgoing, intelligent, able to work well with others, handle instructions well?  Do you enjoy people or prefer to work alone?  How do you handle criticism?  Are you good at evaluating the work of others?  Do you prefer to supervise or to be supervised?  What did you enjoy the most about your last position?  What would you change about it?  What has been your major contribution to your last job?  What are your long and short-term goals?  What would you like to be doing in five years?  How would you like to improve?  What are you looking for in your next job?

Keep in mind that employers are interested in what you can contribute to the company by:

1. Making Money
2. Saving Money
3. Saving Time

• What is an interview?

  An interview is a formal name for an exchange of information and impressions. It is an opportunity for an employer and potential employee to begin to get acquainted. An employer has to basic goals in meeting with you:
  - To find the right person for the job
  - To find someone who can contribute to the      organization's goals
  An interview is not a casual conversation. It can be friendly, cordial. . . but it is still serious   FOLLOWING-UP Following-up can help you: Influence the decision-makers Move things along Show interest and enthusiasm Exhibit confidence and willingness to take risks Stand out from your competition Reassure the hiring manager Turn a losing into a winning situation ALWAYS send a thank-you note or follow-up letter within 24 hours after the interview: Make sure you have the name (correct spelling) and title of all those with whom you interviewed Send a thank you to all of the interviewers In the thank you note describe how your skills/achievements may contribute to the company/organization. Always write in terms of what you can give them, not what you can get from them. Try to get business cards from your interviewers Find out when and how you can expect to hear from the organization Follow-up with a phone call - some employers tell me that they often select the person that calls back the most Don't be overly aggressive, but don't just sit back and wait for something to happen

• Be yourself, know yourself, and sell yourself. Successful interviewing requires successful selling.

I've met men who saved lives, built nations, or unlocked the mysteries of the universe . . . and the most easily observable thread which connected these people was their ability to present well on an interview. Winston Churchill to Franklin Delano Roosevelt