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The perfect interview


Jocka

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After a few thousand applications (or so it seemed), I finally landed an interview. HOWEVER, I've never had an actual 'interview' for previous web design jobs. Any tips on what to say?

By that I mean, should I give them a short list of everything I know (basically repeat my resume) or should I tell them only the things relevant to the job? I want to make myself look good but I don't want them thinking I'm too good/bad.

Most of my jobs in the past were contract jobs. I gave them an amount and that was it, no matter what. How much should I ask an hour when they ask? One developer said to at least request $25/hr. Heres a short list of what I know (to help):
• PHP - 3 (in years)
• Apache - 4
• MYSQL - 3
• HTML / DHTML - 6
• CSS - 2
• Linux - 4
• JavaScript - 1
• Adobe Photoshop - 4
• Windows - 6
• And Web Administration Experience (of course)
What should I request with this knowledge (not too much knowledge to some, far too much for others).

And any other interview tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Rules for interviews:

1) Do NOT rehash your resume.  They've read it... they know what it says.  Anything you say should only expand on what the resume says (and any interviewer that doesn't suck won't let you rehash).

2) Do NOT specify an hourly wage unless really pushed into it.  ALWAYS turn that question around on them.

Them: "So what are your salary requirements?"
You: "Well what does your company normally pay someone with my experience?"

3) Be prepared to backup your skillset with examples.  If you're lying on your resume, you better have a good cover for it because it will come out.  If you're not lying, have some good examples of your work in the past and NEVER bash former employers.

4) Be honest.  Getting into a job and realizing you can't do it within the first few days is NOT a good position to be in.  If you don't think you can do the job, be honest about it.  If you think you can do the job but you're weak in some areas, explain that and promise to do everything you can to learn more about your weak areas.

5) Dress accordingly.

That should get you started.
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great post, ober. guess the rules apply to any job.
one other thing that is not always relevent but has happened a handful of times to people i've spoken to. be careful with your portfolio if asked for examples.

6) websites with a strong adult or political connection are best left well away. be very picky about the sites you put forward - even if they are the Diego Maradona of CSS & PHP.
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Ok I'm following everything but rule 1. What does that mean exactly? I don't want to seem like a jackass, but I can't expand on what the resume says. The resume says it all. If they ask "What are your qualifications?". I'm going to say something like "I've done web design and administration for a little over 6 years. During that time I've learned the most basic programming languages used today and have nearly perfected them all.". Sound good? But some of that is on my resume :P
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not rehashing your resume generally means when it comes to the 'nitty gritty' - ie, specific projects and experience related to the job. the interview is for the interviewer to get to know you more as a person. if all you do is repeat exactly whats on your CV, youre gonna come across as a little wooden or even staged. There are always gonna be times where you need to 'clarify' stuff on your CV - and if they've read your CV properly, then their job is to find out if it's genuine - so sometimes you will have to repeat.

My day job is joint-director of a recruitment consultancy, so not only do we interview candidates first off, we also sit in on some interviews when our clients interview our candidates. The reason why so many interviews happen? The CV (resume) is one of the most doctored, overblown and egotistical documents the jobseeker could ever hope to produce. An interview easily uncovers much of this.

The number of times i've heard something like:

int'er: "So, tell me about your last job."
int'ee: "well, as it says on my CV, I did this and that".
int'er: "ok, but tell me more"
int'ee: "errrr....."

It's very easy to hide behind a CV and keep referring to it. But whether you like it or not, the (underlying) motive for an interview is to:

a) make sure you know how to speak
b) make sure you're not lying

Apologies to ober if I missed your point here, but either way its still worth keeping in mind, me thinks.
Cheers
Mark
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That makes sense. I missed the call yesterday when he called to set an interview (had to take my son to the doctor). He then sent an email to me. I called him back and left a message but I haven't heard from him today through email or phone call. Should I give him another call or not push it?
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