AgCareers.com presented a free webinar for job seekers about Acing Today’s Interview. Sponsored by Ag 1 Source, presenter Mike Koenecke discussed how interviewing has changed over the years, the different types of interviews, key preparation, making a good first impression and following up.
Mike discussed first impressions making the difference in the actual interview. The interviewer will develop their impression of you within the first ten seconds of meeting. Before heading out for your interview, ask yourself the following question about your interview look, “What would my mother say?”
We’re all guilty of it. If you’re like me and you have a cell phone, you probably keep it just a short distance away from you at your desk during the workday. And it’s fine if you only glance at it from time to time, if you’re waiting for an important call, or there’s an emergency, but if it’s disturbing your work ethic, it’s a problem.
Here are 6 tips for maintaining a solid line between your job and your cell phone:
AHH the horror! Interviews can be terrifying for potential candidates, and at times, embarrassing moments occur. We featured an article in our Canadian Employer Guide last year entitled “Interview Nightmares” in which we heard from our social media followers about mortifying interviews they had had in the past. This time around, I connected with a few of our clients who regularly interview candidates about some of the more interesting interviews they’ve conducted. Read through these tell-tale stories and don’t make the same mistakes!
“A few serious deal breakers happen even before an interview because I consider the 90 seconds I have with a student at a career fair to be their first interview. I will absolutely not pass a student through to the actual interview round that approaches my booth and asks me who CPS is and what I can do for them. I’m not sure what kind of reverse psychology they are trying to run on me but I stop listening immediately after that point. If you cannot take the 2 minutes to google who we are and what we do, you do not have the drive that we are looking for in intern candidates.” – Deanna Flynn – Regional Recruiter for Crop Production Services
You made it through the interview—whew! Now the hardest part is waiting. But hold on—before you just sit back and wait to hear from an employer, you need to courteously send a follow-up or thank you note.
Thanking an Employer
If you don’t thank an employer for their time, you likely won’t hear back from them at all. It’s common courtesy to send a thank you letting them know that you appreciated their consideration of you as a potential candidate.
And it’s important to get this thank you to them FAST.
Here are some things to include that will impress your interviewer:
Examining all the events that take place on a college campus, the career fair ranks right up there as one of the most prolific activities one should take advantage of but often is grossly under attended by the average student.
Don’t get me wrong, I myself have fond memories of the night we annihilated our rival and campus was showered in toilet paper. When I tossed that roll of Scotts 2 ply into a tree I knew I was crossing some obscure bridge as a rite of passage into what it really meant to be in college. As well as attending concerts on campus between the biology and math buildings, and the ‘dead week’ campus ritual of hiking from bar to bar in protest of actually studying during dead week. All great memories but none of those impacted my future as much the two hours I spent visiting with various company representatives at my college career fair.
Even if you’ve already got your summer plans nailed down, or already have a career lined up after graduation, you should still attend the career fair to build your professional network. Networking can be scary, but the career fair setting takes a little of that scariness away.
In a career fair setting employers are lined up waiting for you to network with them. You still have to make the first move to actually walk up and talk to the representative, but they want you to, and are expecting it! Having this structured setting to help break the ice is much easier than seeking these connections later when you are in the job or internship hunt and scrambling to find contacts.
Here are 3 simple steps you can take to prepare for your campus career fair:
Today’s interviews have evolved into many different styles, which adds complexity to the job search process for candidates. You may be asked to interview face-to-face, with a group, participate in a series of interviews, login for a virtual interview or call for a phone interview.
Preparation is your key to acing an interview; if you are prepared, it will help increase your confidence and ease your tension during the live interview. How do you prepare for your chance to make a great first impression?
by Victoria Price, 2015 AgCareers.com Marketing Intern
When you hear the word “agriculture,” what is the first career that comes to mind? A farmer? An agronomist? A salesman?
Yes, these are all very cool ag careers, but many young professionals and job seekers are unaware of the many other awesome opportunities that are out there.
If you’ve been exploring our site and follow us on social media, you’ve probably seen us feature our Career Profiles. This is part of a project we took on not too long ago to highlight over 50 careers that are in high demand right now in the agricultural industry. We researched and featured these profiles as a resource for students and job seekers to learn more about new roles in the industry and to aid career educators in teaching their students about great careers in agriculture.
You can check out all of our career profiles in depth right now, but to give you a quick run-through right now, sit tight and read on! We’ve featured a few jobs in each agricultural career pathway we’ve featured:
Victoria Price serves as the Marketing Intern, operating out of the Ames, Iowa office. Victoria is a rising junior from the University of Florida and joined AgCareers.com for this summer.
Originally from Florida, Victoria will return back the University of Florida and continue pursuing a degree in Public Relations after she finishes the internship program August 12th.
Q: What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
I work on many different marketing projects that have been assigned to me with different deadlines. I put together the Internship Benchmark Survey and wrote blogs, newsletters, and an employer guide article. I am working with Ashley Collins and Kristine Penning on social media development for AgCareers.com. One of my main responsibilities has been helping prepare material and corresponding with Ag and Food HR Roundtable attendees to promote the conference.
Q: What do you enjoy about working here?
I enjoy the people and variety of work experience I have encountered. AgCareers.com is a very team and family oriented business, where all the coworkers genuinely care about each other. I have really enjoyed getting to know the whole team and feeling so welcomed being a part of it. The variety of projects I have done, have really given me wonderful work experience that I will be able to take with me in the future.
