Landscape Architecture Resource

Giving a good job interview is key to building your career. Not just because it's important to get good jobs, but because the salary you start at is usually where you'll be stuck--give or take 5%--for as long as you have the job, aside from any major promotions or role changes. An exception to this is if your salary is grossly undervalued and a correction is obviously needed or if you've taken a job on a 'try me out and then see what I'm worth' basis, but you should never find yourself in these situations if you learn the basics of a good job interview in the first place.

Have you ever been to a job interview and were asked 'if you could be any animal (or plant) what would you be and why?' Anyone asking this question has no business conducting job interviews. This question produces no accurate, actionable information and is a total waste of your time. They've either hired a totally unqualified person to fill the Human Resources chair or it's the boss of a small firm who thinks he knows what he's doing but is wrong. Either case should be a red flag the size of Central Park. Do you really want to spend your time here?

"It's just a job interview, what's the big deal?" you ask? Well, the interview process is how this firm has hand-picked it's entire staff over time. It's a crucial step in setting the whole culture of the organization. Where you work and who you work for is no small matter, so a company that hasn't taken the time to do its hiring properly probably has a few screws loose elsewhere as well.

Back to the interview: a bit of small talk is always nice to break the ice. After all, it's important to see how personable your potential new workmates might be. But there are three, and only three, types of questions that should be asked at each and every job interview:

• Questions that help the firm learn about you
• Questions that help you learn about the firm
• And questions that help the two of you negotiate an agreement that will make you both smarter, richer, happier, and better, if the first two types of questions have determined that such an agreement can and should me made

Does this sound a bit harsh? Well, it should be a pleasant conversation, but job interviews aren't supposed to be a party. They are a targeted method to test the fit of the candidate to the company, and to reach a deal. And if you do it right, a good deal. More on this in future posts.