Windows 7 Ultimate Key blog out-of-the-ordinary-in

By Julia Colvin

Did you notice most of these posts are telling you things you should or shouldn’t be doing during your interviews? This one isn’t any different but it’s got a little bit of a spin to it; it’s my “out of the ordinary” advice.

Be Yourself

Every candidate that I see has a style and a personality all their own but a lot of times they are so focused on their interviews and doing everything perfectly that this doesn’t come through at all. You’d be surprised how much this affects your interviews. While you’re sitting there thinking that you’re doing everything perfectly (understand there is no such thing as perfect because each interviewer and each candidate define it a little differently) and by the book, your interviewers may be sitting there thinking “Wow, this guy (or girl) has a totally flat personality.”

It sounds cheesy and depending on where you are in your life and how confident you are, this may be difficult to do, but please be yourself in your interviews. If you normally crack jokes to get your point across, do that. If your written communication skills are stronger than your verbal communication skills, let your interviewers know that. The whiteboard on the wall will be your best friend for the day. Yes, yes, I know, it's important to have strong written and verbal communication skills, but everyone is better at one or the other. There’s no shame in that. When I’m nervous or out of my element, it’s difficult to be myself, but I realized a long time ago that I HAD to be myself. That was the person that interviewers needed to see.

What to Wear

One of the things that people are always told to do is to “dress up” for interviews. My two previous jobs required I wear a suit or, something close, to work. I was used to being “dressed up.” Microsoft is drastically different in that respect. As long as you come to work clean, fully clothed,Windows 7 Ultimate Key, and not wearing anything offensive, you’re pretty much free to wear whatever you like…the same goes for your interviews. Why is this? We want you to be comfortable and we want to see what you’re capable of, not what your wardrobe consists of. Not everyone is comfortable dressed up.

An example of this is a candidate I had a week or so ago, who essentially prompted this post. He was a senior in college who thought he had to dress up for interviews and was wearing a brand new suit when I met him (I knew it was new and that he wasn’t comfortable in it when I saw that he had not removed one of the labels on the sleeve). He told me that he hadn’t worn a suit since his older sister’s wedding 4 years ago.

Your interview is not dependent on how you’re dressed (at least not at Microsoft). Anyone can put on a suit for a day. If you’re reading this and interviewing at a company that is more strict on attire, my advice would be to add something to your outfit for the day that screams you. You may not believe it now, but you’ll be more comfortable and it’ll give your interviewers an idea that there’s more to you than a suit.

Go Easy on the Scents

My next piece of advice is regarding cologne, parfum, Axe, whatever it is that you plan to spray on yourself in the morning. I'm personally a big fan of perfume, but in limited amounts. I can understand adding a little extra the morning of your interview in anticipation of sweating due to nerves. PLEASE, limit the amount of perfume/cologne you put on. If anything, bring a small sample size one in your purse or pocket and freshen up later in the day, but DO NOT drown yourself in it.

I've had multiple candidates come into my office drenched in perfume, as in the scent remained in my office for the entire day after they left. Understand that just because you can’t smell the scent on yourself doesn’t mean that everyone around you can’t. Also, keep in mind that some of your interviewers may have allergies and it might make it difficult for them to conduct a good interview if they’re sneezing or tearing up due to your perfume.

Take a Sick Day

This next one a lot of people will disagree with (due to timing, rescheduling, etc.), but I personally encourage it. If you are sick (coughing, sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, etc.) please try to reschedule your interviews if at all possible. You do not want your interviewer’s first impression to be of you coughing in their face or sneezing all over them. I have a ton of candidates, especially in the fall/winter, come in to interview sick. I keep a bottle of Purell on my desk specifically for these candidates, but shaking your hand when you’ve just coughed all over it is not on my list of favorites.

In all seriousness though, if you really are sick, you are a lot less likely to do well in your interviews because you’ll either be woozy from medications or you’ll be more focused on not feeling well than interviewing. I don’t encourage it because it is not good for either party, interviewer or interviewee.

So, be yourself, dress yourself, smell yourself and take care of yourself - and you'll be ready to tackle that next interview in an out of the ordinary way!