Today is Friday, December 2, and I was able to go to my Moms work today to have a very important day of Work Experience. My mom set me up with 7 people who would interview me, or talk to me about what to say when in an interview. I walked to my moms work with her at 9 AM. I had interviews from 9:30 AM until 4 PM. I had a lunch break also. Starting at 9:30 AM, I went to talk to Mairead, who is Director of Procurement. She gave me some scenarios to what I would do if something happened while I was working on a team of people. I learned to make my answers short and directly answer the question. She said I should try to pull things from my CV (resume) to talk about that fit what the Job Description is of what ever job that I am applying for.
I had Rob Willis at 10:15, who is the Human Resources VP, so we talked a lot about Human Resources. I am interested in that, so he made a diagram of all the jobs that can be related to Human Resources like Employee Relations, Recruitment, Compensation & Benefits, and etc. He said it is good to be prepared, and have the company researched already so that it shows that the person is interested in the company, and to ask questions, also to show that you are interested. I also learned how to draw a reference point tree to have my ideas organized and to know what to talk about when I am in an interview. It looks like this:
At 11:45, I met with Heidi, one of my Moms good friends at her work. She was fun to talk to. She gave me a sheet that showed what my Moms company looked for when interviewing people. Her big point was to show what Experience you had through examples and to use them to answer the questions. Prepare for main questions you know you will be asked also. At Noon, I went with my Mom and we met Oma at Mama Mia, which is a small Italian restaurant near my moms work. They had pizza that had salami on it called Piccante Pizza. It was really yummy, and I ate most of it, but my mom tried some. I was really full after that meal. It was a really good Pizza though. After that, Me and my Mom walked back to her work so I could get on with my Interviews.
1 PM, I met with Art, who was the VP of Investor Relations. I had no idea what that was, so I asked him what the job was. He does things like talk to politicians and a lot of people, and watches the stock of the company all the time to know if it goes down. He knows a ton about how the reporters of certain news stations do not really know how to report, and they just take what he says as truth, but some like the New York Times, really know the facts already, and dont take what you say as the truth. He thinks that is really good reporting, because they know whats going on. We talked about how Ireland does not really like Prescription Drugs, because they think its a "Drug" even if it is prescribed for an illness, which is interesting. He said he really wants to be able to get along with the people that he interviews, or else it will not be fun to work with them, which I think makes a lot of sense.
At 1:45, I met with John Halford on a Webex call, so over the phone. He was really nice, and he told me to have questions ready, and that when he is interviewing people, if they ask questions, that makes them stand out. He said people would not believe how often he interviews people, and they do not want to ask any questions. He also said how I could ask the Interviewer why they liked where they worked to ask them something.
The last 2 people I met with were both in Human Resources, so their jobs were to work with people, and interview people. I met with Stephen, and he asked me a list of "41 Hardest Google Interview Questions" and they were really hard and interesting. They had questions like how many tennis balls do you think could fit in a plane, and how many people get haircuts each year in America. He explained that Google did not really care what the answer was, but more about how I got to my answer. Annemarie was one of the most helpful. She gave me some papers, some had a Cover Letter Template, and she gave me some websites also to help me. She said to mirror the Interviewer, because some interviewers will be really to the point, and sitting up straight, and some will be more just talking to you, and laid back, and you have to match them by their body language.
She told me that a lot of people are looking for solution focused people, and also people who can work together with other people, and communicate well. She said also do not be afraid to wait maybe 3-4 seconds after the interviewer asks you a question to answer, it shows that you are thinking. She said also at the end of an interview, say you are excited, and end it clearly. I told her I was meeting with someone from IBM Saturday, and she gave me some tips on that also.
Overall, I learned from a lot of people to ask questions to the Interviewer, and to have done Prior research on the company so it shows that you are interested. Also, just to be energetic, and to get along well. Do not have one line answers to questions, but do not ramble on forever. It was a very helpful day overall, and I think I can count it to one day of Work Experience.
I got a picture in the Lobby of my Moms work. I also got subway on the way home for dinner so that was awesome also! I have a meeting with someone to work for IBM possibly tomorrow!
-December 2, 2016 (Friday)
