Was invited to an interview/information session vol. gimme tips

[yeezusdisciple]

So i was invited by a recruiter to an interview/information session for a financial representative internship

Will be my first interview for an internship and my first ever information session

Can anyone provide tips for me on dos and donts and how to take advantage of opportunity?

Thanks

 

[itshlittt]

pepper that angus

 

[andretti]

Take notes ask questions

 

[ddh1122]

What above dude said - take notes. Bring one of those little notepads, the business ones. I copped one from Walmart and my mom had one that she gave me. Brought that to my first interview and stood out real good. (Should also have a copy of your resume in there as well). I would dress in a nice shirt and tie with the dress socks + shoes + belt. Saying this cause nowadays people were polos and khakis to interviews.

Make a list of questions you would like to ask and try to ask them at the end - try not to ask any questions the interviewer already asked.

What I did in my last interview:

Came with a nice edge, nice shirt and tie combo with some cole haan shoes. I greeted everyone in the store and then the manager came out and took me in the back. I kept a smile on my face and kept my hands positioned in one spot (I fidget alot). I made sure to answer the questions thoroughly and I was honest in my answers. At the end I "interviewed her" with a few questions lol. Got the job.

Not sure to much about your position but it shouldn't be too different 

 

[crazy ebw]

Keep the ntdenim in the dresser at home.

 

[antidope]

Series of questions you should ask:

-Are you going to need to have any of your NASD Licenses prior(Answer to this is going to be no, but itll show that you know what youre talking about)

-If not, will I be expected to obtain any of them during the internship(this question is up in the air depending on what the internship will actually consist of)

-Will you get the opportunity to shadow an advisor during a work day?

 I've only known one person who did an internship to be a rep, his was with Merrill Lynch. He said it was pretty laid back, he didnt have to get licensed because he never came into direct communication with clients but if I remember right he ended up doing it anywhere. He still works there.

 

[Sir San Diego]

You may find some good advice in the link below.

http://niketalk.com/t/581385/the-interview-thread-vol-tips-etiquette-war-stories

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Take notes ask questions

I dislike when interviewee's take notes during my interview.

I don't discourage it, but usually the interviewee ends up doing nothing but taking notes throughout the entire interview and doesn't really get what I'm trying to say. It's honestly just a useless distraction to yourself and it sets up for a useless benchmark (showing you pay attention).

Asking questions is encouraged though.

 

[antidope]

 

Take notes ask questions

I dislike when interviewee's take notes during my interview.

I don't discourage it, but usually the interviewee ends up doing nothing but taking notes throughout the entire interview and doesn't really get what I'm trying to say. It's honestly just a useless distraction to yourself and it sets up for a useless benchmark (showing you pay attention).

Asking questions is encouraged though.

I've made this mistake once before, ended up spending more time looking at the paper than looking at the interviewer.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I've made this mistake once before, ended up spending more time looking at the paper than looking at the interviewer.

Yeah, happens to a lot of people. There are much better ways to show that you're paying attention than to just take notes.

i.e. listen to what I'm saying and what type of answer's we're looking for the interview. Usually if you're the 5-6th person to be interviewed, chances are the people before you didn't give us the answers we're looking for. The interviewer is sort of "outlining" what he/she is looking for. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS.

 

[antidope]

 

I've made this mistake once before, ended up spending more time looking at the paper than looking at the interviewer.

Yeah, happens to a lot of people. There are much better ways to show that you're paying attention than to just take notes.

i.e. listen to what I'm saying and what type of answer's we're looking for the interview. Usually if you're the 5-6th person to be interviewed, chances are the people before you didn't give us the answers we're looking for. The interviewer is sort of "outlining" what he/she is looking for. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS.

Check your pms

 

[ddh1122]

Yeah I wait until the end to take notes, if I even do. If I take notes its maybe 2-3 quick jots. The notebook for me is more of a presentation tool 

 

[yeezusdisciple]

Thanks for the tips guys.

The recruiter told me to come prepared with questions. So ima think of like 10 questions i could ask. Would that be enough?

 

[fantastic4our]

Thanks for the tips guys.

The recruiter told me to come prepared with questions. So ima think of like 10 questions i could ask. Would that be enough?

Probably more than enough, but during the course of hearing the interviewee's spiel, some questions will be answered and new ones will pop up naturally. "I had a question about ____ but you answered that with _____. That made me wonder, what ________?" Come prepared but also let things happen organically.

 

[AgentZero]

When you greet your interviewer remember: firm handshake, smile, and eye contact.

As for questions come prepared with a few and there will be some things that'll come up that you'll want to ask questions about.

Sending a handwritten thank you card after your interview is recommended.

This was actually the discussion topic in one of my classes yesterday 

 

 

[crcballer55]

What specifically is a "financial representative" in this place?

- wear a suit, shirt, tie, & dress shoes. Make sure the shirt & tie are ironed (you'll be surprised how many people will show up looking like they just pulled their clothes out of the laundry). Make sure your shoes are polished too. A good looking pair of shoes will go a long way.

- Always look people in the eye and try to remember names of who you met. Send a hand written thank you note to the interviewer afterwards.

- firm handshake

- do research on the company before you go

- ask what the desired candidate should do to add value to the position/company

 

[Hank Scorpio]

You guys know what I do with all my thank you letters/emails?

Now, don't be hurt when you read this. I'm just being real.

When I get a thank you letter/email--I quickly skim through the whole thing looking for any question marks or anything that stands out. If I see none, it goes to the deleted items or trash. Seeing question marks in thank you letters actually annoys interviewers, because they've just spent a whole day asking and answering questions. Do you think they want to spend more time doing this?

Investment Bankers work 100+ hours a week. They don't have time to sit there and read through a thank you email from someone who probably got dinged during the interview process and reply back. It's a waste of everyone's time.

You'll know the interview went well if you get a call/e-mail back from HR later that night with an offer or an invitation to proceed to the next round of interviews. Sending a thank you note/email isn't going to make or break you. The reason why is because the people who interviewed you already knows who they want to bring back or give offers to a few hours after the interview. By the time your interviewer gets your thank you note/email--you probably already got the offer/invite to next round or a rejection email from HR.

Most people in my current office and my former office all share similar practices. Again, this is the culture in finance. It may be different in another industry.

 

[antidope]

You guys know what I do with all my thank you letters/emails?

Now, don't be hurt when you read this. I'm just being real.

When I get a thank you letter/email--I quickly skim through the whole thing looking for any question marks or anything that stands out. If I see none, it goes to the deleted items or trash. Seeing question marks in thank you letters actually annoys interviewers, because they've just spent a whole day asking and answering questions. Do you think they want to spend more time doing this?

Investment Bankers work 100+ hours a week. They don't have time to sit there and read through a thank you email from someone who probably got dinged during the interview process and reply back. It's a waste of everyone's time.

You'll know the interview went well if you get a call/e-mail back from HR later that night with an offer or an invitation to proceed to the next round of interviews. Sending a thank you note/email isn't going to make or break you. The reason why is because the people who interviewed you already knows who they want to bring back or give offers to a few hours after the interview. By the time your interviewer gets your thank you note/email--you probably already got the offer/invite to next round or a rejection email from HR.

Most people in my current office and my former office all share similar practices. Again, this is the culture in finance. It may be different in another industry.

I usually leave handwritten ones but this is great to know. Won't even bother doing this the next time around.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I usually leave handwritten ones but this is great to know. Won't even bother doing this the next time around.

Don't get me wrong. The thank you letter/email might work for smaller firms or companies, but it won't always work for bigger corporations. The only time I can see it working is if you've been previously connected to the interviewer or they know you from before.

 

[stayblessed]

Limit questions to three tactful questions
Do not take notes
Do follow up interview with a thank you note
Before interview think. About three strengths , a weaknes but one that is not to crippling, an example of when you worked in a group setting and your influence

 

[crcballer55]

 

I usually leave handwritten ones but this is great to know. Won't even bother doing this the next time around.

Don't get me wrong. The thank you letter/email might work for smaller firms or companies, but it won't always work for bigger corporations. The only time I can see it working is if you've been previously connected to the interviewer or they know you from before.

That was more in line with my point. Not knowing the size of the company he's interviewing with, better safe than sorry.

 

[antidope]

I usually leave handwritten ones but this is great to know. Won't even bother doing this the next time around.

Don't get me wrong. The thank you letter/email might work for smaller firms or companies, but it won't always work for bigger corporations. The only time I can see it working is if you've been previously connected to the interviewer or they know you from before.

Appreciate that. I do have some follow up questions that I would love to run by you if you some sometime via PM

 

[fantastic4our]

You guys know what I do with all my thank you letters/emails?

Now, don't be hurt when you read this. I'm just being real.

When I get a thank you letter/email--I quickly skim through the whole thing looking for any question marks or anything that stands out. If I see none, it goes to the deleted items or trash. Seeing question marks in thank you letters actually annoys interviewers, because they've just spent a whole day asking and answering questions. Do you think they want to spend more time doing this?

Investment Bankers work 100+ hours a week. They don't have time to sit there and read through a thank you email from someone who probably got dinged during the interview process and reply back. It's a waste of everyone's time.

You'll know the interview went well if you get a call/e-mail back from HR later that night with an offer or an invitation to proceed to the next round of interviews. Sending a thank you note/email isn't going to make or break you. The reason why is because the people who interviewed you already knows who they want to bring back or give offers to a few hours after the interview. By the time your interviewer gets your thank you note/email--you probably already got the offer/invite to next round or a rejection email from HR.

Most people in my current office and my former office all share similar practices. Again, this is the culture in finance. It may be different in another industry.

I've read similar elsewhere from other people in charge of hiring. That it hardly ever helps, but more times hurts. I think this might be a more outdated concept, like printing resumes on the "special" paper.

 

[antidope]

 

You guys know what I do with all my thank you letters/emails?

Now, don't be hurt when you read this. I'm just being real.

When I get a thank you letter/email--I quickly skim through the whole thing looking for any question marks or anything that stands out. If I see none, it goes to the deleted items or trash. Seeing question marks in thank you letters actually annoys interviewers, because they've just spent a whole day asking and answering questions. Do you think they want to spend more time doing this?

Investment Bankers work 100+ hours a week. They don't have time to sit there and read through a thank you email from someone who probably got dinged during the interview process and reply back. It's a waste of everyone's time.

You'll know the interview went well if you get a call/e-mail back from HR later that night with an offer or an invitation to proceed to the next round of interviews. Sending a thank you note/email isn't going to make or break you. The reason why is because the people who interviewed you already knows who they want to bring back or give offers to a few hours after the interview. By the time your interviewer gets your thank you note/email--you probably already got the offer/invite to next round or a rejection email from HR.

Most people in my current office and my former office all share similar practices. Again, this is the culture in finance. It may be different in another industry.

I've read similar elsewhere from other people in charge of hiring. That it hardly ever helps, but more times hurts. I think this might be a more outdated concept, like printing resumes on the "special" paper.

You guys are making me feel bad, I print all my resumes for in person interviews on thick Ivory paper

. It doesnt get crushed as easily when I have it in my folder.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I've read similar elsewhere from other people in charge of hiring. That it hardly ever helps, but more times hurts. I think this might be a more outdated concept, like printing resumes on the "special" paper.

I don't care so much for the "special" paper as I do for consistency in the resume.

When I look through resumes, I look to see if there's consistency and attention to detail. This is beyond spelling and grammatical errors.