The first section, ‘The Art of the Interview,’
is designed with the candidate in mind.
It provides the direction to:
This will be followed by commonly asked interview
questions that many employers have found to be most useful.
| Preparing For The Interview |
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1) |
Learn about the organization (website, publications, current/past
employees, PHARMASEARCH consultant, etc.) |
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2) |
Learn about the position (same sources as above) |
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3) |
Thoroughly review your resume and your accomplishments |
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4) |
Practice responses to anticipated questions |
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5) |
Appropriate appearance and attire is essential; turn it up
a notch |
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6) |
What to bring with you: resume, notepad, pen |
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7) |
Drive to the location the day before |
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| Interview Amenities |
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1) |
Arrive 10 minutes early…no more, no less |
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2) |
Use the restroom before your meeting: make sure of your appearance |
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3) |
Be friendly to receptionists, administrative assistants,
etc. |
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4) |
The handshake: firm but not too firm, enthusiastic but not
too much so |
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5) |
Make good eye contact |
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6) |
Smoke, chew, drink? – NO! |
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7) |
Ask everyone you meet for their business card (makes sending
thank you notes much easier) |
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8) |
Observation for the sake of conversation: find items displayed
in the waiting area or office for a source of icebreaking conversation |
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| Show Time |
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1) |
Relax |
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2) |
Use free movements, gestures |
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3) |
Keep your hands free |
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| Images ‘R Us |
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1) |
The use of vivid imagery leaves lasting impressions |
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- present your accomplishments in the form of a story in which
the ‘pictures’ |
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are clear to the listener |
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2) |
Abstractions get lost |
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- terms such as “I am people-oriented” or “I
am a great communicator” won’t be remembered |
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but stories (examples) that demonstrate these skills
are not forgotten |
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3) |
Keep the stories short and related to your strengths and
successes stated on your resume |
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4) |
Prepare your stories in advance and practice, practice, practice |
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5) |
Relate your presentation to the needs of the company with
whom you are interviewing |
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| The
“Tell Me About Yourself” Question |
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1) |
I am what I do – keep responses related primarily
to your profession |
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2) |
Describe your work experience |
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3) |
Review your educational background |
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4) |
Discuss why you are looking for a new position |
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5) |
Define your job objective |
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No-Win Questions
(and how to respond) |
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“What is your greatest weakness?” |
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“Tell me about something in which you failed.”
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“Why are you leaving your job?” |
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“Why are you looking for another opportunity?” |
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1) |
Be brief (no need to create lasting pictures here) |
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2) |
Be general |
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3) |
Be honest – but sell yourself |
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| Behavioral Interviewing
– A commonly used interviewing technique |
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1) |
Past performance is the best indicator
of future success |
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2) |
Be concise and supply real examples with adequate detail |
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3) |
No theoretical responses |
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| Your Turn- Ask what
you want to know |
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1) |
“How does your company go about…?” |
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2) |
“What are your expectations of the person in this position?” |
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3) |
“What are the next steps in this process?” |
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4) |
Generally speaking, avoid salary discussion at this point
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| Follow Up |
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1) |
Self-debrief |
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- immediately upon leaving the interview write notes of questions
asked, how you responded, |
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what you would do to improve (this can be helpful for
any future interviews) |
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2) |
Contact your search consultant at PHARMASEARCH to review
your self-debrief |
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3) |
Send any additional information or materials you agreed to
provide |
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4) |
SEND A THANK YOU NOTE to everyone you met at the interview |
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5) |
Your PHARMASEARCH consultant will contact the interviewer
for feedback and share it with you |
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| Employer
Interview Questions |
...GENERAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Generally speaking, past performance is the
best predictor of future success. That being said, the questions
attached focus on the past. You should ask for concrete examples
and specific details so you feel comfortable that you understand
the candidate’s response.
The following questions are general in nature
and do not necessarily address the technical aspects of the
candidate’s qualifications. You should develop those
questions to determine if the desired technical skill set
is in place for this candidate to be successful. |
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1) |
Review resume noting dates of employment, gaps in employment,
duration of employment with each organization, if responsibilities
were progressive in nature, etc.
- Ask about any of the above for which you may have questions
- Ask why they left one job to go to another |
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2) |
Why did you choose to go into this field? |
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3) |
How have you contributed to the success of your present employer?
(Get specific examples of what they have done.) |
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4) |
Why are you interested in making a job change? |
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5) |
Describe the best boss you ever had. (Ask follow up questions
to get specifics as to what that boss did to make this candidate
rate them as the best.) |
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6) |
Describe the least effective boss you had in the past. (Get
details.) |
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7) |
What is your greatest strength?
- Give me examples as to how that strength has been utilized
successfully with your present employer. |
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8) |
In what area would you most like to improve? Examples: organization
skills, time management, etc.
- What are you doing to improve in this area? |
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9) |
Tell me about a work-related problem you had to face recently.
- What did you do to deal with it? Get specifics.
- What was the outcome? |
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10) |
What questions do you have concerning the position, the company,
or any other matter? |
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- Explain what the next steps are (several more candidates,
decision made next Friday, etc). |
Contact
your PHARMASEARCH consultant to share your feedback about
this candidate.
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