Job interviews are stressful. Unfortunately, nothing can change that. There’s a lot on the line. However, you can minimize the stress of interview day by being prepared. A big part of that preparation is having everything you could potentially need for the interview. Bring these 11 essential items with you to your interview to reduce your stress and maximize your chances of landing the job!

A few copies of your resume

• Odds are your potential employer already has a copy of your resume in digital form. However, you may be interviewing with multiple people or might be asked for a hard copy during the course of the interview. Have several copies ready to hand out and you won’t have to worry about it coming up.
• PRO TIP: Go to a print shop and have your resume printed out on nice paper. It’s cheap and will take about 10 minutes. It makes for a much better presentation than if you just run a few copies off your home printer.

A folder or bag

• You’ll need something to keep your paper and notes in. I recommend a padfolio because it allows for paper storage and easy note taking. Whatever item you select for this purpose keep it clean, organized, and professional.

A pen and notepad

• Taking notes during your interview is a must. It shows that you’re engaged, diligent, and actively listening. Make sure that your pen works and that your notepad clean and crisp. Keep these items simple. Your bobble head pen won’t be cute, it will be a distraction.

Some prepared responses

• Read our blog post on tough interview questions. Make sure that you’ve written out answers to each of them and any others that you think might come up. Now, don’t read these responses during your interview, but keep them in a side folder in case you need to review them before your interview.

Some prepared questions

• Much like your notes on responses listed above, you need to prepare questions for your interviewer. Nothing looks worse than when an interviewer wraps up an hour-long conversation with “So, what questions do you have for me?” and your response is “Um, nothing really.” Prepare insightful questions that display your understanding of the role and the business.

Job description

• You should already be very familiar with the job description. It can be helpful when preparing responses and questions. Bring it with you if you have a particular question about the role or just in case you need to review it last minute to get in the zone.

The interview details

• Bring MapQuest directions. Don’t laugh! Detours, accidents, and road construction are everyday occurrences. Best practice here is to drive to the interview location the day or evening before so that you can be sure you know where you’re going. Have your interviewers contact information handy in case something comes up.

Turned off cell phone

• If you need to bring your phone turn it off. The best option is just to leave it in your car. If you’re bringing the other items on this list with you, you won’t need it.

Grooming essentials

• Bring whatever you’ll need to spruce yourself up the last minute. Could be a hairbrush, comb, or lint roller for your suit. The more confident you are about your appearance, the more confident you’ll come across in the interview.

Mints or gum

• There’s nothing wrong with freshening up at the last minute. No one likes coffee breath. However, don’t chew gum or mints during your interview. It’s distracting and unprofessional.

Bottle of water

• Many offices will offer visitors water or coffee on arrival. Don’t rely on that. Bring your own small bottle of water. Few things are worse than trying to sell yourself for a job and struggling with a tickle in your throat the whole time.

Use this list when preparing for your next job interview. You’ll be ready for anything an employer can throw at you and will be significantly more confident when speaking with them.

For more information on interview preparation read our article on “How to Prepare for a Job Interview”.

Did we miss anything? What item are you always sure to bring on a job interview?

Most promotional product job interviews are a challenging experience for everyone involved.

The candidate is nervous and on edge. Most candidate’s greatest fear about a job interview is that they’ll be open, honest, their best self will shine through, and they still won’t get the job. To hedge against this, most study up on inauthentic, rehearsed answers that they think the hiring manager will want to hear.

Often the interviewer is less than prepared and would rather be doing something else. The biggest mistake most hiring managers make is taking a candidate’s answer at face value. That’s not to say that they are lying, but talk is cheap.

Canned Responses and A Wasted Hour

Here are 5 very common traditional interview questions that you’ve probably asked or been asked.

• What are your greatest strengths or weaknesses?
• What did you enjoy most/least about your last position?
• Describe the best boss you’ve ever had.
• Where do you want to be in 5 years?
• How would your coworkers or supervisor describe you?

9 out of 10 times these questions get you absolutely nowhere. You’ll learn nothing new about your candidate and be no closer to discovering what they would be like as a co-worker. Candidates have prepared and rehearsed these answers to death. The canned answers are designed to make the candidate look great and tell the interviewer what they want to hear. As a result, the interviewer and the candidate part ways knowing very little new, honest information about each other.

How can you be expected to make the very expensive of decision of hiring a new employee with such murky information?

Behavior-Based Interviewing

The solution to this predicament is behavior-based questions. These questions are built on the philosophy that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Traditional interview question: “How do you handle stress?”

Behavior-based interviewing question: “Tell me about a time you had to perform a task or project under a lot of stress?”

20 Terrific Interview Questions for CSRs

1. “Describe a time you exceeded the expectations of a client?”
2. “Sometimes sales reps will drag their feet in taking action on something or be out of the office and unreachable. Tell me about a time you that quick action was needed on something and you took it upon yourself to lead the effort.”
3. “Describe a situation where you had to collect information by asking many people a lot of questions.”
4. “Give me an example of the kinds of issues you have talked to your sales rep about rather than handling them yourself.”
5. “Tell me about the most difficult customer with whom you have had to deal?”
6. “Tell me what tool you would use and how would use it to source 144 US made hot pink widgets priced below $6.00.”
7. “Describe a time where your patience in gathering information paid off.”
8. “Tell me about your most challenging sourcing project and how you overcame the obstacles.”
9. “Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks?”
10. “Tell me about a time you needed to get cooperation from a vendor for you to be successful on a task or project.”
11. “Describe a time when you were able to become personal friends with a customer.”
12. “Tell me about a time when you caught an error that others had missed.”
13. “Describe a time you were not able to deliver a product to a client on time.”
14. “Give me an example of a time you identified a potential problem and resolved the situation before it became serious.”
15. “Tell me about about the last time you missed a project deadline because you were not well organized.”
16. “Describe a time you had to make a quick decision with incomplete information.”
17. “Tell me about a time you had to work with conflicting, delayed, or ambiguous information. What did you do to make the most of the situation?”
18. “Describe the worst-on-the-job crisis you had solve. How did you manage to maintain your composure?”
19. “Tell me about a situation in which a customer was so difficult that you just gave up trying (or were unable to satisfy him / her?”
20. “Describe the most creative work project you’ve ever completed.”

The promotional product job interview experience and results can be greatly improved when hiring firms move from canned interview questions to behavior-based interview questions.  The answers that come from behavior-based questions gives the candidate a chance to truly reveal who they are, what they’ve done in the past, and what they can contribute to the hiring firm.  With this knowledge, hiring firms can make quality decisions that reduce ramp up time and improve retention.