Five Pieces of Advice for an Interview

I am probably the last person to ask for interview tips. I take looking for work very seriously and rarely apply to places, so I have had four interviews and two disasters and one fizzle, and besides I have not been hired yet. The fourth interview, for a tutoring company, was on Tuesday.

Still, my advice is after the jump.

1. Read the company website and concentrate on seeing what it does, what you might be doing, whether it seems like a friendly company (though websites are mostly anonymous anyway), and whether it's a big, middling or small firm.

2. See what else Google finds.

i) Horror stories from past employees on forums are quite instructive.

ii) Horror stories about jobs in general are quite instructive.

3. i) It's best to look up the transit route and times on a reliable website (e.g. BVG for the public transit routes in Berlin), write them down, draw a little map and take it along, wear a watch or use an alarm or cellphone clock (my watch's battery died long ago so ingenuity was needed), and leave a half-hour to quarter-hour margin at least.

ii) Take along what you need for the interview itself.

I have been asked for a copy of my resumé (c.v. or Lebenslauf in Germany) and the ID card (Personalausweis) and, for the tutoring position, certificates/transcripts. Twice a company almost hired me and so it was good that I had my health insurance and bank cards along, to copy the information off of them onto the form.

4. Look up the address on Street View. It shows what the building looks like, where the neighbourhood landmarks are, and whether the company office is directly at the sidewalk or whether you will be wandering around a courtyard or up to an upper floor, etc. Even when you reach the address it can still take a long time to find the right door.

5. Experience is a better teacher than anonymous listicles; if these tips aren't helpful please ignore them. If you sincerely want and like the position you are trying to get, things will work out. But if you try not to form preconceived ideas and you talk directly and honestly and you have decided not to grovel or push, it can be an adventure in the positive sense.