Interview skills/Discussions

Discussions - Posts & Substantive Replies
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 * 1) Each week, you MUST write about your experience of the interview process. (This is MANDATORY).
 * 2) The Discussion Posts will help prepare you to write the Final Paper
 * 3) There are NO GRADES for each Discussion Post.
 * 4) They MUST be 250 words with substantive information  / content AND substantive replies to at least two (2) of your peers (75 words each).
 * 5) Continue the discussion thread / conversation as appropriate. Feel free to share your thoughts, experience and advice.

Completeness

 * Posts that are less than 250 words are NOT considered "complete", and will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.
 * Contributors who do not respond substantively to at least two (2) peers - will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.
 * Substantive replies are NOT required for the last discussion (Week 5)

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REPLIES DUE: Fridays by 11:59 pm
Be aware of:
 * Timeliness
 * Connection / Alignment to Week's Theme
 * Focus on what you Learned
 * A SMART Goal for What You Are Going To Do Differently - http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/Writing_SMART_Goals.pdf
 * Writing / Presentation Quality

Week 1: Introduce Yourself: Your Name, Major / Field of Study, and the Types of Jobs / Companies you are looking to work for
This question is at the beginning of the Interview Process. Consider it as part of the answer to "Tell Me About Yourself".

Week 2: Three (3) CAR Stories from Your Work Experience (Aligned to the desired Job Description / Ad)

 * 1) CAR Story 1
 * 2) CAR Story 2
 * 3) CAR Story 3

Week 3: Identify and Research Employers of Interest
Questions to Ask / Find the Information You Need
 * What is the Job / Role? What are you going to do?
 * What is the Organization? What do they do? What industry are they in?
 * What is their Business?
 * Who are their customers, markets, competitors
 * Are they making money? Losing money?
 * Are they in a regulated industry (i.e., energy, utilities, transportation);
 * Are they unionized?
 * What Problems / Challenges are they facing ("Pain)
 * Who is the Hiring Manager / Decision-Maker; Team Members - what are their backgrounds - what do they do, where have they worked before?
 * What is the culture of the organization like (you get this from networking / information interview)
 * Do people like to work there? Why/Why not? What is the average length of time that people stay in the organization?

Week 5: Course Learnings & Takeaways (400-500 words)

 * 1) What did I learn? How has this affected my understanding of the job search  / interviewing process - from the perspective of employee and employer (hiring manager).
 * 2) What will I do differently? How Will I Handle Challenging Situations? How will I demonstrate this learning (i.e., experiment, put it into practice?)
 * 3) What are the Top 3 Actions that I will take to learn more / achieve my goals? Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based).

NO REPLIES DUE THIS WEEK