by Sylvia I. Landy
Ditch the Flip-Flops equips soon-to-be degree holders and recent college grads with the skills to ace their toughest test yet: the job interview. Nothing in school has prepared you for the brutal scrutiny of HR managers … nor the fierce competition you will encounter while trying to leverage a costly education and land your dream job.
This book never forgets what you're up against. As a result, Ditch:
- Maps out interviewing strategies as a manageable three-step process.
- Embraces Interviewing 101 so critical fundamentals and life-changing momentum don't slip through the cracks.
- Shares insider tips from seasoned HR heads and reveals interviewing's down and dirty details from recently hired college grads.
- Divulges action plans and cutting-edge tools in a straightforward style, using hundreds of examples.
"Ditch infuses candidates with a paycheck-worthy style."
––Alan E. Drizd, President, People Advisors Group Inc.
Over thirty years of HR experience as VP/Director for Fortune 500 companies focused on healthcare, manufacturing, service, software, and distribution businesses
"I was much better prepared before, during, and
after my interviews because of this book."
––Mark Estabrook, Davidson College grad who got the job!
"Our campus career office is great, but really busy. Ditch filled in the gaps, helped me organize, and perfected my overall interviewing approach."
––S. Lacombe, University of Michigan undergrad who got the internship!
In the past twenty years since she graduated from Northwestern University with an MBA, Sylvia I. Landy has recruited, hired and worked side by side with scores of young adults. Early on, she launched a healthcare products start-up from her basement, later selling it as a nationwide concern to a Fortune 500 giant. She initially hired recent college graduates as a calculated cost-cutting measure; they quickly became the cream of the crop. Virtually since day one, young career professionals have fortified her rank and file, and she has never looked back.
This book is payback. Yes, I owe you. I put as much head and heart into these pages as I've had the good fortune to reap from your earnest peer group throughout the years. As a result, my advice is as sincere as it is relevant.
I equip soon-to-be degree holders and recent college grads with the skills to ace their toughest test yet: the job interview. Nothing in school has prepared you for the brutal scrutiny of HR managers and the fierce competition you will encounter while trying to land your dream job.
Each year, over 2.5 million college graduates vie with one another—and a pool of polished, older applicants—for attractive perks and salaries. Despite a fervent desire to leverage a rigorous and costly education, several hundred thousand students fresh from hallowed halls are left high and dry, because there aren't enough jobs to go around. This predicament will continue throughout the next decade as the number of degree holders outstrips career opportunities across many industries.
While there is an obvious need for savvy interviewing advice, only a handful of resources address the very specific needs of the new grad recruit. Our bookshelves and experts augment a more experienced candidate—one who has been around the job-hunting block a time or two. Or one who is easily lured into believing the erroneous notion touted by far too many titles these days: it's possible to negotiate the treacherous interview learning curve in twenty-four hours, in mere seconds, or even via smoke and mirrors.
On the other hand, campus career-counseling offices provide invaluable interviewing support with hardworking, dedicated staff members at the helm. With personnel stretched to the max and too few hours in the day, however, these professionals sometimes fail to deliver critical details or build necessary momentum for twentysomethings. There simply isn't enough time to fully prepare you, and everyone else, for what lies ahead as you face recruiter after recruiter.
Ditch the Flip-Flops changes all this by teaching new graduates the keys to interviewing success: plug in through A-to-Z preparation; forge meaningful connections via a thoughtful, concerted effort; and power up in the homestretch with initiative and perseverance. I distill two decades of pertinent experiences into manageable strategies to accomplish these objectives.
In the twenty years since I graduated from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management with an MBA, I've recruited, hired, and worked side by side with scores of young adults. Early on, I launched a healthcare products start-up from my basement and later sold the nationwide concern to a Fortune 500 giant. I then partnered with another Kellogg grad to spearhead two additional initiatives—one was a for-profit company and the other a nonprofit organization. As a result, I routinely interfaced with managers from a broad range of industries across the country. I had the unique opportunity to see and learn a lot.
From the beginning, my hiring efforts focused on recent degree holders as a calculated cost-cutting measure. However, these recruits quickly became the cream of the crop. I noted how inexperience was supplanted by an unstoppable drive when expectations were clear and goals were well defined. Virtually since day one, new college grads have fortified my rank and file, and I've never looked back.
While my advice is based on these hands-on experiences and positive outcomes, I've also tapped into the trenches for additional wisdom. I enthusiastically share the down and dirty from recently employed college grads and keen insights from seasoned Human-Resources professionals. You can be sure that the opinions cited on the following pages represent a clear-cut consensus of those who are in the know. I gathered this tried-and-true input from conversations conducted over many years, where I made a point to collect both quantity and quality.
As a result, Ditch the Flip-Flops expertly arms interviewees with essential fundamentals and cutting-edge tools applicable to a majority of job interviewing situations. Included are innovative PR strategies to get you noticed, a fail-safe formula for answering both predictable and curveball questions, and timely cyberspace shortcuts and showstoppers. I also equip you to put your best foot forward when interviews take an uncomfortable turn. A round of rapid-fire interrogation from a roomful of no-nonsense head honchos, an eleventh-hour attack of nerves, or an illicit line of questioning are all nail-biters you can master. All in all, this book is Interviewing 101 at its guts-and-glory best.
Most of you will use this comprehensive guide as a reference manual after thumbing through from cover to cover. You'll pick up Ditch frequently, but sporadically, to seek guidance as you encounter one interviewing challenge after another. This is because focusing on the demands of the hour often yields the most effective plan of attack. When it's time to plunk down a tidy sum for that pristine business suit, chapter 5 carefully maps out the head-to-toe standard recruiters expect. Weeks later, you can consult chapter 12 after you leave the building the day of your interview, for a blueprint proven to solidify your fit with that particular organization.
Several basic themes are emphasized repeatedly in this book since they are applicable across a number of critical interviewing moments. Recent college grads confirm that the repetition of key ideas actually bolsters rather than bores when it comes to such high stakes. After all, you're being asked to step up in ways you've never experienced. This transition is a tough pill to swallow in one big gulp.
I'm very sensitive to what you're going through right now. There will be times when you greet important people by the wrong name, reference incorrect facts, arrive a few minutes late, or use a salad fork to cut into your entrée. These shoot-me-now moments happen to all of us, all the time. While these blunders gnaw away at you as being larger than life, they aren't defining moments if you proceed diligently.
It is your sincere effort, rather than robotic perfection, that will carry the day. Recruiters unanimously confirm that informed and enthusiastic candidates who give it their all create a hire-me imprint at every turn.
I connect the dots to instill you with "give it your all" purpose and substance. I go back to square one where we launched our first successful venture together and I realized that straightforward advice and well-defined goals were the ticket to your success. Using this same approach, I help you to own the responsibility and the opportunity of each interviewing challenge you will encounter.
Suddenly, you become the candidate to beat. You have the best chance to defy the sign of our times with newly acquired confidence and a paycheck-worthy style. There's no other way for anyone with a pricey diploma hot off the press to ace the interview test and clinch that dream job.
I wouldn't steer you wrong; I owe you as much.
PDF of this page)
