I have to say, I learned quite a bit about the interview process from the HR side from the experience. I joked with one of my coworkers after the show that I learned three main things:

1.    Everyone is hard working
2.    Everyone is dedicated
3.    Everyone is punctual

I always thought that if I was ever a job interviewer, I would ask insightful questions regarding what a particular person could bring to company. Now maybe I’m just a bad interviewer, but it seemed like after the 20th person, everyone just started to look the same.

This begs the question – how do you differentiate yourself when interviewing? This is a particularly poignant question when unemployment is at the highest it’s been in years and it’s getting harder for new grads to find jobs.

I gave it some thought and came up with three things you can do to stand out:

1.    Explain how your job experience directly relates to the job your applying for.
The number one thing that made some of the applicants stand out was when he/she would directly relate past job experiences to our company. Here are some examples:

So you worked at a call center?
“Yes, and what I learned from that experience is how to communicate with people effectively over the phone – something I know is very important to public relations with the amount of media relations we have to do.”

So you were a waiter?
“Yes I was. And that experience will help me working in PR because of the amount of multi-tasking that PR professionals do. As a waiter, I often had to juggle five or six tables at a time while providing excellent service – it really taught me how to work under pressure with as few errors as possible. In PR, I know professionals often have to switch gears quickly while still maintaining a high level of productivity – and that’s something being a waiter taught me.”

2.    Be Yourself
Don’t be afraid to mess up or laugh at yourself – you’re not perfect and no one is. If you fumble a little bit or don’t have the perfect answer to a question, that’s okay, just focus on being yourself and doing your best. It wasn’t terribly difficult to pick out people who were telling me what they thought I wanted to hear vs. those that were truly being sincere.

3.    Smile
Remember that interviews are as much for you to find out if the company is a good fit for you as it is to see if you’re a good fit for the company. So relax! Smile, relax your shoulders, and take a deep breath before speaking to the interviewer – it’ll really help you come off as calm, confident and someone I can trust to get things done.

It’s amazing how much you learn just from seeing the interview from the other side. Have any of you had similar experiences or have good tips for people that are going into interviews? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

I put together a list of my favorite things about my company and small businesses that I’ve found make it a terrific experience right out of college. These are definitely some things new grads should consider when looking for jobs – so let’s jump in!

1.    More Responsibility

Small companies give you the opportunity to be responsible for bigger projects sooner. Why? A lot of times they don’t have the man power to do otherwise – so you’re constantly put in a position where you’re being asked to step up to the plate and get results.

2.    More work, less sleep

In small companies, if you don’t do something, most of the time it won’t get done. This means that you have to be very dependable, willing to work long hours, and be ready to be held accountable for your projects – for better or worse. This will really teach you to take ownership of every project you have and make sure it’s a success.

3.    You get to wear a lot of hats

I’m the webmaster, blogger, IT guy, stock boy, newsletter writer…you get the point. In my opinion, this just makes you a very well rounded employee and definitely gives you some job security, as you’ll be indispensable to your company.

4.    Merit based, usually not age

One of the advantages of small companies is that you often have the opportunity for promotion much more quickly than in larger firms. In large firms, you’re often going up against 4 or 5 other employees for a particular position. In boutique firms, as long as you prove yourself to be competent and capable, it’s very likely they’ll promote you right away.

Not to toot my own horn, but to give you an idea – I was an intern in January 2008 and I’ve been promoted four times since. However, you should also keep in mind that not all small companies may follow this model.

5.    Develop great relationships with your management team

With five employees, we have a very tight-knit group. It’s a terrific experience to be able to walk down the hall to the President and have a candid conversation about the client you represent, various projects, life – whatever you need to. We are definitely a team and we all understand how important each individual is to the company.

All in all, working for a small company can be a really rewarding experience, but you have to be willing to put in the extra time and effort it will take to help the company succeed.

So do you work at a small company? If not, how do you think big companies compare?

Those internships were a great experience and in many cases, I learned more from them than I had in school. Not to toot my own horn, but during my internships and college jobs, I was pretty consistently told that I was a wonderful intern and one of the best they had ever hired. In fact, when I was waiter, I was named employee of the month during my third month on the job.

I’ve put together a list of things I did to make sure that I got the most out of my internships. I think this is also a good set of guidelines when starting a new job to make sure you’re making the best impression possible.

1.    Be Punctual – Punctuality is probably one of the easiest and hardest things to do. It doesn’t only mean show up to work on time, it also means making sure you meet all of your deadlines while maintaining high quality work. It will mean staying late or eating lunch at your desk at times, but that’s why your there right? To gain experience. In PR, most of the time you can’t afford to be late, so it’s better to try to get things done ahead of time. One of old high school teachers put it best when he said, “To be early is to be on time, to on time is to be late, and to be late is very, very stupid.”

2.    Ask Questions – This is one of those rules you’ll hear throughout your internships and career and it’s directly related to being punctual. It doesn’t only show that you’re being proactive, it will also help you develop a better understanding of the profession, company, and become a better employee. Plus, most managers would agree that they would rather you ask a quick question now than spend a few hours doing something incorrectly or with errors.

3.    Be Proactive – Like questions, this is one you’ll hear all the time. Finished with an assignment? Ask for more. Want to sit in on a conference call or meeting? Ask if you can. This will show that you are genuinely interested in the company and by going that extra mile you’ll make yourself stand out among the other interns.

4.    Mentor – Find someone at your company that you look up to and ask them to coffee, to lunch, and see if you can pick their brain. You’ll find that most people will be happy to sit with you and discuss their careers. It will give you a lot of insight into the pros and cons of your chosen career path and the more information you have, the better career decisions you can make.

5.    Be Indispensable – Make yourself indispensable to the company. By going above and beyond in any way you can, you’ll put yourself in the position that if the company is hiring for an entry level position, they have no reason not to hire you. Become the go-to person for a particular client, topic, skill, anything. Volunteer for additional opportunities – good or bad. Does the store room need to be organized and you have no projects and already asked for more? Organize it. Secretary sick and they need someone at the front desk? Volunteer. It may not be the most glamorous thing to do sometimes, but all of those little things will add up and everyone in the company will really appreciate you for it and you’ll show that you are someone that is dependable. Even if a job doesn’t open up – you’ll sure get yourself one heck of a recommendation.

I hope that helps! What do you think interns and new recruits can do to get the most out of their new position?