Diverse Interview Strategies

Universal Expectations throughout the Workforce, Evaluated During the Interview Process

Dan Dalton, Rustin Player, Alex Asay, Dylan C hisholm, Mekayla Brooks

Februar !", !#$"

%able of &ontents
Introduction''''''''''''''''''''(! )esearch Plan'''''''''''''''''''((* )esults of Stud ''''''''''''''''(''(+ Discussion of results''''''''''''''''((($# )eco,,endations'''''''''''''''''(($$ -ppendix -''''''''''''''''''''($"

Diverse Interview Strategies.

Introduction
Dr( &oote , a %echnical Writing instructor at Salt /ake &o,,unit &ollege, gave us 0%echnical writing !$## students1 our first assign,ent for the spring !#$" se,ester( %his assign,ent consisted of an anal tical report, based on an infor,al interview perfor,ed with a hiring ,anager related to our own personal field of stud ( %he report was a group effort, which consisted of the representation of ,ultiple fields( %he purpose of this report was to conclude what universal expectations throughout the workforce are evaluated during an e,plo ,ent interview process( 2ur tea,3s work pro4ects consisted of several diverse fields( %hese fields were Ps cholog , &ri,inal 5ustice, /aw, &ivil Engineering, and 6D% 06on Destructive %esting1( %he ,ain focus of the pro4ect was to ask a generali7ed set of 8uestions and deter,ine how each field was represented throughout the interview process( Each ,e,ber of the group contributed two to three general 8uestions, which ,ade up a list totaling ten( %hese specific 8uestions were asked to five different field representatives and hiring ,anagers with varied results( So,e of the 8uestions asked were. What are so,e of the skills and abilities necessar for so,eone to succeed in this 4ob9 What can I do to stand out fro, ever one else9 What t pe of resu,e do ou prefer, chronological or functional9 Finall et i,portantl ,

what is a reasonable salar expectation for new college graduates in the :::: field9 -s stated above, the results were ,ixed( 2ther 8uestions were asked along with the ten general 8uestions( ;ost, if not all, additional 8uestions directl related to the each individual3s chosen field(

)esearch Plan
Each tea, ,e,ber chose an individual in their respective field to interview and ask 8uestions on how to be successful( We collaborated with our tea, ,e,bers and for,ed 8uestions to asked the people we interviewed( <elow is a list of the steps our group took to co,plete our interviews(

Writing &enter.
-s a group, we set up an appoint,ent to ,eet with a Student Writing &enter advisor, /isa <ick,ore( She is an English Professor at Salt /ake &o,,unit &ollege( %he ,eeting with her took place on %hursda , Februar $*, !#$"( She gave us a second opinion on for,atting the entire report and so,e advice on how to deal with co,bining five different fields into one report( -s our fields were so different fro, one another, /isa helped us find out what aspects all five of the fields had in co,,on(

Interview =uestions.
We are a ver diverse group( %here are five different career interests between the five of us( For the interview 8uestions, we decided to have at least two 8uestions that could be answered and be useful in all five of the fields( -n other 8uestions that were asked pertained to the person3s field that we were interviewing( %o co,e up with the couple of 8uestions that we would all ask our person we interviewed, we used class ti,e, and >oogle Drive to bounce the 8uestions off each other( %he process was si,ple, and it did not take long at all( Deciding who, to interview. While the step before this was 8uite si,ple, this process was ,ore difficult( While so,e of us had an idea of who, we would interview, other ,e,bers did not know a single person in the field the wanted to outline( -t first, this was a ,inor roadblock, but thanks

to referrals b other group ,e,bers, we were all able to get an interview with experienced people in each field( Interview process. -ll five ,e,bers of our group conducted an interview with a relevant source inside of our desired career field( >etting the actual interview was the longest process for an of us( So,e ,e,bers used the ?cold calling3 ,ethod of getting a person to interview as soon as possible( 2ther tea,,ates e,ailed several possible interview candidates( We even had a ,e,ber who was related to the person the interviewed( %he longest interview process took about two weeks of planning a good date, place, and ti,e for both people to ,eet up(

Interviews.
&hr stal Sanson, @iring ;anager for Pilkington ;etal Finishing &r stal Sanso, was forwarded to Dan b the =(& ,anagerA2wner David Pilkington, whose infor,ation was given to Dan, b another student in his 6D% 06on Destructive %esting1 class( Dan first called hi,, and then sent out an e,ail re8uest( @e then forwarded it to &r stal( She notified Dan b e,ail and phone to set up the date( %he interview took place at $$."B a, on #!A#+A!#$"( It took less than !" hours to set up the interviewC however, it took about two weeks of networking, e,ailing, and cold calling to get an interview( &hr stal Sanso, is the current hiring ,anager for Pilkington ,etal finishing( She stated she has been in that position for ! D ears( &hr stal likes her 4ob fro, her willingness to help( She likes her 4ob because she had a positive outlook in regards to her position, other people3s positions, and the co,pan itself(

5err < a,, Unified Police 2fficer in Utah -lex -sa interviewed his old high school law enforce,ent teacher 5err < a, who is also a Police 2fficer for the Unified Police( -lex and 5err spent 8uite a bit of free ti,e co,,unicating with each other to give -lex a better understanding of what part of /aw Enforce,ent suits hi, and his interests( @e e,ailed 5err to see if he could ask hi, so,e 8uestions on his free ti,e on !E+E!#$" and got a response on !E$#E!#$"( 5err < a, has been in /aw Enforce,ent for a ver long ti,e( @e has done S(W(-(%, been a Patrol 2fficer, and is currentl a School &op( %hough he is not a FhiringG ,anager, he holds a higher position in the local /aw Enforce,ent co,,unit ( -s far as he has told ,e he loves his field, he does ad,it that it is ver e,otionall draining and hard, but well worth it( Dr( Haren Hwan, -ssistant Ps cholog Professor at S/&& ;eka la <rooks was referred to Dr( Hwan b our tea,,ate Dan Dalton( ;eka la sent out several e,ails to people she knew who teach or work in the ps cholog field, and Dr( Hwan was the first to repl ( %heir interview took place the sa,e da and it took about half an hour( She told ,e she had ,a4ored in counseling( ;eka la also used infor,ation fro, a previous interview with Dr( Scott Hadera PhD, a clinical ps chologist at S/&& @ealth and Wellness Services( @e was ver enthusiastic about answering all of ;eka la3s 8uestions( @e en4o s his 4ob( @e said that he began a career as an accountant before going back to school and earning his Ps cholog PhD because he wanted a career in helping people(

>ene Pla er, 2wner of Pla er &onsulting

)ustin and his source are related( >ene Pla er is )ustin3s Uncle, and it took one phone call that took ten ,inutes to get his infor,ation( >ene Pla er has ,ore than a decade of experience in &ivil Engineering( >ene studied under a professional as an apprentice, then 4ourne ,an, and beca,e a ,aster( >ene is licensed, and is 2wner of his co,pan , Pla er &onsulting( >ene is a consultant for ,an co,panies including EarthFax and Delco Western( Eric 2lson, Founder of 2lson/aw, <usiness /itigation /aw Fir, D lan &hishol, is neighbors with Eric 2lson, and e,ailed hi, so,eti,e last fall on his own ti,e to find out what it takes to be a /aw er( @e used the infor,ation he obtained in that interview in our Presentation( D lan and Eric e,ailed each other and set up a date, ti,e, and place where the would ,eet up and discuss /aw School( Eric is a ver bus /aw er( @e started his own /aw Fir, 02lson/aw1 one week prior to ,eeting with D lan, so it took hi, two weeks to get an interview with Eric( Eric 2lson was the headed the litigation section at Durha, 5ones and Pinegar /aw Fir,( @e has been a law er for over a decade now and has been listed inC <est /aw ers of -,erica for &o,,ercial /itigation 0!#$!E!#$*1, has been na,ed in Utah <usiness ;aga7ine3s F/egal EliteG 0!##+E!#$*1, -I rating 0highest rating1 fro, ;artindale @ubbell, and ,an other @onors, rewarding his success(

)esults of Stud
-s our fields are so diverse, this section will give a brief su,,ar of the shared attributes found in ,an interviews( -fter that, it will specif necessar ele,ents for a resu,e in each separate field, as well tips about educational preparation( For ,ost of the five fields having co,,unication skills and appearing professional during the interview were considered especiall i,portant( Specific educational prere8uisites were also e,phasi7ed in ,ost of the interviews( %he tables below represent ke infor,ation obtained fro, the interview process( &areer He words. 6D% -daptive %ea, pla er <est interest of the co,pan /icensed &ivil Engineering &ri,inal 5ustice &o,,unicator %ea, pla er /icensed Experienced &o,,unicator =uick decision ,aker Public Safet Public Safet /aw Ps cholog

&o,,unicator &o,,unicator Persuasive E,pathetic Writer &o,petitive /icensed <uilds client rapport

)esu,e Ele,ents.
6D% &ivil Engineering &ri,inal 5ustice Either chronological or &hronological Portra self as a functional decision ,aker @onest description and Professionall portra al of self /icensed 6o curriculu, Iitae 6o curriculu, Iitae Degree is ke E,phasi7e experience /aw <(-( or ,ore Ps cholog <achelor3s degree. functional PhD. chronological If ou have a PhD, include a &urriculu, Iitae >ood >)E score /ist our experience in the field

@onest description and >Pportra al of self Entrance %est /S-% score Ph sical %est

He Experience.
6D% &ivil Engineering &ri,inal 5ustice /aw Ps cholog

Depends on the Five ears of education, P2S% 0Police skills posted for four ears internship under -cade, 1 the 4ob licensed engineer

Internship

- clinical internship

- degree

- degree

So,e experience in - /aw law enforce,ent degree

- ps cholog degree, at least a ;aster3s but preferabl a PhD

2n the 4ob training

Experience with -uto&-D bachelor3s degree preferred

)eferences and 6etworking.

&ivil Engineering &ri,inal 5ustice ;ake ourself known, and get so,e experience( /aw 6etworking Heep in touch with an engineers ou co,e across )eferences Do great work and co,pan in good standing for better referrals <e honest and proactive to ,ake ourself better known throughout the agenc ( Do a great 4ob on ever case and ask the, to reco,,end ou to an one the know that is looking for a law er Include a &urriculu, Iitae as a reference if ou have a PhD(

>ive ever one our na,e, put ourself out there

Ps cholog

6D%

&all and talk to people working in the field, go to conferences such as the )ock ;ountain Ps chological -ssociation conventions, 4oin Psi &hi, %he International @onor Societ in Ps cholog &reate a profile on /inkedIn Heep a good standing with clients and ask the, for referrals

InterviewA&areer ;istakes.
6D% &ri,inal /aw 5ustice Inappropriate 6ot preparing for the Inabilit to 6ot Practicing for the Dress possibilit of a test solve proble,s /S-% correctl Dishonest Unprofessional work <ad ethics Procrastination of ethics application process ;isrepresentation 6ot accusto,ed to 6o patience 6ot being a polished new design ,ethods writerAco,,unicator %i,e ;anage,ent 6ot prepared for 6ot being Selfishness ,entall challenging proactive tasks &ivil Engineering Ps cholog Unprofessional Dress /ack of preparation for the >)E test 6ot advancing our interpersonal skills 6ot taking advantage of networking opportunities

@ow to Stand 2ut Fro, the &rowd.

6D% &ivil Engineering &ri,inal 5ustice /aw Excellent >PPs cholog Excellent >)E score ;ake our graduate school application specific Iolunteer Experience <e read for on the <e a good designer <achelor3s Degree 4ob instruction Adaptable <e an excellent co,,unicator

-ble to handle tough Excellent /S-% situations score @onest AIntegrit <e proactive /eadership )oles

Work well with others

&o,,unit service Do an internship

Discussion of )esults
It was interesting to discuss findings and results with tea, ,e,bers in the group( <elow is a brief su,,ar of what was reported(

Dress conduct. -lthough our findings were prett unani,ous, with ,ost interviews stating that professional dress is the expectation, &r stal Sanso, of Pilkington ;etal Finishing suggested that an interviewee ,atch their clothing to the field the appl to( 2verdressed interviewees ,a be thought of as ,asking the,selves while underdressed applicants would appear apathetic(

Personalit ASkills. 2ur overall conclusion was that positive co,,unication, adaptiveness, being a tea, pla er, honest , 8uick decisionE,aking, good stressE,anage,ent and e,plo ers

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collectivel valued leadership skills because those traits in individuals would benefit the co,pan (

)esu,e3s. 2ne of the students involved in this report asked a specific 8uestion, FWhat t pe of resu,e do ou prefer, chronological or functional9G We can conclude that resu,e preference is generall based on what an interviewer looks for specificall , as well as what fieldsAdegrees the interviewee has obtained( -s an outlier, the 6D% field liked to see both a chronological and functional represented on a resu,e(

Salar . %his one 8uestion has a huge defining purpose in 4ob seekers and securing e,plo ,ent( Without fail, all but one hiring ,anager refused to answer the 8uestion( @owever, >ene Pla er stated that a civil engineering career would net J"!,### annuall ( Undoubtedl , this has to be the Felephant in the roo,G 8uestion, which students either failed to or avoided asking( 2ur final thought about this was that salar is a huge concern for e,plo ers and e,plo ees because too high or low of an offer or de,and can be a deal breaker(

)eco,,endations
Predictions
/aw. For soon to be /aw School >raduates, the 4ob application process is hard, ver co,petitive, and it is not going to get easier an ti,e soon( With that being said, I did talk to several people in the PreE/aw depart,ent at the Universit of Utah and the said

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that people looking to >raduate fro, /aw School around !#$KE!#!# should see 4ob openings ,ore often, and the co,petition(

&ri,inal 5ustice. %he 2utlook for /aw Enforce,ent officers is predicted to grow around BL b !#!!, which is slower than average( -fter being accepted into and passing P2S% ou need to then get interviews fro, different agencies( Mou also have to ,eet ph sical re8uire,ents, background checks, and an oral interview to a board( 6onEDestructive %esting. 2pportunit exists for 6D% professionals toda than ever before( In fact, the 6D% 4ob ,arket can onl be classified as Fred hot(G )eflecting the nation3s overall tight labor ,arket, there are thousands of 4ob openings available in 6D%( It is esti,ated that between N,### and +,### 6D% 4obs opened up last ear, nearl a *#L increase over the previous ear(

Ps cholog . -s for Ps cholog students, the field looks pro,ising, with $!L growth within the next decade according to U(S( Depart,ent of /abor( @owever, there will still be a lot of co,petition because ps cholog is a popular ,a4or(

&ivil Engineering.

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&ivil engineering is a necessar 4ob and should not expect an lack or decline of 4obs( In so,e areas, the expanse of the variet of 4obs available is extraordinar ( %he 4ob is also expanding to include ,an other subfields, such as bioengineering and space structures(

Educational -dvice
/aw. %he best thing ou can do as a student who is looking to get into /aw School is do as ,an practice /S-% 0/aw School -d,issions %est1 tests as ou can before taking the actual one( So,e Universities offer a class to get prepared for the /S-%( ;an /aw ers highl reco,,end taking those courses( 2ne other thing ou can do is reall work hard to get a ver good >P-( -fter all, ,ost /aw Schools onl care about our /S-% score and >P-, unless there is a tie between two applicants, and then the look at other 8ualifications( &ri,inal 5ustice. For people going into a &ri,inal 5ustice field such as 0Police 2fficer, Detective, Etc(1 I would reco,,end getting a degree of so,e kind preferabl a bachelor3s having to do with our career field( In addition, I would consider getting a 4ob that co,pares to /aw Enforce,ent before ou go into it( %hese are 4obs like /oss Prevention, Securit , etc'

6onEDestructive %esting. -lthough it ,a be possible to 8ualif for a few technician 4obs without for,al training, ,ost e,plo ers prefer to hire so,eone with at least a !E ear associate degree in 6D% technolog ( %raining is available at co,,unit colleges, vocationalEtechnical schools, and the -r,ed Forces( ;an of these progra,s prepare students to beco,e certifiable b standards set b the -,erican Societ for 6ondestructive %esting( -lthough e,plo ers

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do not alwa s re8uire 6D% technicians to be certified, such certification ,a provide 4ob seekers a co,petitive advantage( Ps cholog . Ps cholog undergraduate students should do as ,uch research as possible about what school the want to attend( %hen the should ,ake their applications as specific to that school3s re8uire,ents as the can( %he >raduate )ecord Exa,ination 0>)E1 test can also be influential in deter,ining graduate school acceptance, so students should focus on that( &ivil Engineering. - good thing to do is to speak with an advisor and find which classes to take depending on which field to go into, because there are ,an differing classes for engineering students( %hese classes range widel in content and ,a not be applicable in other nonE related fields(

-ppendix Dan Dalton

6onEDestructive %esting 06D%1 ,a4or o I a, currentl finishing the 6D% progra, at Salt /ake &o,,unit &ollege( >eneral Studies ,a4or o I plan to go into a field where I will be continuousl challenged in all aspects( &ri,inal 5ustice ,a4or

)ustin Pla er

-lex -sa

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I a, planning to ,a4or in &ri,inal 5ustice and attend P2S% 0Police -cade, 1 at Weber State Universit (

D lan &hishol, -ccounting ,a4or o I a, going to ;a4or in -ccounting and ;inor in English( I plan to start /aw School b !#$+( ;eka la <rooks >eneral Studies ;a4or o I a, planning to co,plete , -S general studies degree and appl ing to the Universit of Utah ps cholog progra,(

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