The In-Between Podcast

Welcome to the 3 new “In-Between‘s” who have joined us since last time! Join the 534 others by subscribing here if you haven’t already 📩:

Something New

I’m starting a new series on The In-Between Podcast called: Career Spotlight.This series will include interviews with people in various careers to hear their insight on how their industries work, skills needed to thrive, advice for others, and much more! In the first episode I interviewed my brother, Logan Prock, who works for ServiceNow as a Human Resource Project Specialist. If you want to learn more about a career in Human Resources, press play on the episode today!

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 2 new “In-Between‘s” who have joined us since last time! Join the 525 others by subscribing here if you haven’t already 📩:

What school failed to prepare us for

The title of this article is a question I found myself asking throughout the years as I have gone through many interviews and seen the many ways companies operate.

As you go through school you might even ask yourself, “Wait, hold on, how do I even get a job?” There lies the problem.

Let me tell you, you are not alone.

Even as you work through a few jobs, you will notice there are a bunch of different interview processes out there that you might come across. We expect our youth to just know how to get a job without having a clue of what to expect. I want this article to help prepare people.

The goal of this article is to help anyone on the search for a job, to make sure you feel prepared for what could be coming down the pipeline depending on where you are interviewing. I will even throw in some tips and tricks I found useful during each part of the interview process.

I always find comfort when I know how things are going to work and what to expect, and let me tell you, there is no better feeling than feeling that way about a job interview process.

So, let us clear that stress up and jump right into it!

“We would love to start the interviewing process. Are you open for a phone screening?”

First of all, congrats on getting to this step! I know you have all submitted hundreds of applications, so it feels great to hear back from a recruiter on that application. Let’s get this bread!

Welcome to stage one, I do not imagine there are many jobs out there that do not start with a phone screen as that has been the boiler plate starting point for every interview process that I have ever done. If I am mistaken, let me know in the comments an interview experience you have had (Get that comments section going 🙌).

This interview is super simple. Here is what to expect:

* The recruiter will call you and ask you a bunch of qualifying questions. They ask these questions because they want to first confirm who you are and if you fit the general job description.

* They will then go on to ask you to ask them questions you have about the role. Tip: Take full advantage of this time. This will not only show them you are excited about this opportunity, but it will also show that you came prepared with info on the role/company.

* If all goes well it will start to feel as though you are chatting with the interviewer as you would a co-worker. This is good! You have broken down the wall of apprehension every recruiter has about new candidates.

* They will then request to see if you are available for a full-on phone/video interview with them or another recruiter (if you are really trying to impress, stating first the desire to set up the next round of interviews is a great move).

Boom, next interview is on the docket. Way to go champ. Time to get ready for what could be ahead.

“We have you scheduled for a 30–60-minute call/video call with me and another recruiter”

You are reading that heading and thinking, “Wait I thought I already interviewed with the recruiting team, I thought I was going to be talking with someone new?”

Well, the piece of information I did not mention above was that phone screens usually are very short and do not include many interview questions. At least not enough to pass you along to the next stage quite yet. Do not worry, we will get you there.

In this hour-long video/call you will most likely be speaking with the original recruiter as well as probably another member of the recruiting team. Companies like to make sure a lot of people interact with potential new candidates to get a wide range of opinions on the candidate.

Here is what to expect is this round of interviewing:

* This round will contain a lot more interview questions directly referencing your past work experience as it relates to this role you are applying for.

* They will also ask you hypothetical questions about how you might deal with certain situations at work. It is best to answers these with specific examples of how you handled those situations in your previous jobs.

* They also might ask you questions referring to why you would like to work at the specific company/in this role. This is a great time to bring out all your research you have done on the company beforehand.

* Lastly, they will open the floor to you to ask questions you may have. Have questions prepared plus questions you thought of on the fly as you processed what they talked about in the interview. I know it is hard to remember sometimes, but you are interviewing them too. You need to know whether this company is right for you, so make sure you ask them the tough questions as well.

This will conclude the interview. This is, as I refer to, the crux of the interview process. Crux is a term they use in rock climbing that is used to describe the hardest part of the climb (Look, you learned something totally random just then!)

The interviewer will probably say something along the lines of, “We will follow up about next steps.”

Sometimes you will hear even less or sometimes you will even secure an interview time right there on this call.

But if you are subscribed to The In-Between Newsletter, you definitely secured the next round of interviews, so let’s move on to the next stage!

“We would like you to meet the team that you would be working with”

Welcome to the longest part of the interview process. I know, I know you are already two interviews deep and you thought it was all downhill from here. Well start peddling as this step is important to do well in.

This part of the interview process will be drastically different depending on what role you are applying for and what company. I will make this section easy however and give everyone a high-level breakdown of how this stage will probably go.

What to expect:

* You will probably be set up for multiple back-to-back in-person or video call interviews with different members of the team you will be working with. Usually, a manager, a person that is not your manager but could be assigning you work, and usually another higher up of some kind.

* It will be a similar format to what you experienced in the last round in terms of questions, but what will be different is these people will have the notes from the last round in order to give more detailed questions as it relates to the role. This is where you will talk more “shop,” as they say, because the difference between the recruiters and the team is the recruiters do not actually work in the roles this potential team does. So, prepare yourself for this round to be a little more technical in nature depending on the job.

* A great tip I tell everyone is that personality will shine through in this stage. If you are smiling, eager to learn, and have a great attitude about the process, I can guarantee they will inherently like you as a candidate more. That does not take away from the skills of the role, so study up, and make sure you have applicable examples of how you can help the company and succeed in this role.

Once you have gone through the multiple rounds within this one stage it will be coming down to crunch time. Some jobs have more rounds, some have less.

So, what is next?

Next & Final Steps

You have done the heavy lifting, and now the company is conferring to determine whether to offer you or not. In this stage they might reach out to you and ask for some follow up information or have more questions. This is a great time to re-state things that will be helpful for their decision.

Then, sometimes before or after the offer, they will request you do complete a background check. Which is very standard across just about any job.

And then all the sudden… Boom! You get the best email ever stating they would like to offer you the position at their very company!

You have done it! Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

Onward & Upward

As you can see the interview process can be long and have many different variations to it, so it is…

Griffin’s Book Club

Alright everyone, this week we are taking a break from my usual business-related tips and tricks. I have been very invested in personal growth lately, and as I have stated previously, reading is one of the best ways to do this. Have you ever heard of someone feeling worse about themselves after they finished a book? The answer is no, because whether it is for personal enjoyment or professional development, there is always something to be learned from a good book. So, without further ado, here are my Top 10 recommended books from my adult life.

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Where to Begin

To start off this episode, I want everyone to take out a piece of paper and write down ten adjectives that best describe your personality.

Ready? Go! Seriously, don’t keep reading until you have ten traits written down.

Now that you have that list, rank them in order of what you think is the most important to have in today’s job market.

Keep that list with you as we go through this episode. Now, I have to say, I am sure there are some great personality traits out there that might not make my list. That is not to say that “a perfectionist” and “works too hard” aren’t great fluff traits, but the list below is what employers are truly looking for in a prospective employee. This article is here to expand your thoughts on the traits that might not have made this first list you made, and how you can develop them for your career.

This list ebbs and flows with the everchanging working environments of the modern world. Your grandparents probably had different character traits from what is expected in today’s world. So, just keep that in mind when talking to any “boomers”

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Emails

This episode is great for people with all levels of emailing experience. Whether you have never sent an email in your life, or you send 50 emails every day, this episode will give you great insight on the “dos” and “don’ts” of writing the perfect email.

Email etiquette has changed throughout the years, but the key principles have stayed the same. The biggest principle to remember is that emails are not social media. Yes, it might be an app on your phone just like the others, but it holds more weight than sending a tweet or a Snapchat.

Let us all dive into the best principles I have learned throughout the years of sending emails!

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A Journey You Didn’t Realize You were on

As humans, we wake up every day and make choices that affect each and every aspect of our lives. We develop routines, we explore new activities, and at the end of the day, we always try to do what is best for us. But do we always succeed at this process?

Carol Dweck breaks down this concept into two parts. Fixed or growth. These are two mindsets we can choose to live by each day. This new way of life we have been living for a year has many of us in a personal or emotional rut. I, like many others, have probably let myself sink into a fixed mindset.

And that is ok! 2020 and now 2021 have been challenging to say the least. This past year has tested human biology, psychology, and will-power more than most years would.

Let us take this episode as a way to push ourselves to get back to where we want to be, a growth mindset.

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All Stocks Aren’t the Same?

No, they are not!

This is a big misconception when it comes to the stock market. Each stock is categorized based on a few key details: size, industry, and product/service. This is an important topic to cover because before buying a stock, you should always do research into what type of stock it is. This will help you diversify your portfolio, manage risk, and have a clear understanding of your financial goals.

I am going to break down 6 different categories of stocks in this article, while also giving examples of what kind of stocks you can find in these categories.

Let’s dive right in!

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Let’s get organized

This podcast will discuss not only how to set up your physical desk perfectly, but also what things you can do for your mental health as well. There are a lot of factors to consider when setting up a perfect workspace. Therefore, companies are willing to put money into making sure their offices are as functional as they can be, in addition to being supportive to the human aspect in their employees. I mean, think about Google, that campus is amazing, and all designed specifically for optimizing the human work experience. Google is pretty successful, I guess.

Now I understand we are just working at home, most of us from a one-bedroom apartment, so we cannot realistically create a set up like Google, but we can try!

It is 2021, there is no better time to dive in and re-organize your workspace, so let’s do it!

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Introduction:

I have always felt prepared going into each interview I have had, but what is funny, is by the end of some interviews I felt like I had just been pummeled by a wave and was not as prepared as I could have been. Each interviewing process will be different, and you will always underestimate how prepared you should be. So, buckle up, and let's get prepared!

In this podcast, I am going to cover many different things. From commonly asked questions and how I would answer them, to tips and tricks that will get you feeling confident before, during, and after your interview.

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What is a Cover Letter?

Some of you might be wondering, “what is a cover letter?” That is the problem. Writing cover letters for each application you send out can give you the upper hand on other applicants. A cover letter is an attachment to your application that explains your credentials and why you are interested in applying for the position. I have noticed a lot of students/people, in general, are not using cover letters, and that could be what is holding you back. In this podcast, I am going to explain how to write a cover letter using tips I have learned over the years that help me stand out.

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Cover Letters are the Secret Weapon You Need to Master Article

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