Help Unwanted » tips

Interview Tips

J. King — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:49:43 +0000

A lot of job applicants are unsurprisingly confused about how much and who to tip on an interview. As an aid, here’s what my scouts tell me are the prevailing rates in the US. Keep in mind, these may vary by industry and region, so take caution:

For the primary interviewer: 15% of desired salary. 20% if they’re an especially helpful interviewer, or you really want the position.
For anybody else who you talk to for more than 10 minutes, and the receptionist: 10% of desired salary for each.
When the bulk of the interview is carried out by a panel, it’s 15% for the senior staff member in the room, 10% each for the rest.
Add a $1 if you accept any drink other than water at the start of the interview (This goes to the receptionist no matter who brought you the drink!)
If you are given a group interview with multiple candidates, and you’re clearly the best candidate, it’s ok to skimp on the tip. If somebody outshined you, then it’s a good idea to tip better as acknowledgment that you need to work on your shortcomings.
You can either give your tips to each recipient separately, or to the lead interviewer – they’ll usually spread it around fairly. But if any other potential candidates are around, be discrete. You don’t want them to think you’re showing them up.

Quick Tip #2: Coffee

J. King — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:09:26 +0000

If after pouring your coffee, there’s not at least than one more cup in the coffee pot, it’s always a good idea to brew another.
Unless nobody saw you pour it.

Quick Tip #1: Singing in the Office

J. King — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:08:27 +0000

If you feel the urge to sing in the office, try livening it up by making use of a tune. It may seem conformist, but you’d be surprised how much further your career will go without your neighbor’s stapler embedded in your skull.

Welcome to Help Unwanted – Free Advice, Cheap at Twice the Price

J. King — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:36:26 +0000

If you follow a lot of career advice blogs, books and gurus you’ll notice that their key advice boils down to “do what you love, market your unique skills and the universe will make a path for you.” Which is rather unhelpful on account of it being a fat steaming load. Of course once you move past this sort of fundamental career guidance into more mundane considerations the gurus tend not to unanimously parrot bad advice. They just start contradicting each other.

Help Unwanted is meant as a breath of fresh air that will not lead you down these appealing but wrong paths or spin your head round with impractical and contradictory advice. No, we just we’ll try to give you advice that is sensible or actionable, but never both, so you won’t have to worry about accidentally using any of the stuff we tell you. You’ll get the benefit of our own uniformed opinion and experience, which if nothing else, will tell you what not to do. We may also give you a place to vent and a shoulder to cry on, provide we don’t have to actually pay attention to you. And it will probably be somebody else’s shoulder.