sot2015: nailing meet & greet

Nailing SoT2015

Meet & Greet

Ruth McDavitt

September, 20151

• These are the slides from Ruth’s M&G Prep bootcamp, slightly modified

• PLUS!! Bonus material at the end:

– Slides 47-67… AFTER M&G

– SoT Interviews & Offers Process!

All The Slides

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agenda

research

ready

M&G

interview

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why are we here?

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why meet & greet?

image from www.orangedrink.net5

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your goals for M&G

first impressions

opening line

ask better questions

pitch

Job Interview!

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what is “meet & greet”?

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it’s like a career fair, but with one key difference: you’ve had time to check each other out online first, so you’ve done your homework and are READY to ask good questions and make a great impression!

Auckland:

• Approximately 30 employers / 200 students

Wellington:

• Approximately 50 employers / 300 students

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what is “meet & greet”?

• Your potential…

– Boss

– Mentor

– Colleague (maybe SoT Alumni)

• Maybe someone from HR, too

who are you meeting?

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• M&G can be stressful if you don’t like crowds or putting yourself forward

• We’re sorry about that.

• It’s the best way we know to get employers to meet & be impressed by the “talent” (that’s you)

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#protips: introverts

• Our advice is to prepare yourself, be focused on your goals, channel your inner extrovert

• Practice your greeting and your introduction

• Take time out / chill out during M&G, there’s no pressure to be talking to people all the time. You’ve got 2 hours.

• B-R-E-A-T-H-E

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#protips: introverts

At M&G: 3-5 seconds first impression(+ hopefully 3-5 minutes conversation)

At the end of M&G:make sure your top targets know your name, why you’re a great candidate, and that you’re keen to talk more in an interview!

After M&G:10 minutes SoT speed interview1 hour+ follow up interview (it’s up to them to contact you!)

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in context…

breaking it down

think & feel?

before M&Gresearch

look & behave

during M&Gdo & say

next steps

after M&Gfollow

up?

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preparation

think &

feel?before M&Gresearch

during M&Gdo & say

next steps

after M&Gfollow

up?

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preparation

• Invest time. Research companies & roles.

• Know what they’re doing, what tools they’re using

• Think about how you’ll introduce & pitch yourself, what’s your value proposition?

• You’ll need to be specific. You’ll want to stand out!

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preparation

Research Employers (on the SoT website…)

• Think of 3 questions you want to ask them• Think of 3 questions they may want to ask you• (and think of what your answer will be!)• Practice asking/answering

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#protips: research

• Deep dive into their SoT Employer Profile

• Use the interweb

• On their company website:

– “about us” (What do they do? Product/service? Who are their customers?)

– Blog? Case studies? (what’s new and topical?)

– Who’s who? (check out their team, know who’s important and who you’ll be M&G-ing)

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Research Roles

(on the SoT website…)

• Deep dive into the SoT Internship role descriptions

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#protips: focus

• Why 10?

– We limit you to 10 expressions of interest, because it’s IMPOSSIBLE to prepare well for lots of job interviews all at once

– This won’t stop employers searching & finding & inviting you to interview for other roles

– We want you to FOCUS on the top 10 opportunities

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#protips: research

• Know what skills they want, what you have, and how fast you’re going to learn the ones you don’t have yet

• Think about how you’re going to convince them you’re a great candidate, what skills & experience & passion you’re going to highlight when you Meet & Greet them

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• Remember, their perception of you, and your “fit” for the role and for their team are the most important thing

#protips: greeting

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• This is a business networking event, you’re presenting yourself as a potential employee

#protips: greeting

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• Impress them with your…

…personality!

#protips: greeting

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practice

• practice practice practice

• friends, flatmates, acquaintances

• get feedback, try different things

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• be strategic at M&G

– Don’t START with your top target, get a feel for how it works, build your confidence by talking to other people first

– Remember to focus on your top 10, but be open to meeting & greeting others – you never know where the opportunities will be!

#protip: M&G strategy

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performance

think & feel?

before M&Gresearch

look & behave

during M&Gdo & say

next steps

after M&Gfollow

up?

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performance

• first impressions

• what’s your goal?

• what do you want them to think/feel about you?

• what’s your opening line/greeting going to be? (#protip: don’t talk about the weather)

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look & behave

• Presentation matters – 3 seconds to impress!

• Then 3-5 minutes to nail that first impression through scintillating & relevant conversation

• It’s THEIR perception of you that matters)

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• Eye contact

• Smile

• Confidence

• Purposeful

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#protips: first impressions

#protips: dress code

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M&G = “SMART CASUAL” (tidy jeans ok)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_casual

#protips: dress code

• Corporate dress will feel overdressed

• Many employers will be wearing branded t-shirts to help you find them

• Leave backpacks and jackets at the registration desk

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• Looks aren’t everything, how you sound (nervous voice? Talking too fast?), feel (when they shake your hand), and yes… how you smell, too!

• Body language (mirroring), eye contact, personal space, lean in, lean out… be in tune with your audience!

#protips: first impressions

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#protip: the nose knows

• Shower & deodorant = highly recommended ;)

• Smokers – make sure you don’t smell of smoke

• Schedule some chill out time before the event if you can. Know the address, sort out your transportation so you’re not stressed

• Take a minute to get in the right headspace & B-R-E-A-T-H-E deeply before you greet employers

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• Be interesting (by being interested!)

• Ask open-ended questions to keep the conversation going

• Know your goals and prepare your “pitch”

#protip: small-talk

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random subject: let’s talk about the

weatherlike, whether or not you’re going to interview me

for this internship?

be interesting -ed

• Open ended questions (WIDTH)

–What/why

– If..

– Describe

– Tell me…

– How…

USE: what, when, how, where & why

AVOID: would, could, do, don’t, will & have

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practice & feedback

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practice greeting

• first impressions – your opening line

• approach someone you don’t know, confident smile, eye contact, shake hands, introduce yourself, ask an open question

• feedback… and swap

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#protip: handshakes

• If you don’t commonly shake hands, practice, it might be a thing at M&G, this is a business networking event!

• Not too firm

• Not too soft

• Not sweaty

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#protip: business cards

• We’ll give you 20 name cards each

• Practice handing it over, they may ask for it at the start of your meeting or the end

• You can BYO if you like, but the SoT ones will have QR codes on them, linking to your SoTprofile

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practice some more

• Amend/feedback/refine questions

• Remember, prepare & practice BOTH your questions to them, and think what they’re likely to ask you!

• Practice on a real person, ask for feedback, try different approaches!

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pitching yourself

• 30 seconds (approx.)

• Your goal is to get key messages across, and extend the conversation through good dialogur for 3-5 minutes.

• This is NOT a job interview. After 3-5 minutes, the conversation should wrap up.

• Remember to make your call to action at the end (you want an interview, right??)

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#protip: pitching

• Say your first name clearly at the start and end of your conversation

• Think about what they want to hear

• Prepare approx. 30 seconds as your introduction. Try finishing with an open question

• Prepare 3 things (key skills/relevant experience) and try and get them into the pitch and expand on them during the subsequent conversation

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practice some more

• Seriously, practice your pitch! Out loud!

• Pacing & confidence is key!

• Get feedback!

• You might have a different pitch for different people, for different roles!

• Spend some time on this, it’ll help you nail M&G

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got questions

• Please ask us questions before M&G!!!!• You can send us a DM from the website –

log in and find the ? button at the bottom right of your screen

• email us info@summeroftech.co.nz

this is not the end…. more slides

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what’s next??

think & feel?

before M&Gresearch

look & behave

during M&Gdo & say

next steps

after M&Gfollow

up?

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next steps

M&G

speed interviews

follow up interviews

reference checks

Offers!

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#protip: follow up

• Honour your commitments (show up!)

• Be careful on social media & in public

– (be polite & professional out there, people!)

• Grab the opportunity, talk to as many people as possible, and take every interview

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SoT Speed Interviews

• Speed Interviews: 10 minutes long

• Optional for employers

– Wellington: 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm on 22nd & 23rd

September at Asteron House, opposite the Railway Station on Featherston Street

– Auckland: 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm on 24th

September at University of Auckland

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SoT Speed Interviews

• Scheduling sucks for students. Sorry about that.

• Please try and attend or send apologies via us (along with alternative times you are available)

• You may not get another invitation to interview

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• Follow Up Interviews (SoT employers will contact you directly!)

• Plus, may include: technical tests, site visits, behavioural tests, panel interviews, assessment centres, reference checks…

• If you have a completed SoT profile, you could be contacted at any time for an interview…

• BE READY!

Other Interviews

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SoT availability

• If you attend M&G, we ask you to remain available for SoT Offers until 7 October

• You may be applying for other roles. If you get an offer for a non-SoT role, please try and postpone your decision until SoT offers are presented

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SoT availability

• SoT Employers are investing a huge amount of time in the recruitment process, it’s not fair to them if you withdraw before Offers day

• You will be in a much stronger position to weigh up your summer job options when you are looking at ALL offers at once. The first one is often not the best one!

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SoT withdrawals

• If you’re no longer available for SoT, please Opt Out at the bottom of your Dashboard …before Meet & Greet

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SoT contracts

• SoT internships are full-time, generally 400 hours work between mid November and mid February

• Contract details are negotiated between the employer and chosen candidate. Details such as availability, holidays, hourly rate etc MIGHT be discussed during follow up interviews, or presented as part of an Offer on the 7th of October

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SoT offers

• All offers will be presented at 10am Tuesday 7th October

• They’ll appear on your SoT Dashboard & you’ll get an email notification

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SoT offers

• You’ll have 6 hours to accept/decline!

• (The 6 hours is business hours, the clock stops ticking at 5pm and starts again at 9am)

• Multiple offers…? Be READY, think about your options now.

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#protip: offers

• If you’re shortlisted for a role, that’s a strong sign the company is interested

• They will shortlist for interview, then review the shortlist for offers

• If you’re shortlisted, it will show at the bottom of your dashboard

• Those are the roles you should think about… would you accept? Weigh your options before Offers day, be ready to decide.

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• You’ve only got 6 hours for your final decision

• Be READY, think about your options now

• Make a list of your goals for a summer internship, what’s important?

• What are your plans after summer? How does this internship fit into your future career?

• Talk it through with someone.

#protip: deciding

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• You can see who’s shortlisted you, consider: would you accept the role if it’s offered?

• Make a list of your goals for a summer internship, what’s important?

• What are your plans after summer? How does this internship fit into your future career?

• Talk it through with someone.

#protip: deciding

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#protip: declining offers

• Weigh up your options carefully. Remember an internship is a great way to give something a go!

• Be open and honest about your intentions

• Don’t mess employers around – your career has already started. If you accept a SoT role, that’s a binding employment contract, you can’t change your mind and decline later.

• How you decline is important – you want to be polite & professional (and keep the door open for future opportunities…!)

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#protip: multiple offers

• Our advice is to consider how well supported, mentored & trained you’ll be in each role

• How does this role align with your future career goals?

• Do you want to test out a job or a type of company?

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#protip: money

• It’s NOT about the money. All SoT roles pay minimum $20/hour. Some are more. Some come with other incentives.

• IT is a well-paid career. For your first role(s), we HIGHLY recommend you go for interesting and challenging projects that will allow you to learn your craft.

• The big money (if it’s important to you) will come later, especially if you have a profile of amazing and interesting projects.

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• You will probably get a significant pay rise within 3-6 months, when you have proven you have the skills and are adding value to the business

• Students who try and negotiate for more money for SoT internships usually just end up pissing off the employer and losing the opportunity.

• Wait until you’ve proven yourself, you’ll be in a much stronger negotiating position.

#protip: more money

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next steps

M&G

interviews, tests,

reference checks…

accept an offer

formal employment

contract signed

Internships!

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…then the REAL work begins ;-)

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internships

questions

• Please ask us questions before M&G!!!!• You can send us a DM from the website –

log in and find the ? button at the bottom right of your screen

• email us info@summeroftech.co.nz

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