Bring a “Magic Flash Drive” to your Job Interview
Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by koichi in Finding a Job, Making Money
So you got yourself an interview (congratulations! It’s tough to do right now). Now you have to wow the interviewers. Here’s a little trick I use when I go in for interviews. It makes you stand out, it helps the company out, and is a really great way to market the brand of YOU. And yes, it’s slightly magical in a Mickey Mouse Fantasia sort of way.
When you think of a job interview, what do you normally bring? Probably an extra resumé, a nice suit (or dress), and yourself, right? But there’s so much more you could bring – there’s so much more you can leave them with to remember you by. Remember, you are competing with a lot of other people, and it’s important to stand out.
The Magic Interview Flash Drive is a great way to do this. Of course, if you are really really poor you could bring these things on a CD, because yes, you will be giving it away. I still recommend a USB flash drive, though. Nobody likes to use a CD anymore. Usually you can get a flash drive for pretty cheap, though. $10 should be enough for a decent-sized one, and as long as you aren’t going to a lot of interviews (and you shouldn’t be) it’s well worth the investment. Here are some things I recommend you add to the drive before your interview:
1. PowerPoint Presentation:
I always recommend that people bring a powerpoint presentation to job interviews (of course, e-mail or call first to make sure you can give a quick, 5 minute presentation), and use this opportunity to sell your best work. If you aren’t able to present it in the interview, just include it in your USB flash drive so they can go through it if they want.
2. Video / Audio Testimonials:
A lot of employers want you to have previous employers or character references write testimonials or provide their phone numbers so they can be called. Why not take this a step farther? Go to your previous employers, if possible, and record them giving you a testimonial. Make sure at the end they provide contact information, as well as something encouraging the employer to call them for anything else! I promise, none of your interviewing “competitors” are going to go through the trouble of doing this. It is extra work, sure, but it’s worth it if you really want the job, and shows that you are proactive and a go-getter!
3. Your Resumé:
This is a no-brainer. Include a copy of your resumé in digital form, so they can print out as many as they’d like.
4. Your video resumé:
A lot of people are doing this already, actually. People are recording themselves talking about the things they’ve done, as well as why they want to work at that specific company. Make sure you take every opportunity to show how wonderful it would be to work with you, after they hire you.
5. Their Social Media List:
This doesn’t always work (depends on how “with the times” the company is), but if you bring a spreadsheet that includes usernames and passwords for all the main social marketing sites (YouTube, Twitter, etc), you’re doing them a favor even before you start working for them! You can come in saying something like “I was researching your company, and noticed you hadn’t claimed these social media sites, so I went ahead and did it for you so you wouldn’t have problems down the line (and have to pay big bucks to get them back!).”
To make things easier for your future employer, be sure to include a “table of contents” on a piece of (real) paper, included with the flash drive. This will help old-timers navigate it, and will also remind people of the amazing things that are on it even after you’ve left. Attaching a pretty index card would do the trick.
What other kinds of things would you add to a magic interview flash drive?
