Interview Tips From Hiring Managers

Jubilee Jobs held a great virtual panel discussion with four hiring managers, sharing job search and interview tips during our April Job Friends, attended by 35 applicants. The panelists were: Gwendolyn Drain (Senior Staffing Specialist at Temporary Solutions, Inc.), Naomi Brown (CEO of STAR Enterprises), Keisha Thompson (Recruiter at STAR Enterprises), and Pat Scherr (retired hospitality industry hiring manager and Jubilee Jobs interview techniques workshop volunteer instructor).

Here are the hiring managers’ key tips:

Don’t have any errors on your resume.
Know your resume – be able to share details of your day-to-day work from all your previous jobs.
Research the company – look at their website and know what they do.
Have a professional appearance.
Stand up straight and have good body language.
Answer questions in full sentences and don’t use slang.
Don’t share too much personal information (such as how many children you have). Less is more.
Answer the “Tell me about yourself” question in one minute and practice that.
Project energy and willingness to work.
Don’t speak negatively about anybody.
Be polite with anyone you come in contact with.

Ms. Brown said that STAR Enterprises was founded on the four principles below and they are applicable to any workplace. You can’t have one quality and not the other three. Ms. Thompson said that if you don’t have all four qualities, you can’t move up in your job. No matter where one works, successful employees will have these STAR qualities:

Superior quality of work
Timely delivery
Adaptable solutions
Reliable results

For returning citizens, Ms. Brown said that there is value in what challenges people have been through. She says that in interviews, don’t bring up that you are a returning citizen. You should come in with your best self so that the hiring manager doesn’t question if you are a returning citizen. Make the hiring manager “fall in love with you” so that once they do a background check, they already recognize what you have to offer to the employer.

Final words of advice:

Never take “no” as a negative. Take “no” as an opportunity to grow. Learn from that “no” what you can do better the next time.
Maintain honest and open communication. But don’t overshare.
If you come close to getting a job and it didn’t work out, reach out a month later to the company to make a connection.
Raise your expectation of yourself. If you don’t think highly of yourself, how can the hiring manager?
Be professional at all times. Professionalism is the difference between good and great.
If you want to start your own business, have a Plan A, B, and C. You may have to pivot or put things on hold. Take a “no” as one step to a “yes”.

Applicant Spotlight: Melveon Harp

It would be hard not to smile if you met Jubilee Jobs applicant Melveon Harp. His booming voice and perpetual enthusiasm are an absolute delight. Even though he’s been through hard times, Melveon will always tell you that he’s “good and blessed”.

Melveon has worked in food service for most of his adult life. When Melveon came to Jubilee Jobs, his job counselor knew exactly where to send him. His experience, combined with his outgoing, cheerful personality, was a perfect match for our top employer partner, Harris Teeter. Within a month Melveon was hired for a deli position at the Adams Morgan Harris Teeter. There, he also uses his resounding voice to make announcements of the lunchtime specials on the store PA system.

Recently Melveon reflected on his experience with Jubilee Jobs. “Let me tell you about Jubilee—if you’re in need of job search support, this place will help you. I tell everyone out there—do not doubt yourself, give yourself a chance, come on through Jubilee Jobs. They are here to HELP you! Even when I’m in the neighborhood, I stop by and see everyone. If it wasn’t for Jubilee opening the doors and giving me a chance, I don’t know where I’d be standing at today.”

Melveon greets people with “Yay yay!” and some Jubilee Jobs staff have adopted that to express joy. For Mevleon, we cheer “Yay yay!”.

Do More 24 is on May 19!

In 2020, Jubilee Jobs placed 241 people in jobs-51 percent received public assistance, 40 percent were returning citizens, 25 percent were homeless, and 28 percent were Emerging Leaders (ages 16 to 29). This year, we project to place 272 people in jobs.

While the pandemic has affected everyone, it has had a severe impact on our clients, many who work in entry level service jobs. When much of DC closed, Jubilee Jobs' clients became the heroic frontline workers-the grocers, nursing home workers, and delivery drivers-who sustained the city during the pandemic. During these challenging times, getting a job helped them put food on the table and pay for rent.

Now that DC is reopening, there will be an even greater need for our services to place people in jobs. And a greater need for your support!

Please support DC's frontline workers with a donation to Jubilee Jobs. Your Do More 24 gift will help open many doors of opportunity.

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