Preparing for a Job Interview? Yeah,There's An App (s) For That!
It had to happen sooner or later and it did. There are now apps that jobseekers can download to their Apple and Android smartphones to prepare for job interviews. Gadget-savvy, Bob Tedeschi wrote a review of three of these apps in today’s NY Times.
The most popular jobseeker iPhone/iPad app was released last month by none other than Monster.com and is called “The Monster.com Interviews” app (go figure). The app is free and most useful for those jobseekers lucky enough to have been invited to participate in a face-to-face job interview. There are features in the app entitled Pre-Interview, Tips and Tricks and Post Interview. While I have not evaluated the app myself its reception by reviewers has been decidedly lukewarm. Monster.com says it is working on a similar app for Android phones but the company did not offer a timeline for the product.
Another app, which according to Tedeschi may be a better choice, is Interview Questions and Answers by SwipeQ ($2, Apple and Android). Unlike the Monster.com app, this one offers 150 common interview questions with sample answers and strategies to divine responses to difficult queries. Tedeschi suggested that the sample answers may be a bit esoteric at times and sometimes inexplicably crafted for those in the financial services industry (gee I wonder why). In any event, this one may be useful for inexperienced interviewees who need some help coming with answers to questions like “Tell me about your weaknesses” or “Describe how you overcame a particularly adverse situation.”
Finally, there is another interview-focused, free app for Android phones called Job Interview Q&A developed by Stanislav Bardyuk. This is an ad-driven app—that Tedeschi found overly intrusive—and offers questions and answers to common interview questions. Unfortunately, the quality and grammar of the answers to the interview questions that it offers were deemed lacking.
Of the three apps, the Monster.com app gets the highest marks. This is not surprising since Monster.com is the largest and most visited job board on the Internet. One of the more interesting features of the Monster.com iPhone app is the ability to make a video of a practice interview and watch yourself answer the questions offered by the app. While this may sound silly and a waste of time to some, it is important to remember that it is generally the face-to-face interview that determines whether or not a job offer will be forthcoming. And, there is a reason for the old adage: “Practice makes perfect.”
For those of you who may be interested in other jobseeker and resume apps, check out a post on the Job Omelette blog entitled “10 Must-Have iPhone Apps”
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!
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