Whether we like it or not, a job interview is a common and inescapable part of getting a job. While some job interviews are over in a matter of minutes – either because the company is desperate to fill the position, or because your resume is flawless, and the meeting was a mere formality -, others are multi-staged and are a bit more complex. Regardless, interviews are in most cases the one and only chance at making a good impression, so every job candidate should take them seriously.
The same principles apply at other big companies, such as AT&T. While this article will refer mostly to AT&T’s hiring mechanisms, the tips presented here are universal, so you can apply them at other job interviews if need be. Here is how to make it through an AT&T job interview.
What is AT&T?
Before delving into the subject of the article, it is best to talk a bit about AT&T as a company. Headquartered in Dallas, state of Texas, AT&T is a multinational telecommunications company with over 250,000 employees and 16,000 retail locations spread throughout the United States. First founded as a subsidiary of Bell Telephone Company – you know, the one who is frequently credited with the invention of the telephone instead of Antonio Meucci, but let us not get into that -, it is one of the oldest companies and the second-largest mobile service provider in the country.
While AT&T is a huge corporation with lots of corporate positions, the ones that see the most job openings are customer service representatives, sales consultants and u-verse premises technicians. As a result, the majority of AT&T interview questions that you would hear from the person conducting the interview revolve around these three positions, namely their requirements, responsibilities, benefits and what makes the candidate qualified to fill them. Common questions refer to the candidate’s expectations from the manager, how they handle difficult customers, and how they view that position in general.
Do some Research Ahead of Time
Like in the case of many multinationals, AT&T employees and management take great pride in their company’s culture, role in society and work. By doing some research ahead of time, you can make a great impression with some background knowledge concerning the past of the company and the direction it is heading. Furthermore, you should try to figure out the goals of AT&T as an organization and get a rough idea of their management style and how they position themselves against other competitors.
This is not as hard as it seems. Nobody is saying you have to recite the entire company’s history during the interview. It all comes down to speaking their language, meaning focusing, as much as possible, on vocabulary specific both to the company’s corporate culture, and the job that you are applying for. Some examples of AT&T terms are ‘’recurring event’’, ‘’redirecting party’’, ‘’selective criteria’’, ‘’Premier’’ and so on and so forth. You can familiarize yourself with other terms and acronyms by consulting their end user glossary.
Last but not least, you should educate yourself about some of the company’s products. You can visit their website and social media profiles to learn more about their products and services. This will prove useful if you are applying for a sales consultant position, in which case you should expect the questions to be centered around products.
Build a Tight Strengths and Weakness List
We realize that the image of the candidate asking veiled questions about their strengths and weaknesses is almost cliched, but you will have to deal with this nonetheless. The best way to tackle this issue is to coat your answers accordingly. For example, instead of saying ‘’I am a highly organized’’, you could say ‘’I run a tight ship, but you would never know if you were to take a look into the desk’s drawers’’.
When it comes to weaknesses, you have to be honest, but not to a point in which you end up shooting yourself in the foot. For example, the interviewer, being AT&T and all, will ask how you deal with deadlines. Even if you know you have an adversity towards them, you can answer ‘’I work well within deadlines, but I realize there is a lot of room for improvement and I will be more than glad to do that here’’. And don’t forget, practice will always get you places.
Avoid Cliches
While we could have easily fitted this tip in the previous entry, it deserves a separate category. You have to remember that interviews as much of a drag for the interviewer as they are for you. They are also an opportunity to let the employer know you, not the overly-enthusiastic interview persona that says their only weakness is their perfectionism.
Interviews are Conversations, Not Interrogations
We admit, some interviews might seem like interrogations due to the nature of the position sought by the applicant, but this does not apply at AT&T. Do not get defensive during the interview, even if you feel like the interviewer misinterpreted something you said, and especially if you are not getting on perfectly with them. It is best to remember that nobody is trying to actively antagonize you.
Never Slam Your Previous Workplace
Making snarks or petty comments about previous colleagues and superiors will only give the impression that you are hard to work with. Even if you are applying for a rival business, you avoid making any negative comments. There are better ways of doing this, like saying you were looking for a different experience, or to better yourself professionally in a new place.
Conclusion
This is basically all you need to know about the interviewing process at AT&T. Make sure to go through our guide and you will surely nail it. Good luck!