Part 3
Steve: So if there were a company and a product that wasn't even related to the forest products industry, but was an opportunity to learn about the company, about the product, to develop relationships on behalf of that company-that would be attractive to you? Fraser: Oh, definitely. I mean, there are some products I wouldn't be comfortable selling-you know, for example, tobacco products or something like that-but generally, if that company is there and they are willing to give you that training and start you from the grass roots, yet at the same time sort of-you know, they're not paying you eight dollars an hour. They want you there for a long time and you want to be there for a long time. So that's what I'm looking for, long-term. Steve: I think there are those opportunities in forest products, I think there are those opportunities elsewhere. I think the ability to communicate is very important; to be able to speak to people, make people feel comfortable. The ability to communicate in writing-well. How are your writing skills?
Fraser: You know, I was talking to a friend about that, actually. Because with the computer work these days, when it actually comes down to handwritten, I still feel like, you know, you've got to do that at least a few times a month, because the skills can really leave you fast when you're on the computer. Writing on the computer, especially going through university, it really teaches you how to develop your rhetoric. But to keep it neat-it takes a little bit of practice, that's for sure. Steve: I meant writing more in the sense of expressing yourself in written form. I guess most communication today is by email, but I guess simply because it is email, that more and more is-I wouldn't say replacing the telephone-but it is, in a way, because it's so handy. You don't have to wait, somebody's not there, they call you back, you call them back. You just send them an email and it's done. So therefore, the ability to write it clearly, succinctly, neatly, the person understands exactly what you want to say, and there's no "Yeah, but what I really meant was something else." There's no chance, the email's gone. So, I think the ability to write clearly, and to be well-organized and written, i.e., typed correspondence via the email, is really very, very important in marketing and sales. How do you feel about that?
Fraser: I think that's true. I mean, I also think if you're-you can sort of develop your skills to a particular industry, when it comes to writing. If you've just started out, for example, in sales in the lumber industry, you may not-your emails may not be exactly what the customer's looking for, or exactly what they want to hear. So, hopefully, your writing style and technique is good enough that you're not going to drive people away. But eventually, you should be able to develop your skills to your particular industry, and that should carry your career forward.
Steve: I mean, my impression is that you have a lot of-quite honestly, you have a lot to offer, just in your manner, your ability to communicate, your understanding of what an employer is looking for. I think you have sort of a certain sympathy for the position of the employer, of what they want. So I think you should be quite successful in your job hunting. Again, it's always a matter of timing. You need to get in front of the person who is looking for someone right now, and where they like what you bring. You say you've had a lot of informational interviews. Have you also had interviews where it was clearly an opportunity where you and perhaps three, five, ten other people were competing for a job? How do you go into those interviews? How do you prepare yourself psychologically for those interviews?
Fraser: Yeah, I'd say I've actually interviewed maybe with four or five other companies that were doing hiring for the immediate future. When it comes to that, you generally just get the call, they tell you to come in whenever. You set up the time, but you've really got to do the research about the company that you're going for the interview. With two of the companies that I went for-I mean right off the bat, they asked me if I had any questions for them. My first real corporate interview I went to, I wasn't prepared for that. I had some questions, but I really didn't get-I didn't go in-depth. I sort of-my questions were too general. So I've really learned to learn about the company, learn about their products, learn about their customers. And, take all the information you learn, write the questions down-maybe you have ten questions or half a dozen questions-write them down so you're prepared to ask them when they ask you. You never know when they'll ask you. This one time, they asked me right off the bat, and I floundered.
Steve: Do you think the interviewers are fair? Do you think they're trying to sort of find out who's the best person, or do you think they're playing games? What has been your impression of these interviewers?
Fraser: In general, I think they're fair. Some interviewers are actually professionals, being from human resources, their degree was probably in human resources. When that happens, you can generally tell they are professional, and they can sort of steer the interviews where they want to go and extract the information. Sometimes, if it's sort of a newer, younger person, or a newer company, they might not have that interviewing professional, and you can sort of tell. So you've got to be careful not to get too far off the topic, because sometimes they might not even be able to bring it back and you're sort of wasting valuable time and not going through stuff that you really should be talking about. Steve: And, do you find that you get nervous, or do you find that you are able to strike a comfortable rapport with the interviewer? How important is it, or should you be a little bit careful about not being too familiar with them? How do you strike that balance?
Fraser: I think you're-I mean, there's always a little bit of nervousness. I think you can read the other person too. I mean, if they're-you know, you've got to be positive, you've got to be friendly. If the other person's having a bad day, well, that can't really rub off on you. Being nervous is natural when it comes to the interview process. You don't want to make a blunder here and there, but I mean, sometimes it happens. It happened to me. Generally, you just want to be positive, and go from there.
Steve: Well, thank you very much.
