Business & Tech

Novi Resident Gives Interview Advice to College Grads

Doug Danne's book "Employment Essentials" gives recent graduates advice on how to ace the interview.

Novi resident Doug Danne has been a successful businessman for more than 30 years, but when his three children graduated from college several years ago, he realized how unprepared they were to interview for jobs.

So he talked them through the process of finding a job, and now they’re all successfully employed in Michigan.

But he also started to see that many graduates who he came across in interviews did not know what they were doing.

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“They’re well-educated, but they’re not well-prepared to really step into the workforce, nor do they really know what’s going to be asked of them,” Danne said.

So in 2005 he started taking notes on the interviews with recent college grads in the hope of writing a book. This December, his book Employment Essentials: College Edition was published and released on Amazon.

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“My motivation is to really try to further and advance the careers of these younger people coming into business. I’ve done well in my business – I’ve had the jobs that I’ve aspired to and I’ve been fortunate financially, but I have some place in my heart feeling that if a student gets a job, the company gets better and the community gets better.”

Danne currently owns and runs his own consulting firm, but he also has more than 30 years of business experience. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and began his career in sales, where he had such roles such as regional and division sales manager. For the past 15 years, he served in several executive positions including national sales manager for Difco, VP of sales for Roche Diagnostics and the chief commercial officer and president of two companies.

“Through that time I saw hundreds of interviews, and it started to dawn on me that I was pretty successful in the interview process when I was trying to get a job, and I tried to sit back and go, well why was I successful?" Danne said.

Danne's investigations into his own experiences with interviewing candidates gave him the insight to share his knowledge with others.

About the book

Danne said he was careful not the write the book as a textbook, but as a step-by-step process with a conversational style.

“Some of the feedback that I’ve had is that it’s just like having a personal mentor right there in the room with them,” Danne said.

He also tries to use humor and have some fun with the book to make the reader feel comfortable, just as they should feel in an interview.

“It makes the interview a lot easier when you walk into it in a relaxed mode and you’re actually having fun doing it. The reason you can do that is because you’re prepared,” he said.

Danne said the book also tells graduates about what is being asked of them in an interview and the thinking behind some of the questions asked. 

The author moved back to Michigan just seven months ago, and said he is proud to be back in the state helping its graduates.

“It’s a great state, and I think Detroit is making a comeback,” he said. “I’m proud to say I’m a Michigander, and that’s why I’m located here trying to move Michigan first.”

Danne said this book is just the first in a series of books he will write to help people in the workforce. He also plans to write a book for high school gradutes, for those looking to get promoted, and for those recently released from prison.

Danne's interviewing advice

Danne’s book offers numerous tips on how to be a great interviewee, and here are some of the biggest pieces of advice he gives to graduates:

Ask questions:

“Probably one of the biggest mistakes that a graduate makes is that they prepare for answering questions, but they’re not so prepared to ask questions,” Danne said.

He said that asking the interviewer questions is how you can show your depth of knowledge, interest and enthusiasm about working for that company. Do your homework and prepare some questions to ask.

Practice: 

Danne stresses practicing a lot, just a like an athlete would prepare for a game. Go over your list of questions and ask someone to do a mock interview with you.

Don’t give automated responses:

“Especially new interviewees think that with every question there’s a right or wrong answer. That’s not always the case. There’s always a good or bad answer – it’s not always right or wrong. Some questions are actually meant to test the individual to see how they react,” he said.

Danne encourages interviewees to challenge themselves to create the best answer possible. He also said it is important to talk about more than what is on your resume.

“You have to be prepared to further articulate on every question specifically about you, and if you’re able to do that, most interviews will go quite well,” he said.

Dress properly: 

The old standby is still something that some candidates get wrong. Danne said he once had a woman come to an interview in a full ball gown, and his entire office came by to get a glimpse. 

“I urge candidates to be real and to dress accordingly to the job they’re going after,” he said.

Don’t lie:

Danne said not to embellish your resume or skills, or it could come back to bite you later. “It’s so much easier just to tell the truth up front,” he said.


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