Interview for Southern Company

[Sadawg04]

Whats up guys. Well, I applied for a Nuc tech position as Southern and I have an interview soon. I figured if I wanna make a career out of this I got to start at the bottom. Is there any advice anyone can give me? Here are some of my questions / concerns.


1. How should I dress for the interview?
2. Its behavioral style type questions how do you prepare for that?
3. Im nervous about being in front of a panel of people is all of this normal?


Im just looking for answers from maybe recent college grads or even hiring managers. Anything is appreciated. I stress but I want to land this job and make a great career out of this. Thanks for anyone taking the time to read my post and give me some advice.

[TVA]

1: Polo shirt and a pair of slacks

2: You cant really but I do tell guys answer from life experience or work. Too many guys try to fit something in from work when they have lots of good answers from life.

3: Of course its normal. Its your life!

[xobxnuke]

1. Dress pants, dress shirt and dress shoes. Your appearance will be the first impression your interviewer(s) will have of you. You are competing for a job, dress like it, act like it, think like it and you will come across as genuinely wanting the job.

2. This is the important one compared to dress and nervousness, take it to heart if you want the job. Google southern nuclear interview questions. The first search result link questions are realistic: https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Southern-Company-Interview-Questions-E607.htm Read them, understand them and come up with answers. Based on what little I can tell about you, you should also practice verbally answering them. Be able to answer those types of questions without a lot of hesitation and uncertainty. Content is the key here but delivery also matters.

3. Don't worry about nerves, that's normal and everyone gets nervous for one reason or another. An emergency fix for nervousness, if the situation allows, go to the bathroom and do some jumping jacks. Exercise redirects the mind's focus.

Sir, your grammar and spelling need work.

I worked for Southern Company at Hatch and Vogtle and I know how those knuckleheads think. I was a contractor for five outages between the two plants and last year I finished my career at Hatch. I was there for three years as a company employee. If you have any questions just ask.

Other than that, good luck.

[tolstoy]

Both TVA and xobxnuke make great suggestions. Like any business, SC sees employees as company representatives. You want to look the part.

One thing I'll add is that if you haven't had a particular experience then answer with what you would do: "Mr. Sad. Tell us about a time that you disagreed with a co-worker." If you have never disagreed with a co-worker then explain what you would do in that case.

xobxnuke makes a really good recommendation that worked for me: figure out how you will answer the questions you find and vocalize them until they are second nature for you.

Good luck.

[MMM]

Apart from what everyone else has said, during the interview, if you need to take a bit to collect your thoughts, let them know. Answer honestly (that should go without saying). Make sure you have a few good questions prepped.

[TVA]

I always tell guys if you can't think of anything then make something up. I aint gonna check.

[xobxnuke]

Another piece of advice to take or leave at your discretion.

Should you enter the commercial nuclear power business you will be entering a work environment that I'm pretty sure the likes of which you haven't encountered before so I offer you the following caution: TELL THE TRUTH.

You would be entering a world where illegal drug use, legal drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and pretty much any activity that results in you being arrested for anything other than an offense such as speeding will almost certainly result in you being fired. Another way to think of this is that once you "enter the fence" the company owns you and they expect you to follow the rules, period. Conduct contrary to that will put your job in jeopardy. Implied here, the company also owns you, to some extent, "outside the fence".

A controversial example for you to consider. Right or wrong, I suspect some young people entering this business don't fully appreciate the above. Taken to the extreme, as I see it, employees can also be accountable for "questionable" material they put on social media. To any naysayers I can say that I've seen it happen. I have seen employees disciplined for posts they put on their personal social media.

Be wary of those that would say "make something up". This coming from someone that has also said "be accurate in your statements". Context be damned. This, in my opinion, is TERRIBLE advice to give someone that may enter the nuclear world. Sadawg04, another piece of advice you can take or leave, character counts.

[Sadawg04]

1. Dress pants, dress shirt and dress shoes. Your appearance will be the first impression your interviewer(s) will have of you. You are competing for a job, dress like it, act like it, think like it and you will come across as genuinely wanting the job.

2. This is the important one compared to dress and nervousness, take it to heart if you want the job. Google southern nuclear interview questions. The first search result link questions are realistic: https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Southern-Company-Interview-Questions-E607.htm Read them, understand them and come up with answers. Based on what little I can tell about you, you should also practice verbally answering them. Be able to answer those types of questions without a lot of hesitation and uncertainty. Content is the key here but delivery also matters.

3. Don't worry about nerves, that's normal and everyone gets nervous for one reason or another. An emergency fix for nervousness, if the situation allows, go to the bathroom and do some jumping jacks. Exercise redirects the mind's focus.

Sir, your grammar and spelling need work.

I worked for Southern Company at Hatch and Vogtle and I know how those knuckleheads think. I was a contractor for five outages between the two plants and last year I finished my career at Hatch. I was there for three years as a company employee. If you have any questions just ask.

Other than that, good luck.

Thank you man. I appreciate the advice. If I can think of anything else I will.

[Sadawg04]

Another piece of advice to take or leave at your discretion.

Should you enter the commercial nuclear power business you will be entering a work environment that I'm pretty sure the likes of which you haven't encountered before so I offer you the following caution: TELL THE TRUTH.

You would be entering a world where illegal drug use, legal drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and pretty much any activity that results in you being arrested for anything other than an offense such as speeding will almost certainly result in you being fired. Another way to think of this is that once you "enter the fence" the company owns you and they expect you to follow the rules, period. Conduct contrary to that will put your job in jeopardy. Implied here, the company also owns you, to some extent, "outside the fence".

A controversial example for you to consider. Right or wrong, I suspect some young people entering this business don't fully appreciate the above. Taken to the extreme, as I see it, employees can also be accountable for "questionable" material they put on social media. To any naysayers I can say that I've seen it happen. I have seen employees disciplined for posts they put on their personal social media.

Be wary of those that would say "make something up". This coming from someone that has also said "be accurate in your statements". Context be damned. This, in my opinion, is TERRIBLE advice to give someone that may enter the nuclear world. Sadawg04, another piece of advice you can take or leave, character counts.

Oh trust me I know this. They stress about all these things in school. They say if you have anything on your record be honest up front. All I have had ever had
in my entire life on my record was a ticket for texting and driving thats it.

[RDTroja]

All good stuff. As for the dress, there is a rule of thumb I heard when I was starting out that you should dress for a position one step higher than the one for which you are interviewing. That way the interviewer will subconciously see you as someone that they may be able to advance in the future.

So, TVA's advice will have you wearing what you will probably be wearing and xobxnuc's will have you a step up. Both are correct, but I think xobxnuc's has a slight edge. In most plants, the General Manager/VP will rarely wear a tie.

[TVA]

I am the LAST person to be wary of. I have conducted 100s of interviews. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a story up during a behaviour based interview

[MMM]

When it comes to dress, remember you can take off a suit coat and tie if wearing them, but you can't put them on if you don't have them.

[TVA]

Polo shirt and slacks. That is all you need