Startling, invasive and often necessary…. you need an intervention before your next job interview.
It’s an opportunity to sell yourself, not to simply answer only the questions that are asked.
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It’s your ‘job’ in the interview process to
‘teach them how to select you’ as the very best candidate for the role.
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Think about that for a moment.
How have you been preparing to tell and teach those that interview you about the specialness that you’ll bring (that others will not). The hiring manager has a decision to make, and your job is to persuade them that the ‘best business decision’ that they’ll make today is to add you to the team.
Getting them to Conclude about Your Value.
Why not just tell them? Then they can naturally ‘pick’ you. If that’s worked for you (typically), you may be conveying the right notes about your expertise and experience.
For most, that does not get the listener, the interviewer to the ‘decision point’.
Getting the interviewer to visualize the finish line, and your place in relationship to it, can be a much more powerful tool to use in your efforts to get them to select you.
1. Create an Agenda for Your Interview.
(You stay in Control, even when letting them ‘feel in control’)
– What would you need to hear if you were the manager?
– What would make you jump out of your chair in excitement?
– Why are you unique and interesting (not just qualified)?
2. Decide How to Tell Your Story of Success and Growth!
It may not all have been roses, but their no sin of omission here, just commission. Leave out any part you’d like, but make sure every bit of what you include is letter-true.
3. Move Directly Toward the Tough Questions (when they come up)
Leaving doubts in the interviewer’s mind is not the best way to win their vote. As an example, when confronted with, “You don’t have industry background!”, don’t forget that they would not waist time on this interview if they did not ‘see something’ of interest. It’s their job to ‘kick the tires’ and ‘object’. It’s your job to be ready to ‘overcome’ each and every objection (whether voiced or not).
Use an ‘agree-but-disagree’ technique where you ‘find a way’ to agree to what they accused you of with head held high (not having background, etc.), and then disagree with it by then laying out why your ‘lack of something’ is actually an advantage (passion, without the industry baggage, etc.).
4. ‘Close’ during Your Interview.
That means ‘not waiting to be picked’ (they are not likely to pick you if you leave it up to them).
– If you don’t get a ‘buy sign’ at the end of your interview (“I’d like to have you back to meet Jim, Jane”, etc, or “I’d like to move toward an offer”), then move to Closing Questions that will help the decision-maker do this ‘visualization of the finish line’.
One question you could use:
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“What have we not talked about, or what should we talk about, that would help you in your selection of me as the very best individual for the role?”
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I know, that takes backbone to say, to put it in the nicest of ways. If we can’t say it, someone else will –and there goes the job we’ve been dreaming about.
As you prepare for your interview, there are so many more things that you can do to change the equation in the outcome.
The 2 Reasons you are (ever) Hired, assuming you're capable for the roles you're going after:
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1. Chemistry
2. Confidence
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And there's nothing in that list about employers, credentials or prior projects.
Those things are important also, but assuming you are a ‘fit for the role’, it comes down to the 2 reasons above. Make sure to build into your agenda how are you are going to build chemistry with each person that you meet, and how you are going to instill confidence in them as you tell your story.
It's your job to win every single person’s vote.
Don't forget the receptionist, the person you meet for 5-seconds in the hallway, the person that stepped into clean something up in an office while you were waiting, in addition to the people you may actually be scheduled to meet with.
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Every one of them will be asked their opinion of you,
& you need every last note to outmaneuver your competitor.
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Need more help? I know a great Career Coach!
I'm very good with teaching individuals how to streamline their interview process so that they get better and better each time.
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John Crant
Author, Career Coach & Speaker on Job Search and Career Management
Featured Speaker for
The New York Public Library's JOB SEARCH CENTRAL
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In the Media: As Seen As Featured in
amNY, Time Out New York, The Wall Street Journal (and its FINS.com), CRAIN'S New York Business, Forbes, CNN, BBC, FOX News (on Social Media Marketing), AriseTV, New York Post, The Huffington Post, Essence magazine, CareerBuilder and The Ladders
On the Radio: As Guest: WHCR 90.3 FM "The Voice of Harlem"
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As an industry manager, executive recruiter, recruiting & sales trainer, event speaker, and as VP of a nationwide system of recruitment offices, I have seen most every aspect of the hiring process and this varied insight is what provides the clarity you will find in this book.
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