For the next two weeks, we’ll be looking at interview strategies and tactics. Many people rely on their communication skills and basic research to get through an interview… It’s so much more than that…and it is different for everybody!
Thursday, October 13th... Closing The Deal I, interview strategies plus MoneySpeak, including PRE-Offer negotiation.
Often, a skilled communicator who thinks quickly on their feet must learn to limit themselves, to stick to their message! The opposite is true for the terminally shy… they may be researched and prepared, but must learn to make their points effectively.
The Three Phases of Every Interview
There are three things that must be discussed in every interview: First, the Candidate, a discussion usually conducted in the past tense to assess experience, knowledge, and skills… do they meet the potential employer’s REQUIREMENTS?
Second, the job itself. Beyond meeting requirements, each Candidate must be judged for their potential to meet EXPECTATIONS. As important, will the Candidate “fit in” on the team and Company culture? This discussion occurs in the future tense… very obvious transition in a “good” interview.
Last, but certainly not least, is the quality of FIT. While this is the most subjective and dysfunctional part of the process, it is where both sides must come together for a desired outcome. When both sides like and find the other to be attractive, a “right” employment opportunity can result. This is also where the QandA can become more defensive in nature.
Research the company/position
Second level research will help you to identify attractive companies. But, this is third level (in-depth) research. Learn as much as possible about the company, the position and the individual who will be conducting the interview.
Your research goals ought to include developing information about the company’s products, people, organizational structure, successes (and failures), profits (and losses), capital spending, strategic plans, philosophy and labor climate. Showing your knowledge of some of this information can give you added credibility over other candidates interviewing for the job.
Use the following research strategies:
- Research the company web site, looking for information relative to your function and level… a company’s financial and annual reports can provide clues to their stability and market share. Don’t forget directories, trade journals, the “business press,” and databases of articles and other news.
- Ask a friendly recruiter, business acquaintance or stockbroker what they know about the company… and by extension, call people with whom you have networked and ask what they know about the company and/or individual conducting the interview.
- Check with the local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau.
- Call the company directly; request a sales brochure, annual report or other company information. Companies have to market themselves, too, you know.
Once your basic research is complete, you must next identify how your abilities, experience and expertise can meet the needs of the interviewer, the company and the job. This point cannot be over-emphasized.
It is the company’s needs that you must fill, not your own. Surprisingly, however, by meeting the company’s needs, your needs also will be met.
Your VALUE PROPOSITION
Prepare for your interviews (and networking meetings) by fully understanding the value you bring to a potential employer and hiring company. Incorporate portions of this information into your interview responses, or use some of the material in your interview closing remarks. Tell them why you are good at what you do!
ANSWERING QUESTIONS EFFECTIVELY
The key to being successful in an interview is to answer each question well, with strong content and credible delivery. To do this, you must anticipate and practice what to say, display confidence and enthusiasm and show that you have a positive attitude. The way you deliver your responses can be just as important as what you say.
Look directly into the interviewer’s eyes; give short, crisp, smooth answers that don’t sound memorized. Put energy and ‘texture’ in your voice.
Consider one of the following guidelines in answering questions relative to your communication strategy…
- ANSWER the question.
- Highlight strengths, giving examples as appropriate… plays to behavioral interviewer style and tactics. Minimize weaknesses.
- At least address the issue of the question before
- Blocking
- Turnaround
- Answering in your terms
- Confronting or changing the subject!
You’ve had a great career, and you’ve ‘captured it all’ in your resume. But, the average time human eyes scan your resume is around 20 seconds before the ‘YES-No-maybe judgment’ is rendered. And in the digital world of recruitment, Automated Tracking Systems (ATS) are even more ruthless in their time management. Therefore, you should get rid of as much excess material as you can in a resume and only keep the stuff that employers want to see.
Less is more in this case, because every bit of relevant information supports your personal brand and the ‘story’ you have to relate regarding your candidacy. You need to strike the right balance between just enough data to pique someone’s interest and leaving the hiring manager(s) wanting to hear more of your story in an interview. Take your current draft resume first to good CONTENT, then on to becoming a GREAT RESUME.
In The OTHER Job Market, buyers and sellers hold equal responsibility for the recruitment process. The commodity is available, productive WORK… When employers have a need for someone to fulfill a specific role, often the most desired candidates are employed individuals with the credentials they seek. Thus the employer must sell their Company to potential employees in the marketplace in order to attract the best of the lot. Once identified, they simply select their choice and buy their services.
Just as the competent sailor must select their destination in order to have a successful voyage, so must the productive and efficient job seeker know what is a right work opportunity to identify, proceed toward…and secure! While this seems like an incredible over-simplification, mere ‘common sense,’ it is knowledge that eludes most unemployed people. You see, when you’re employed you tend to assume that your employer will help you to navigate those ‘next steps’ in your career.
Turning Opportunities In To Interviews… This topic represents what most people call ‘active job search, but, as you can learn, the HOW –TO is what creates your success in networking. It professes strategies and tactics that will generate more effective networking. In your ‘first wave’ of networking you had the opportunity to:
You’ll be the first to know when you’re ready for ‘wave 2’ of networking… which, simply put, is networking your way in to attractive opportunities. You will focus your activity and time management to the business of creating INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION with employees, customers, and vendors–the “stakeholders”– within and surrounding any targeted organization.
Your work in Achieving CareerFIT led you to the determination of your career objective… Exactly what is the best next step for you in your career transition? It also suggested strongly that you set your straw-man offer criteria to guide you in moving forward…Knowing what your next right employment is.
In order to market yourself, you must first know yourself. The job search process is essentially a highly personalized marketing process. The process 
Are you challenged in finding the right words for your resume? LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for you to use in self-assessment. Access the LinkedIn Profiles of other professionals like you… experiment by searching for a person like you in LinkedIn. Modify and improve your Personal Marketing Plan’s implementation model as needed… “Listen” to the marketplace, learning from it and adjusting your PMP accordingly.
YOUR STARTING POINT
MYCAREERpilot 