Stay in the Interview to Interview Your Best

Job interviews take on many different forms and formats. Most people think of the traditional interview where the candidate and interviewer(s) sit in an office and talk to one another. However, interviews also include lunch or dinner or a tour of the office or factory. No matter where you are during an interview, stay focused and stay in the interview.

Don’t let your positivity slip
One of the basic tenants of any interview is to be positive about everything. Most candidates are aware that they should not say anything negative about prior employers during an interview. However, when talking informally at lunch or when taking a tour of a facility candidates make slips. For example, when walking through a production facility a candidate mentioned how outdated and antiquated his previous employer’s machines and production processes were. Too much negativity!

Stay focused
During a lunch or dinner it is natural to become less formal and more relaxed, however you are still being evaluated for the job. Certainly, table manners are critical so brush up on your Emily Post. In addition, keep the discussion focused on professional issues as much as possible. You want your personality to come through and you want the hiring manager to like you. However, it is not a time to talk about your quirky side or any unusual habits. Also, stay away from controversial issues like politics or religion.

Meeting potential co-workers
During a tour of the office or factory you will be introduced to company employees. They are part of your interview and you need to connect with them as well. A firm handshake, good eye contact, and a smile will support your candidacy. Any brief conversation you can engage in will also communicate a friendliness and leave a positive impression. Potential co-workers includes receptionists and security staff. Be friendly, be positive, interact, connect.

If you are taken to lunch or for a tour of the office/facility that is a positive sign. Poor candidates are shown the door not the office. You have probably made a good connection with the interviewer and they want to “sell” you on the job as well as evaluate how you impress potential co-workers. By staying focused and “in the interview” you will ace the interview and land the job.

An InterviewBest presentation will help you stay focused

Differentiate Yourself From the Other Stars to Interview Your Best

You are a star in a very dense universe. What does this have to do with interviewing? Everything! Most candidates don’t think about how they are perceived in the bigger world or how they compare to hundreds of competitors. They focus only on their own basic skills which does not differentiate them from all the other stars.

Most candidates claim: “I have the skills; I’m a good, smart person; and I’ll work really hard for you.” That line describes you and about 20,000 other “stars”.  Skills aren’t enough these days because they’re just a baseline of what you offer. What you need to promote is your unique skills that will provide different and remarkable benefit to the hiring company.

Here is an example, I am working with a client that was a mid-level manager working in a large telecommunications company doing accounts receivables. Accounts receivable sounded pretty ho-hum until she began to talk about managing monthly receivables for Federal and Government business units for contracts valued between $2M and $20M. Expertise at collecting money from the government as Obama’s stimulus package gets delivered; that is a great selling proposition. Collecting government funds is the most unique benefit or value she can offer to an employer.

Take your value a step further
When preparing for an interview, first understand the company’s and the hiring manager’s basic needs and understand how your skills, experience, education match those needs. Then take it a step further and identify your outstanding area(s) of value; and yes we all have one or more. Once you have identified your outstanding value, prepare examples of times when you applied that value successfully in a work situation. During your interview be sure to talk about these examples. Do not leave the interview without having clearly communicated the outstanding, and differentiating, value you will bring to the company. If the interviewer does not ask questions that elicit the value just say, “I have outstanding value I will bring to your company, I would like to give you examples”.

Your Hired

In our current economy companies are interviewing more candidates for each position. Their belief is there are a lot of stars looking for jobs and they can be choosier than in the past. Every person interviewed meets the basic requirements of the position. You need to meet those requirements and then shine brighter to ace the interview and land the job.

Use an Interview Presentation to communicate your unique value

Know What Your Body is Saying While Your Mouth is Moving to Interview Your Best

What does your gut say?

Many interviewers claim they make hiring decisions based on their “gut reaction”. Have you considered what makes up a gut reaction; most interviewers have not. Gut reactions are complex, however a substantial portion is based on unconsciously reading body language. Body language is a combination of eye movement, body orientation, hand movement, head position, and leg activity. When messages from all these parts are combined there is a lot your body is saying. The important question; is your body communicating a “hire me” message?

Lets examine some body language-

Eyes
Eye contact 60% of the time indicates interest and agreement however, eye contact 100% of the time indicates aggression. Frequent avoidance of eye contact may indicate a person is hiding something or lacks confidence. Rapid blinking indicates resistance to what is being said.

In your interview think about your eye contact. When you are asked a difficult question and you are not sure of the answers to you will tend to look away. This communicates lack of confidence in your answer and lets the interviewer know you are unsure maybe even fabricating an answer.

Think about maintaining good eye contact even when uncertain or nervous about what you are saying.

Your head
When a person’s head is tilted towards you it indicates interest. When tilted away at an angle with glances from the corner of the eye, it indicates suspicion, mistrust and disbelief. The head supported on a hand indicates boredom. Nodding indicates interest and agreement.

During the interview keep your head tilted toward the interviewer particularly when they are speaking. They will get the message you are interested in what they are saying. Avoid cradling your head in your hands. Nod in response to what the interviewer is saying, although not like a bobble head doll.

Your hands
Here is some hand communication:

• When hands are open and palms up, it conveys truthfulness and openness
• Hidden palms indicate something held back
• Clenched hands indicate tension, discomfort, or anger
• Hands covering the mouth or the nose or tugging at the ear indicates that a lie may be concealed
• A limp handshake with palm up betrays submission
• A firm handshake with palm down conveys strength and confidence
• A hand gripping the other hand, wrist or elbow communicates a desire to quell rising anxiety
• A hand behind the head betrays a need to fend anxiety, danger or discomfort.
• Steepled hands bear power and proclaims confidence and business
• The hand stroking the chin indicates ongoing evaluation of something just said
• Hands flat on the table indicate readiness to agree

Pay attention to your hands. What are they communicating to the interviewer? What are the interviewer’s hands communicating to you?

Body position
A closed position, slouching with arms crossed, communicates evasiveness and resistance. When you lean towards the interviewer you sends signals of interest. By leaning away you communicate disinterest or resistance.

In your interview keep an open body posture. If you cross your legs do not turn sideways. If your interviewer displays a closed body posture things are not going well.

Your doing well in the interview when
The interviewer maintains eye contact  70% of the time and is smiling. She faces you directly, nods frequently, leans toward you, and her arms and legs are uncrossed.

If you are not getting these body signs you will naturally,based on your gut reaction, tend to tighten up. Stay open, take a deep breath, and think about what is going on in the interview. You can even ask for some feedback about what the interviewer is thinking.

Use an interview presentation to improve your communication

How to Kick it Up a Notch to Interview Your Best

Which One Are You?

You are competing against 12-15 other interviewees, are you different?

If you read about job interviews every day like I do you would quickly realize that most of the advice is really elementary including:

• Good handshake
• Eye contact
• Be on time
• Dress right
• Don’t chew gum
• Be ready to answer questions

All good suggestions,  but way too elementary to win an interview in this competitive environment. So here are some things you can do to really improve your interviewing.

Your interview is a sales call be prepared to sell
An interview is a sales call; be a sales person. Like any good sales person, do a needs analysis (research) about the company and hiring manager, understand the value you will contribute to the company, and be assertive about selling yourself in the interview. An interview will only be a question and answer interrogation if you let it happen. Go in with the mindset of any good sales person, you have important information to communicate and you won’t leave without telling your story. There is no reason to be pushy or arrogant, but being assertive is a great quality in any employee.

Pay attention to how sales people sell things to you. What works what does not? Read information and books about selling. You don’t need to be a professional sales person, but you should develop a sales orientation to kick your interviews up a notch.

Be a Presenter
When is the last time you were in a sales situation and the sales person did not have a prepared sales presentation? Be prepared to do a brief focused presentation in your interview, even if you have not been asked to prepare a presentation for the interview. Your presentation should focus on how you meet the job requirements and why you are an excellent candidate. (Go to www.interviewbest.com for comprehensive interview presentation information). Just preparing to present will kick your interview up a notch.

Communicate your personal brand
Personal branding has become important for career management. What is your personal brand? Your brand is what people think and feel about you and it is what  makes you successful on the job. Determine what it is and be sure to talk about your brand in the interview. If you have successfully communicated your brand, when you leave the interview the interviewers will have your brand words in their mind. “That guy Joe is a really analytical team leader who is persistent and customer focused. We could use a person like him.”

Prepare a Strategic Action Plan
Companies are all about performance. Tell them what you will achieve in the first 30 and 60 days to provide value to the company. A Strategic Action Plan displays knowledge about the company, the industry, the job and communicates interest and motivation. Think of it as the implementation part of your sales presentation. Don’t worry about being 100% accuarate just presenting a plan will kick your performance up a notch.

Prepare success stories
People love to hear stories. Stories capture the imagination and stir emotions. Prepare stories of when you were at your best in you career and your life. Use these stories as responses to the questions you are asked in the interview. Question “Have you ever had to work with a challenging client?” Tell a story including what was the situation, what did you have to overcome, what actions did you take and what was the outcome. Don’t take more than two minutes to tell your story.

Many people ask me, “Are many job candidates doing these things?” My answer is “absolutely not” However, the candidates that are find themselves impressing hiring managers, acing interviews, and landing jobs!

Kick Your Interview Up a Notch

Why Your Brain Keeps You From Interviewing Your Best

We are all walking around with primitive brains more suited for surviving in caves than managing the demands of the 21st century (including interviews).

One of the things our primitive brain does is that when we get stressed it narrows our thinking. When extremely stressed we can only think of one of two things-fight or flight. However, even under lower levels of stress we lose full access to our creativity, memory, problem-solving skills, humor, and interpersonal skills. Here is some proof-have you ever been in a situation where you were in a heated or stressful discussion and the moment you leave the room you bang yourself on the forehead and say to yourself  “I should have said…” The moment you left the room you calmed down a bit, your thinking expanded, and you remembered what you could have said. I just spoke with a client that when driving home remembered a lot of things he wished he had said in his interview.

Interviews are stressful situations. Even if you do a great job of preparation, you will be nervous and your thinking will be diminished; know it plan for it. Here are a some suggestions for overcoming your primitive brain:

Remember this

Prepare a list of reminders:
On a pad of paper write down the things you want to remember in the interview. Include things like smile, good eye contact, no ums, take a deep breath, and don’t fidget. Also include a list of questions to ask, a list of accomplishments, a reminder to ask for a business card, and the interviewer’s name(s). As you take notes on the pad you will see your reminders and remember to follow them.

Take a deep breath
Swami’s have know for centuries that good breath control leads to calm. During your interview, about every 5 minutes, take a good deep diaphragmatic breath. This will calm you down and improve your thinking. Put this on your pad as one of the things to remember.

Slow down your answers
An interview is not a timed test. You do not have to have immediate answers for every question. Slow down and take some time to formulate your answers. By slowing down you will be less stressed and will think more clearly.

Shift your position
When under stress many people tend to tense their muscles which raises their heart beat. By shifting your position you will relax your muscles and you will calm down.

Smile
When your facial muscles are smiling it causes a calming effect. So smile in your interview. This will also invite the interviewer to smile and help relax her.

Prepare an interview presentation
The best way to support your primitive brain is to have a written presentation to use during your interview. An interview presentation will insure you communicate all the information the interviewer needs to know about you to make a well informed hiring decision. Because all the information is written, none of it will be forgotten and you will be more confidant and relaxed.

You primitive brain does a couple of other unhelpful things including focusing on the negative and assuming the worst in the face of uncertainty. So you probably did better in your interview than you think and just because you haven’t heard yet it does not mean you did not get the job.

Help your brain with an interview presentation

Forget the Outcome- Manage the Process to Interview Your Best

Shooting Craps

Unfortunately, for most companies the choice of whom to hire is a subjective and uncoordinated process with the interview the most subjective part. I have spoken with recruiters from major corporations that use staggeringly expensive formal interview management systems and they report that the final decision still comes down to “gut feel”. The outcome of your interview is in “the hands of the gods” so let it go.

Every job candidate wants to be selected for the job and the belief is that if they do well in the interview they will be chosen. Having worked with hundreds of job candidates and recruiters, I have seen numerous situations where an excellent candidate was not hired due to an idiosyncratic perception on the part of one person on the interview team. The candidate talked too much or too little, they asked too few or too many questions, they seemed too aggressive or too passive, they didn’t have enough experience or they were overqualified, their skills were too narrow or too broad, etc etc. In addition, there are numerous occasions where after interviewing a number of candidates the job is either put on hold or given to an internal candidate.

Subjected to this random subjective process what can a candidate do? There is only one thing to do; make sure you do an excellent job in the interview and then move on. Focus on the process not the outcome. Doing an excellent job in the interview includes the following:

Prepare
Know the company, the industry, and the job. Read the company’s website thoroughly including press releases. Google the company and see what is being written about it. See if you can find information about the people that will be interviewing you. Prepare a list of questions you want to ask in the interview.

Interview Presentation

Develop an interview presentation
The most powerful interview strategy is to use a presentation in your interview to communicate how your background skills and experience matches the critical requirements  of the job and why you are an excellent candidate for the position. The presentation is a visual aide which will guide the interview and communicate to the hiring manager all the information he needs to know to make a decision about hiring you.

Manage the nuts and bolts
Be there on time (15 minutes early), dressed correctly have a good firm handshake, good eye contact and smile. Be prepared to answer the most common questions such as tell me about yourself and what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses. Carry a leather looking portfolio and be prepared to take notes. Sit forward in your chair, speak assertively, and focus on the benefits you will bring to the job.

Follow-through strong
After the interview write a good follow-through letter to each person with whom you interviewed. Don’t just thank them, reiterate why you are an excellent candidate for the position and cite examples from the interview.

Debrief
After the interview  take time to debrief your performance. What went well what do you want to improve? How did you interact with the interviewer. Did you use examples of past performance when answering questions? How did you do with your presentation?

Now you have  done the most you can do for this interview. And the outcome it is beyond your control. Begin to focus on the next opportunity, the next networking meeting, the next interview. Time to move on.

Read this Rant to Interview Your Best

The interview process is broken  and its is time to fix it. From my point of view here are some things about the interview that needs repair:

The interviewer has to be control
There is this belief that the interviewer is in “control” of the interview and any attempt by the candidate to assert themselves is usurping the interviewer’s power. When did this get established and what’s the point? This belief causes lots of problems including:

• A bad interviewer (unfortunately not rare) results in a bad interview and the candidate is powerless to improve the situation.
• The candidate feels powerless and “one down” and their anxiety is increased
• The interviewer feels compelled to completely manage the interview, gets nervous, and ends up talking mainly about themselves.

Here  is the way it should be-The candidate should be prepared to sell themselves in the interview and share in the responsibility for communicating the critical information. Candidates should be told to come to the interview prepared to actively present themselves as the best fit for the position. Then the candidate should be given time to “sell” themselves.

How is interview behavior indicative of on the job behavior?
How often and on how many jobs does a person walk into an office and have to answer a series of question with little if any prior knowledge of the questions or the exact situation? Thinking on ones feet is an important skill but doing it with little situational knowledge is rare. And for many positions it never happens. Why do it in an interview? Why not give candidates more information so they can be prepared to interview their best. “Our most pressing issue is XYZ, please come prepared to talk about how you have worked on similar issues in the past.”

The candidate is asked to do actual work
Some companies actually have the chutzpah to ask candidates to produce valuable pieces of work. “Please put together a marketing plan for the next fiscal year”. The unstated message is “don’t do it and don’t get hired”. Done by  a senior executive this piece of work may be worth thousands of dollars. This is different than asking a candidate to display their thinking about a work related task. If a company wants a marketing plan they should pay for it not take advantage of a job candidate.

Cross examination
One of candidate’s greatest complaints is that the interview is like a cross examination; question answer- question answer- question answer- verdict. Two adults trying to decide an important issue should be in a conversation. In an interview conversation there is an exchange of information between two adults that are working together to decide if the job is a good fit for both the company and the candidate. In any good conversation there is a give and take of information as well as the opportunity to talk about what is going on here and now. “So how do you feel about how the interview is going?”

Lack of Trust
A job interview is basically a sales call. Like every sales situation there is an element of suspicion about the sales person, how good is their product/service and what does it cost. Beginning from this underlying belief, the interview becomes subtly adversarial with the interviewer trying to figure out if the candidate is really who they portray themselves to be. The interviewer then uses a series of questions (tell me about your greatest weaknesses) to find any inconsistencies or misrepresentations.

This is a hard one to overcome. The candidate is portraying themselves in the best possible light and trying to avoid any weaknesses or problems. They want to make the sale. However, a candidate should keep in mind selling themselves into a bad situation is worse than no sale at all. After a stressful period of time they will fail,  be back where they started with a short term job on their resume and  looking for their next job.

Untrained interviewers
Since when did interviewing become an innate skill? Many managers think interviewing is a simple “gut/instinct” process and they are good at it. Typically they are deceiving themselves. Interviewers should get training or at least let the candidate be more active and assertive in the interview to balance out their limited interview skill.

Lousy job descriptions
Candidates cannot match their background, skills, and experience to unknown job requirements. Poorly developed job requirements are like saying “I want to buy something to help us with customer service but I have no idea of what I want, I will just know it when I see it”. Hiring managers should take the time to figure out and then specify what skills, experience and personality type they are looking for and then let candidates know.

So those are my thoughts- let me know if you agree or even if you have more to add to the rant!

InterviewBest improves the interview

You Gotta be Bragging About Yourself to Interview Your Best!

“A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself.”

– Alexandre Dumas

We are brought up with the strict warning “don’t brag about yourself”.  Two of the seven deadly sins, pride and vainglory, warn us against being immodest. It is no mystery that when it becomes time for people to “crow” about themselves in an interview many candidates feel too uncomfortable to let their light shine through.

When I coach people for interviews I see two common reactions to my direction to boast a bit. The two reactions are:

I have nothing to brag about
Many job seekers have been busy doing a job that they consider to be routine and “nothing special”. When it comes time to identify the skills they have developed and the benefits they have to offer they are unable to do so.  I just worked with an individual who had been doing “accounting” work for 20 years with the same company. When asked to talk about why he should be hired he was totally at a loss. It was only after thinking through the details of his job, considering the international scope of the company’s work, and reviewing his training that he was able to realize he had a strong set of marketable skills. I suggest you go through the same process. Write down the details of the job you perform, consider the company’s market and think about the benefits you provide to your company. These are the things you can brag about in your interview.

But don't wear this shirt!

I have a hard time talking about myself
Many clients are just uncomfortable talking about themselves. They are modest people who typically do not focus a conversation on themselves.  Their challenge is overcoming many years of avoiding the limelight. The best way to overcome this barrier is to write down a brief script about yourself and read it over and over until you become comfortable. The script can consist of statements about what you do well, why you are a good choice for an employee and what differentiates you from other people. Try to overstate your case and amplify your good points (don’t worry your  overstatement is probably just right). Become comfortable saying your script first to yourself and then practice with others. Saying it out loud will be very helpful.

An interview is a sales call. Can you imagine a good sales person being modest about their product and having a successful sale? Convincing a hiring manager you are the best choice depends on being able to sell your benefits and a bit of bragging helps.

Develop an interview presentation to help you brag about yourself in an interview

How to Establish Rapport and Interview Your Best

Build rapport

The first challenge of any job interview is establishing rapport with the interviewer. Rapport can be described as the feeling you experience when you are with someone you intuitively like. People only hire people they like; rapport is critical.

How do you establish rapport in a job interview?

Here are some of the common things-
Be on time
The first tactic may seem obvious but it is critical…be on time. If you are late to the interview you have destroyed the foundation for rapport. Be there 15 minutes before the appointment.

Eye contact
Look the interviewer in the eye. Eye contact establishes a connection and a trust. I am not suggesting a stalking type stare but do look the person in the eye for 2-8 seconds and then look away and then back again.

Smile
Be sure to smile. Smiles are contagious and will set a tone of friendliness and connection.

Be yourself
Be yourself be relaxed. This may be a challenge in an interview situation but keep in mind an interview is two human beings meeting one another. Treat the interview as an opportunity to meet someone and get to know them. This shifts the context and helps to develop rapport. Also, being authentically yourself communicates honesty.

These are a bit more advanced
Be observant
Look at the interviewer and and the surroundings, really observe them. What do you learn about them from what you observe. By paying attention to the interviewer you tune into their world and become more open and sensitive to them as a person. This will be communicated in your attitude and verbal/non-verbal communication.

Be tribal
Human beings are basically tribal. We tend to like and trust members of our own tribes. Fortunately human tribes are very broad and include almost any connection. Search for a commonality that will put you in their tribe. The commonality can be geographic, interests, sports, hobbies, schools, prior jobs, etc. etc. Almost anything will do to establish a tribal connection. However caution; avoid discussing anything that will put you in another tribe so politics and religion are areas to avoid.

Ask questions, listen, and communicate understanding
When you ask questions really listen and understand. It is helpful to echo the answer just to be sure you understand and to let the interviewer know you are tuned in. “Am I correct that you are saying that the company is very family friendly but at the same time focuses on performance?” Being heard and understood is very appealing to human beings and fosters rapport. Listen particularly carefully for the interviewer’s goals and concerns, position, expectations and needs.

Be relaxed be confidant
Recent research shows that emotions are contagious. Come into an interview nervous with low confidence and the interviewer will sense it. Anxiety (fear) and low confidence inhibits rapport. The one best way to increase confidence and reduce anxiety is to be well prepared.

Be curious
This is the most critical element in establishing rapport. Be genuinely curious about the interviewer as a person. I am not suggesting you ask about personal issues; an interview should be professionally focused. Find out how the interviewer came to their position, what they like about their job and the company, their challenges on the job, their professional goals, their management style. It is important to be genuinely curious. If you ask questions as an “interview technique” you will not come across as genuine and you will be perceived as less honest.

Establishing rapport is essential to being selected for a position. As mentioned above, the most important part of establishing rapport is being open, curious, and genuinely interested in establishing a relationship with the interviewer.

Using an interview presentation will help you be confidant and establish rapport

Being Like Sully Sullenberger Will Help You Interview Your Best!

In an extraordinary performance of aeronautical skill Sullenberger exhibited the following life saving presence of mind-

Preparation: Like any pilot, Sullenberger was trained in flying and landing under duress. But he went further: he researched and studied crash situations and even consulted others on the matter.

Poise Under Pressure: When stressed by a challenging situation based on his training and preparation he knew the most effective routine. Once the plane hit the water, and he followed the routine to a T.

Execution: Not only did Sullenberger have to act fast when his plane encountered engine trouble upon takeoff, but he had to warn his passengers (the now-famous “Brace for impact” warning he said through the intercom) and then help them evacuate.

In interviewing preparation is 85% of the equation for success. Preparation provides the insights and information you need to answer questions and gives you the confidence to be relaxed, think clearly, and use the information to your best advantage.

The interviewer may throw you curves and ask unexpected questions however, being prepared and having a plan for your interview will give you the poise to perform under the pressure of the interview. Be prepared to introduce the information you want the interviewer to know about you so they know you are an excellent candidate for the position. The best plan is to have an interview presentation prepared to use during your interview.

Taking this analogy a step further, the interviewer is the pilot you are the co-pilot in the interview; you are not a passenger.  If the interviewer is doing a good job of steering the interview then sit in the second seat and do your job as a co-pilot by following the interviewer’s lead. Should the interviewer go off course, not obtaining the information they need to make a decision about you, take the controls.

Be prepared, have a plan for communicating the information you want the interviewer to know, and then execute calmly. And just like Sullenberger, don’t leave the interview until you have executed your plan.

Use InterviewBest to plan your interview