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 For example, when walking through a production facility a candidate mentioned how outdated and antiquated his previous employer’s machines and production processes were.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