Here’s How to Interview Better- Hey Are You Listening?

A number of listening pitfalls will trip you up in your job interview. Don’t fall in these listening pitfalls:

• Being so intent on what you have to say that you listen mainly to find an opening to make your point. You may be thinking that you have a very important point you want the interviewer to know, and if you don’t say it now, the opportunity will be lost. In reality, you won’t lose the opportunity, and this pitfall often results in an interruption[md]never a good thing during an interview.,
•  Formulating and focusing on your answers quickly, based on what the speaker is saying. Candidates often are so concerned about giving the “right” answer that they get nervous and stop listening. They also have the misconception that they have to answer a question immediately after it is asked. It is perfectly acceptable to say, “Let me think about that,” and then take 30 to 40 seconds to formulate an answer. A thoughtful, considered answer is better than a quick, confused, or off-target response.
• Focusing on your own personal beliefs about what you’re hearing. Your personal beliefs form a filter that may distort the interviewer’s meaning. It is important to be aware of how your beliefs distort what you hear and adjust for the distortion. You can do this by becoming consciously aware of your beliefs. For example, the interviewer might be talking about the importance of offshoring certain functions in their department. Perhaps you are opposed to sending jobs overseas. Your opposition may impact how you listen to the interviewer’s message. However, if you say to yourself, “This is an area of disagreement for me. I need to stay in active listening,” you will be able to focus on the message and not your internal resistance and judgment.
• Evaluating and making judgments about the speaker or the message. While the interviewer is busy making subjective judgment about you, you are busy making subjective judgments about her. Judgments can distort how you hear things- both positively and negatively. If you have a positive impression of the interviewer, you might tend to believe what she is saying and not ask clarifying questions. If you judge the interviewer negatively, you might prematurely dismiss what she is saying and not listen fully. Be aware of your judgments, which can be as simple as whether you like or dislike the person, so that you don’t lose the message.
• Not asking for clarification when you know you don’t understand. Many candidates think that asking for clarification is a signal to the interviewer that they don’t understand and that, as a result, they will appear stupid. A candidate of mine walked out of an interview sweating because the interviewer used an acronym he did not know, and he didn’t ask what it meant. Throughout the interview, the candidate was hoping he wouldn’t be caught; as a result, he was a nervous wreck and performed poorly. It turned out that the acronym was an obscure, little-known term that he couldn’t have known anyway. The interviewer was either impressed the candidate knew or guessed that he was covering up- probably the latter, since there was no job offer.

As it is in all sales situations, listening is the most important activity in a job interview. The more time you spend listening and understanding the job, the better you can match your background, skills and experience to the critical job requirements.

Go to www.activeinterviewing.com to learn how to listen in interviews

Are You Mis-Representing Your Brand? Shame on You!

Your Brand Has to Stand Up to Scrutiny

“Let none presume to wear an undeserved dignity.” William Shakespeare

Imagine a company trying to claim a false brand- Philip Morris claiming health, BP claiming safety and corporate responsibility, or Facebook claiming privacy. It wouldn’t work, and it would actually hurt their image. I have led team-building meetings where people shared with their co-workers what they thought their personal brand was. Many got nods of agreement, but many got puzzled looks and even expressions of derision: “Yeah, sure- in your dreams.”

For your brand to be of value, it has to be authentic and true. If you want your brand to be that of a caring leader, you must actually care about people and have good leadership skills. If you want your brand to be as a reliable and trustworthy co-worker, you must be dependable and not break confidences. Everyone wants a positive brand, but you can’t have a positive brand simply by declaring it- you have to deserve it. False personal branding is exposed quickly, resulting in an even worse brand.

During interviews, be prepared with stories and examples that support your brand. If you declare yourself a good communicator, have examples of using communication to achieve a success, and be sure you communicate well during the interview. If you brand yourself an expert[md]which you probably are have stories and examples that support your expertise.

Here is an example of a well-supported brand: One of my clients sold large, expensive medical devices, including MRI machines to hospitals. When developing an interview presentation, he chose the personal brand word “competitive” as one of the terms to represent his brand. I asked, “Joe, every salesperson brands himself as competitive. How are you going to prove your competitive brand?” He replied, “Eric, let me tell you how competitive I am. When I sell large medical equipment, I only have a few competitors. So when I go into a sales situation, I study the hospital to which I am selling, and I study the salespeople against whom I am competing. I know their strengths, weaknesses, track records, and employment history. So not only do I sell to the hospital, but I sell against my competition. In at least two situations, my competition did so poorly that they fired their entire sales staff[md]that’s how competitive I am.” I was convinced!

Go to www.activeinterviewing.com to learn about using branding in interviews

Are You A Commodity in the Employment Marketplace?

Competition is Fierce

In a competitive and crowded marketplace, every product and service must differentiate itself. It is not enough to be simply as good as all the rest, because there are too many “all the rests” in the market. In addition, with easy access to cheap (or even free) Internet advertising, there is a great deal of advertising that makes differentiating services and determining buying decisions difficult- just think of all the pop-up ads you see online. In the employment marketplace, this is exemplified by the tens of thousands of job sites and hundreds of resumes submitted over the Internet in response to advertised jobs. To rise above the flood of advertising, successful companies establish powerful branding and distinct value-adds. You can adopt the same strategy to rise above the flood of your competition in the employment marketplace.

A value-add refers to an extra feature of a service that goes beyond the standard expectations and provides a more compelling reason to purchase. A value-add makes the service more desirable and positively influences the buying decision. However, a value-add has no value if it is not in addition to good service. Always having on-time delivery does not make a difference if the pizza tastes terrible.
The worst position for a service is to be a commodity. A service is a commodity when it is equivalent no matter who provides it. A provider of a commodity service is easily exchanged for another provider of the same service who offers a lower price. For example, many dry cleaners provide a commodity service. Customers will change to another dry cleaner if they can find one that costs less. In the employment marketplace, many employees[md]even mid- and senior-level employees[md]are commodities in that they provide a service that can be replaced easily. In bad economies, companies replace more expensive “commodity” employees with cheaper employees. Are you a commodity in the employment marketplace?

If you are a commodity, it will be difficult to differentiate yourself in interviews. However, most of us are not commodities we just have not deteremined out value-adds. To determine your value-adds:

Know Yourself

Take a complete inventory of your skills. Do not limit the inventory to skills applicable to the job for which you are interviewing; do a full inventory. This inventory should include skills connected to your job, interests, hobbies, and leisure activities. When you have a full inventory, you can choose which skills serve as value-adds for the job for which you’re applying.

Know Your Profession

Every profession has a number of areas of concentration and a large skill base. For example, within human resources, you might be applying to be a compensation manager. However, the human resources field has a number of other specialty areas and required skills, such as diversity management, employee retention, job-task analysis, and international employment. You might have experience in international employment, and even though you’re applying to be a compensation manager, having international employment experience could be a differentiating value-add for a multinational company or a company that is expanding internationally.

Once you have determined you value-ads, use an interview presentation to clearly communicate them in your interview. To learn more about value-ads in interviews go to Active Interviewing.

Read Active Interviewing to Learn More About Value-Ads

Do you Know That Telling Stories Win Interviews?

“Be amusing: never tell unkind stories; above all, never tell long ones.” Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister

Stories persuade and land jobs

Every day, you are faced with a barrage of efforts to persuade you to buy a product or service. The vast majority of these efforts are forgettable and totally unpersuasive. Occasionally, however, one of these communications breaks through the noise, catches your imagination, and speaks to you personally. What is happening? Many times, it’s not the service or the brand that gets through, but how the information is communicated.

In every interview, interviewers listen to candidates answering questions to try to persuade them that they are the best candidate for the job. Most questions in an interview can be, and should be, answered by saying “Let me give you an example. However, the vast majority of these examples are forgettable, mundane, and totally unpersuasive- in short, they’re boring. You can avoid boring if you have a good delivery.

Good delivery consists of three factors:

     *     Sincerity and wholeheartedness. Any success story you tell has to be honest and real. Don’t make up a story to respond to a question. A fabricated story will lack sincerity; your heart won’t be in it, and the interviewer will know!

     *     Enthusiasm. These are stories about you at your best, about achievements you are proud of, so being enthusiastic should be easy. Being enthusiastic doesn’t mean you have to be artificially animated or jump up and down on a couch; just let your pride in your success shine through. However, don’t get too enthusiastic and get carried away[md]remember, no story should take longer than two minutes.

     *     Animation. A great deal of your story is communicated nonverbally, so show some emotion in your gestures, voice, and facial expressions. Smile, move your hands, change the pitch of your voice, and maintain eye contact. A great success story told with a deadpan expression and in a monotone is boring.

Learn to tell good stories and your interviewers will be more engaged and more persuaded that you are the candidate of choice.

Give a presentation to tell a good story

This book has the strategies you need to win interviews

An Interview Presentation Is a Sales Presentation that Wins Jobs

Unlike a sales presentation, which can be for selling unlimited services or products, every interview presentation has the exact same goal: landing a job. Because the goal is well defined, similar to a resume an interview presentation has a defined format, and the content is sharply focused.

An interview attempts to answer three questions:

     *     Can you do the job?

     *     Are you motivated to do the job?

     *     Will you fit the culture of the company, and will they like you?

Using these three questions as the focus, the interview presentation includes all the information a hiring manager needs to answer these questions. Using a presentation, you will clearly communicate the information the hiring manager needs to know to make an informed hiring decision.

An effective interview presentation consists of a structure that frames the objective (presenting the reasons you are the best choice), covers all relevant material, transitions smoothly from topic to topic, and finishes strong. In addition, it should be well organized, short, focused, and relevant. A powerful interview presentation includes the following:

     *     A purpose. This is the one thing you want the interviewer to remember when you leave the interview. Typically, this is the same for any interview: “Based on my background, experience, skills, education, and personality traits, I am the best candidate for this position.” You introduce an interview presentation with this exact purpose: “I have a presentation that communicates how my background, skills, and experience match the critical requirements for this position and makes me an excellent candidate. May I share it with you?”

     *     Critical information. The critical information in an interview is how well you can perform the job. Performing well consists of doing the job tasks with high quality, fitting into the company culture, and getting along with others. To communicate your ability to do the job, there must be agreement about the job requirements. The first part of the presentation addresses the job requirements: “These are what I consider to be the critical job requirements for this position. I would like to discuss them with you to make sure we are in agreement about them.” This aligns your and the hiring manager’s expectations. When there is agreement about the requirements, the rest of the presentation focuses on your match to the requirements.

     *     Benefits. Every person listening to a presentation is thinking, “How does this affect me or benefit me?” If there is no effect or benefit, the person quickly loses interest. Each item mentioned in an interview presentation should link to a benefit for the hiring manager. For example, “You’re looking for a person with experience in new consumer product introduction. In my previous position, I introduced three mass consumer hardware products that accounted for $4.5 million in sales. As part of the introduction, I was responsible for consumer research, product development, marketing strategy, and sales. As you introduce new products, I’ll be able to provide expert leadership in each of these areas, which means that you will require fewer managers, save personnel costs, and bring products to market more quickly and successfully.”

A visual presentation (which makes an excellent leave-behind) with all of these elements and good, insightful questions make up the most powerful way to communicate in an interview. Candidates who have used interview presentations report dramatic results, and hiring managers are bowled over by their level of preparation, professionalism, and organization. And even without a written document, developing an interview presentation as part of the interview-preparation process is an excellent way to organize critical information that you can present when there is an opportunity in the interview.

Use an interview presentation to win your interview

Buy the book that will help you win your interview

Focus on Your Contributions to the Company to Win Your Interview

Focus on Them

Focus on the buyer

Nobody cares about services or solutions. That’s the hardest thing for sellers to realize. Buyers only care about the benefits the services or solutions will provide his or her organization. Similarly, buyers don’t care about the gains a salesperson makes from a sale. Would you be more motivated to buy if a salesperson said to you “Buy this car and I will make my quota for the month, I will get a bonus, and I can finally put that addition on my house”, probably not!

If you mention to a hiring manager that the job is a good career move for you, it is a shorter commute, and it is a higher salary with better benefits, they’re not interested. Focus on them, talk about the tangible outcomes they’d get from using your skills and they will be interested. In interviewing, focus on your value to the organization. Avoid talking about how the job will benefit you.

For example, if asked where you want to be in five years rather than talking about the progress of your own career, relate your answer to the organization. “In five years I want to have taken on more responsibility in the organization and have increased the value I bring to the job.” Similarly, if the interviewer asks “Why should I hire you?” focus your answer on the benefits you will bring to the organization in general and the hiring manager specifically.

Use an interview presentation to communicate your value

This book has the strategies you need to win interviews

The Only Hiring Issue You Need to Know to Interview Your Best

There is only one hiring issue; your value to the company

When a company or person purchases any product or service, they are looking for value. Nothing is purchased without the prospect of getting value from the purchase. More expensive items have greater value expectations. The same is true for hiring, the higher the salary the greater the value expectation.

The hiring process is to determine one thing, can you and will you deliver the expected value to the company. This is a two sided issue. One side, based on your background skills and experience, is can you deliver value to the company and the other side are you interested and motivated to deliver the value to this company.

During your interview always think value; what is your value to the company, how will you provide value, how will you provide more value than your competition, and how will you provide value quickly?

Use an interview presentation to communicate your value

Learn the Strategies you Need to Know to Win Interviews

Do you Differentiate Behavior From Performance to Win Your Interviews?

Behavior VS Performance

Participating is not enough

It is not prior behavior that predicts success it is prior performance. Just because a candidate has done a task does not mean they have done it well. Most interviewers, including interviewers using “behavioral interviews”, ask questions and focus on the candidate’s past behaviors but do not adequately tap into performance- another indication of broken interviews.

To fix you interview, talk about your performance not just your behaviors. For example, question- “Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.”

Candidate “I was working with a team to determine if my company should submit a proposal for a $15MM piece of business. The business would have grown the company but we were not sure we had the internal systems and personnel to deliver on the project and failure with this high profile customer would have severely damaged our reputation and chances for further business. I developed a decision matrix which contained all the pertinent factors and used the matrix to make the decision.”

Where is the performance aspect? A better response,

“… I developed a decision matrix which contained all the pertinent factors and used the matrix to make the decision. The decision was to pass on the business. This decision turned out to be correct, saving the company a significant loss and positioning me as a thorough and logical problem solver. As a result, I received a nice year end bonus and was promoted to Director.”

Adding the performance element will differentiate you from other candidates that simply report their behaviors, impress the interviewer, and position you as a stronger candidate.

Use an interview presentation focus on performance

This book has the strategies you need to win interviews

Avoid Filler Language and Interview Your Best

Avoid filler language

Filler language is words that provide no meaning to what you are saying and weakens your message. As people get stressed, filler language tends to increase. Do away with any words that when dropped does not change the meaning of your message. Filler language includes;

* Um – Um, we um need to um move ahead um with this project.

* Uh – Uh, we uh need to uh move ahead uh with this project.

* Clearly – We clearly must make a decision about this.

* Actually – We actually went to his office to speak with him.

* To be honest – To be honest, I don’t agree with that approach.

* Like I said before – Like I said before, we are focusing on the problems.

* Well – Well, I don’t think we should go.

* I mean – I mean they were really good at the game.

* I guess – I guess it is time to begin.

* OK – After you complete this form return it to me, OK.

* Quite frankly – Quite frankly, I am not happy with the outcome.

* In fact – If, in fact, you have the authority.

* If you will – Making this decision is like pushing a rock up the hill, if you will.

* Like – It is like, when I went to the meeting like it was very apparent like people were not like going to be like in agreement.

* Sorta -  When I work at home its sorta like being on my own.

* Kinda – I want to show you something that is kinda strange.

* You know – I work well with teams and you know it’s good to be part of a you know strong team.

Read each of the above sentences without the filler language and you will see how much more direct and powerful the sentences become. During your interview avoid using filler language to sound more professional and become more persuasive.

Be Like a Laser to Interview Your Best

Many people are very proud of all the tasks they perform(ed) at work. When I do job transition workshops, attendees talk about wearing multiple hats, doing  tasks outside their job description, and being of value in many ways to their company.  All this is important and contributes to a persons work-esteem, however in an interview (and in a resume) focus on what is of value to the company that is considering hiring you.

Candidates try to load too many things into an interview and they lose focus. Candidates also tend to get too detailed thinking that the larger the volume of things they talk about the more persuasive they are. Too many details and too many tasks tend to confuse the interviewer and once confused they get turned off.

As I often state, the interview is a sales call. All good sales calls are targeted towards solving the buyers problem. Determine the problem and focus on it like a laser.

What specifically are you being hired to do. Look below the surface. A person being hired to do collections for a company is not just collecting money they are solving the problem of reducing accounts receivable and improving profits. Anything  talked about in the interview should have the ultimate goal of reducing accounts receivable and improving profits. Even a question related to getting along with co-workers or a supervisor should be answered in the context of how does the answer relate to reducing accounts receivable and improving profits.

By focusing on being the solution to a problem, your answers will be more targeted and less rambling. As each question is asked, think to yourself how does this relate to solving the ultimate problem. Then leave out anything that does not contribute to the solution. Also, if you are not asked a question that elicits a task or skill you have that contributes to solveing the problem, be sure to bring that out yourself.

To prepare for your interview first define the problem the job solves and then list all the things you can do that contributes to solving that problem. Bring the list with you to the interview and make sure you cover each thing on the list.

People only buy what they need and only hire you for the things you can do to solve the problem. Focus in on the problem, keep it simple and be persuasive.

Focus your interview with an interview presentation