Stand Out In Your Interview

Being great at an interview is almost an art form. There's a methodology to it all, but it all comes with a bit of individual flair to stand out and snag the job.

The #1 thing to note is that they already like you on paper. Now you have to bring the personality and charm to the table. In 2010, I did over 50 interviews (meaning with over 50 different individuals) at 25 different companies.  I can often tell within the first 10 minutes of the interview whether or not it's going to work out or not. I have been bored, excited, awkward-ed out, comfortable, and scared sh*tless at interviews. The full spectrum of emotions, but I always knew one thing, they already liked me on paper, so I knew I just had to mesh well and back-up the statements on my resume.

In a Harvard Business Review blog post titled "Stand Out in Your Interview," there were 3 key takeaways that I wanted to emphasize:

Preparation
The article mentions preparation in 2 ways - doing your research to figure out what the job entails and then preparing yourself for the tough questions when they came up. I cannot stress the importance of researching the company and the actual position before you head into that room. Plus, practicing what you will say when the tough questions come up will ease those "pregnant pauses" and make you appear more polished. This doesn't mean canned responses though, it means to at minimum know which direction you'll take your response. 

Go in with a strategy
Think about what key things you want the interviewer to take away from the conversation. Whether or not it's that you offer something outside the box, or connect on a cultural level, think about what will rank most importantly in conversation. AND also know what strategy to take if the conversation goes south. What will you do to keep yourself afloat.

Emphasize your potential
Emphasize what you can do for them. Not what they can do for you. Oftentimes people go into an interview thinking "this job offers me room to grow" or "this job will give me the money I deserve/need" but not thinking that the reason they want to hire you is for what you can do for them. Keep that message front and center. If you were a salesperson, the interview is the client. Sell them.

If you diligently arm yourself with the tools you need before you step into a room with an interviewer, you will already be ready to shine and stand out.

In addition, something that wasn't emphasized was appearance. The first thing I will judge a person on in the interview is based on looks. As rough as that sounds, I am positive a majority of other people will do the same.

In a sea of black suits, men and woman alike, it's hard to be that stand-out candidate. For me, I utilize the "peacock" method. What does this mean? I literally wear something that stands out a bit in comparison to the other candidates. I've worn brightly colored shirts (but still conservative) to interviews. I've found that when I interview, I forget which face goes to what resume, and I usually refer to something in their personality or outfit. For instance, "pink shirt girl" or "fun tie guy." It's weird, but when you're meeting with a lot of people who are all wearing the same tie and suit, it's hard to remember who is who.

Beyond the 3 takeaways, you should be flexible enough to change your strategy if you're not doing well at your first rounds of interviews. If you're at least getting a second round, it usually comes down to whether or not you're the right fit or if there's another candidate. BUT if you're not getting beyond the first round, you should talk it out with someone who is experienced as both an interviewee and interviewer. This will help to identify potential weaknesses.

(via)

Interview Skills

I'm back and ready to write some more articles on topics that I've been speaking to lately.

Unfortunately, a lot of my friends have been laid off recently and are searching for a job in this terrible economy. I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks just from chatting with them and I'll write about them in several articles.

Today one of the topics I discussed with a recently laid off friend was "interview skills." She was interviewing for a job in which she found that the highest salary budgeted was $5k lower than her previous salary. Due to this, the interviewer was concerned with how she felt about this (she had worked in the same company before).

What's the correct response to "the position's salary grade is less than your salary range?"

Well, firstly, there isn't a "correct-correct" response, but there is definitely a very very incorrect way to go about it.

Possible scenarios:
A) You want to assure the interviewer that you are willing to accept this positioning. Afterall, "your job comes before salary" right?
B) You tell the interviewer that you understand, but hope they will reconsider due to what you can bring to the position.
C) You express major concern over this salary difference.

Scenario Explanations:
A) The most cautious response. You want the job - yes - but you don't want the interviewer to know that the salary decrease bothers you.
B) This is the "honest" route with a side of caution. Yes, the salary thing bothers you, but because you like the position, you hope that your skills will make them reconsider their budgeted salary.
C) Probably the worst way to respond. You're letting them know money is more important than the job.

I think this was a pretty obvious exercise, but what I should let you know is... IF and ONCE you get a job offer THEN you can NEGOTIATE. It's important to know that when an offer is given, yay, they like you! Yay you're qualified and YAY you have a bargaining chip. You can negotiate with them on salary most of the time and because you already know that you're qualified and they like you, you have a good chance of getting at least some of what you want (even if it may not be 100% of what you want).

Recent Articles on Interviewing:

• Avoiding Appearing Out of Touch in Interviews by Emphasizing the New (via)
• 50 Common Interview Q&A (via)
• Seven Great Questions to Ask at a Job Interview (via)
  

Interviewing

There will be plenty of posts about the dreaded interview, but this article was well recommended for some "surefire" tips and tricks to acing an interview. From the Online Education Database (OEDb), it lists some great ideas such as "practice your writing skills" or "take a refresher course." It starts from getting ready to look for work, what to do before interview, during and after. Some great tips that everyone should know. (via)

More interview stuff?

• 10 Killer Job Interview Questions (via)
• 25 Questions to Think About Before Your Next Job Interview (via)
• 64 Interview Answers You Need To Know (via)