It sometimes appears that when times are good and jobs are plentiful, some people aren’t terribly concerned with learning and/or implementing the best job interview tactics to give them an edge over the competition. This is a mistake that usually comes back to bite with a vengeance when the market gets more and more competitive.
During times of economic uncertainty, when people are either concerned about losing their jobs or have already lost their jobs, the old confidence that was once evident when applying for and interviewing for a new job is just not as strong. And that is understandable when suddenly it appears as though hundreds of people are applying for a job that you were sure had your name on it!
But, as we know, tough times call for tough strategies. And here are a few ideas that can help you command serious attention that other job candidates probably won’t use.
First, let’s look at what MOST people will do at an interview. They’ll dress nicely, arrive on time, smile pleasantly, use positive body language, look the interviewers in the eye, be prepared to answer tough interview questions, bring additional copies of their resumes, etc.
Am I right? Are these all the great things that you do? I hope so. These are all essential parts of good interview technique and attitude preparation. However, there is only one problem – if you follow all these tried and true strategies, and a dozen other candidates follow the same strategies, how will YOU stand out?
What is it that will make the employer not only remember you, but instantly know that YOU are the one for the job?
Here are a few outstanding job interview tactics that will work well for you whether you are a professional business person with 20 years of experience under your belt, or whether you are 17 years old and going after your first job. It begins with you knowing the company, what their needs are, and how you can offer a solution. You must research the company you are interviewing with. If you are 20 years into a career, that research will probably involve a lot more depth than the newcomer to the workforce.
Find and study the company website, and be sure you understand their mission. Write down a couple of key points that you note from their website and how it might apply to the position you are interviewing for. Formulate a couple of relevant questions that can connect the job to the site or mission.
When the time in the interview comes where the interviewer or panel of interviewers asks if you have any questions for them, you can then say, “Why, yes, I do have one or two…When I was studying your mission statement, I noticed that it may be possible for the person who gets this position to address this part (explain what part) – and I am wondering if I would be able to assist the company in this way…” or words to that affect.
Even the young, entry level applicant can do this – find something in the company’s culture that you discover, and ask if your position will be welcome to participate directly in ensuring that the company gets closer to its mission or its goals.
This type of discussion shows the company that you are already looking at how to solve or address its needs. You are already showing that you are part of their team.
But why wait until the end of the interview to bring this up? When they ask you something like, “Why should we hire you,” or “Why do you want the job?” or some related question, you can take the information you’ve gathered, along with the evidence you’ve compiled about how you will help them, and lay it out in front of them, saying:
“I was hoping you would ask that! I did some research about this, and after I discovered (whatever it is you discovered that could be related to the job), I came up with this solution/idea/whatever you came up with…”
You can bet they’ll lean forward to see what you’ve come up with!
Taking this idea a step further, why not bring articles you have found about the company? Bring them in a folder, already 3-hole punched for inclusion in their public relations binder, or in a protective plastic sleeve. You can give this out to your interviewers while saying, “While I was formulating how I can help you with (a point from their job description or ad posting), I came across this information, and it struck me that you might want this for your public relations department (or whatever department it applies to).”
I hope that you can see how this type of preparation goes far beyond what most other job applicants will be doing!
Kathy Tremblay – Kathy’s interest in travel and entrepreneurial pursuits started with years of summer jobs at an exclusive Colorado guest ranch, a 5-month cycling trip to New …
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