Taking Control of Your Destiny… Starting One Interview at a Time!
The job is absolutely perfect for you. So, you’ve researched, crammed, and rehearsed for hours prepping for this once-in-a-lifetime interview. You arrive early, but the interviewer shows up late. He appears disorganized. He has misplaced your resume, but forges on – claiming he doesn’t need it for the interview anyway. You, however, begin to wilt. After all, you worked hard on that resume and he should be using it as a springboard for a meaningful conversation about your skills and experience. Things aren’t getting off on the right foot, but what can you do?Take control of the interview and blow that hiring manager away with your accomplishments, capabilities and enthusiasm. Here are a few tips:
- Be self-assured. Tell the interviewer that you can help him understand your background and accomplishments without your resume. Then, walk him through your experience and encourage him to ask questions along the way.
- Focus on the highlights. Keep your story it short and sweet, while emphasizing your unique skills and experiences. Summarize your accomplishments, highlighting only those things that you want to delve into further. This will allow you to take control of the interview.
- Don’t be a control freak. Interviewers hate long, drawn-out monologues. You have to strike a balance between letting the hiring manager ask questions and you answering them thoroughly. If you’re not being asked many questions, you are probably talking too much. And, if you are being asked a ton of questions, you are probably not talking enough.
Encourage certain questions. You can help guide what the next question will be with your answer Leave your answer open-ended with a statement that will likely spur another question you want to be asked. For example: “I was also asked by my boss if I’d lead a special project which required a whole different skill-set.” The next logical question would be, “What was the project and what were the skills that you learned?” - Learn from the masters. Leaders rarely directly answer the questions they are asked. Instead, they provide an answer they want to give. To do this, you must carefully respond with an interesting point that is relevant to the question that was asked. But, make sure you don’t appear as if you didn’t hear the question. In an hour interview, you must make the most of that time – but do so carefully.
When you walk into an interview, expect anything. The hiring manager may be direct with his questions, or totally scattered. But, be careful! Wide-ranging, unrelated topics can eat away at your hour. So take control, stay on message, and leave a good impression. Good luck!
Labels: Interview skills, job interview, job search, resume tips
Posted by Seymour Jobs on 9/23/2009 12:24:00 PM
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1 Comments:
Those of you with a background in film, theater, and the performing arts may notice similarities between these interview tips and those you've received in from your coach or director prior to performing. Even if you lack experience in these areas, it's helpful to think of an interview as an audition or an Oscar grab -- you have to research your role and execute it convincingly to get the gold.