Back to work or new job? The Interview Guide

Selling Yourself At Interviews

It is important for all prospective interviewees to understand that an interview is a sales meeting. The interviewer in front of you has a need. He or she is interviewing you because, after having reviewed your CV, you appear to be someone who might be able to satisfy that need. At interview, you need to reassure him/her that you are, indeed, the person that will meet his/her needs. To do that, you need to sell yourself.

Fitting In

No matter what your qualifications or experience might be, one of your primary goals at interview is to reassure the interviewer that you will ‘fit into’ the culture of the company. A recent survey revealed that most interviewers determine, within sixty seconds, as to whether or not they feel you will ‘fit in’ with the culture of organisation you are interviewing to join. This is unsurprising in the context of other research which reveals that more than two-thirds of employees leave a job because they don’t ‘fit in’ rather than any incapacity to do the job.

Interviewers will measure how likely it is that you will fit in through a variety of clues, mostly non-verbal. Dress to fit in. Dress, and groom yourself, in a way that shows the interview is important to you. When you enter the room, walk in positively and assertively. Elegance is the key. Smile confidently, even if you don’t feel so confident underneath. Firmly shake the hand or hands of your interviewer or interviewers, looking them in the eye and using their name.

When shown your seat, sit with a straight back, looking alert and interested. Maintain good and respectful eye contact with the interviewer(s). Speak confidently, in short, clear and uncomplicated sentences

Two Critical Stages

There are two critical stages of interviews. Firstly, preparing for the interview beforehand and, secondly, the first sixty seconds of the interview. In order to succeed at interview, you need to ensure that you understand the critical importance of both stages.

The First Critical Stage: Preparation

It becomes very apparent to an interviewer, at an early stage of the interview, whether you have prepared thoroughly or not. If he/she gets the impression that you haven’t. it will certainly set up feelings in the interviewer of ‘Why should I bother with him/her, if this interview isn’t important enough for him/her to prepare for it”. It is certain that the well-prepared candidate has a higher chance of getting the job than the person who hasn’t done any preparatory work.

Interview Preparation Checklist

• Research the employer that is interviewing you
  
  
• Research the job that you are being interviewed for
  
  
• Clarify three of four of your personal strengths and think of some examples
  
  
• Prepare a list of your own selling points [see below]
  
  
• Prepare answers to typical interview questions
  
  
• Prepare a question or two to ask at the end of the interview
  
  
• Check that you know how to get to the interview venue and how long the journey will take.
  
  Your Selling Points

  Before your interview, prepare a list of ‘Ten things to remember about you, after you leave the room’. Your unique selling points are those that are most relevant to the job you are applying for. We all have something to sell. If you can’t complete the full list on your own, talk to a friend, or someone else you respect, who will soon complete the list for you. Not only does this focus you before the interview but it ensures that you have your own agenda for the duration of the interview itself. You can mentally tick off these points as the interview progresses. Introduce them in at any given opportunity. Make sure you have communicated all of your selling points before the interview is finished.

  My Selling Points

  Typically, you should select ten things about you that come under some, or all, of the following headings [you won’t necessarily have something under every heading]:

• My personal strengths [e.g. good communicator, good organiser, work well on my own, good team member, work well under pressure etc]
  
  
• My skills [I.T. skills, technical skills, driving licence etc].
  
  
• My life and work experience
  
  
• My formal education and training
  
  
• My achievements [things you are proud of having done, in any area of your life]
  
  
• My interests all of which should be relevant to the job for which you are applying

Remember that, when talking about your experience, you can talk about more than experience gained at work. An interviewer will be interested if you can demonstrate relevant experience gained in the community, in your leisure life or at home.

Practice Makes Perfect

Before you attend your interview, rehearse it first. At the very least, in front of a mirror. If possible, with those valuable people in your lives: a friend who can give you useful feedback. This is an opportunity to practice your interviewing technique and answers live.

The Second Critical Stage: The First Sixty Seconds

Bearing in mind the indecent speed that interviewers come to conclusions as to whether they think you fit in with their company’s culture, first impressions are clearly paramount. Either consciously or unconsciously, we all make quick judgements of people when we meet them for the first time. These first impressions set up immediate feelings of warmth or antipathy in people. You can damage your interview performance within the first sixty seconds, if you unintentionally set up poor first impressions.

The old marketing adage – ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ – is certainly worth remembering.

It is important to be aware of how easily we can generate a mistaken image of ourselves. First impressions come from us. They come from how we communicate ourselves to the world. In general, we communicate in four ways. We communicate:

· through the words we choose

· through the volume, pitch and speed of our voices

· non-verbally, through our facial expressions, gestures and body posture

· non-verbally through our clothes and grooming

Interestingly, a wide range of researchers studying human communication have come to the conclusion that up to 90% of the impressions we make on other people are made non-verbally. Our non-verbal signals give clear clues, amongst many other things, as to our levels of aggression, guilt, warmth, interest, confidence and trustworthiness.

When you’re sitting down, remember that folded arms, hands in front of the face, head propped up on a hand [or any gesture or habit that covers the eyes or mouth], all give inappropriate messages. Also, watch your hand gestures: no pointed fingers or chopped hands. Avoid exaggerated open palm gestures which can portray insincerity. The best advice is to minimise gestures at interview

Eye contact is critical. As a rule of thumb, try to maintain eye contact for about two-thirds of any interaction with someone. We all know how difficult it is to assess someone who rarely looks at us. We share the same discomfort at being eyeballed almost constantly by someone who is talking with us.

When you are being interviewed by a panel of three or more people, remember to make eye contact with everyone. Keep your body posture square to the whole panel and scan the whole panel with your eyes. The person who is saying nothing on the end might be the critical decision maker.

Banging Your Head Against the Wall?

Sometimes interviews are not successful and we don’t get the job we want.

The key to succeeding at your next interview is to do something differently next time. All successful people demonstrate a common belief. They refuse to accept failure. However, they don’t carry on knocking their heads against the wall, trying the same thing again and again. They understand that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. They understand that if they want to get different results next time, they change what they are doing, and keep on changing what they are doing until they get the result they want. So if you want to get different results next time, do something differently’. This applies to all areas of your life.

So, what are you going to do differently for your next interview to ensure you get the job?

Note: All content is copyrighted to New Idiom 2008. Content may not be used without full acknowledgment of authorship. Courtesy of Fás.

More information can be found at your interview.org