Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. It appears you’re looking for a job since the subject matter is very specific, although I could claim psychic abilities but I digress. I would like to start off with thanking Garrison and Jerry for inviting us over culminating with this joyous and decadent chocolate cake with edible flowers from their garden.
Over the past three years, I’ve reviewed research studies, searched publications, and followed career expert’s advice regarding best practices for job interviews. More importantly, my clients have asked me how to prepare for an interview. Guess what? We simply role play. I suggest you do that in the mirror, with a friend or hire a coach to make you comfortable. Interviewing can be daunting, insufferable, and exhausting. On the flip, it can be enjoyable, exhilarating, and effective in landing your dream job. Please join me on the journey toward the latter happy perspective.
Research Studies
Please kill me now. O.K. so this isn’t the happy space I promised, but neither a bait and switch. The facts are when I Googled “academic job interviewing” I fell into a coma. There are no apparent results so to any potential academic scholar, green field for the thesis. Go for it!
Career Experts
The Muse: After reading “The Ultimate Interview Guide: 30 Prep Tips for Job Interview Success,” here are my 4 takeaways:
- Know your audience: My clients and I collaborate on researching their potential employer by checking out the company’s website for basic facts like mission, strategy, and financial performance. We also check out the interviewer on LinkedIn. Business stalking in its best form. They will appreciate you knowing how long they worked there, their accomplishments, and where they went to college. It builds a bridge if done right vs. in a creepily manner.
- Anticipate interview questions: Teaming with my clients we’ve been creating a 1-page position sheet to bring into the interview. We develop questions that will be asked as well as questions to ask. The latter includes questions to the interviewer regarding: a) What drew you to working here? b) What’s a typical day?, c) How can I succeed to the next level at the company?, and d) What can I accomplish within the role that will make me the best hiring decision for you?
- Dress accordingly: We are grown adults, well some of us. For the interview, I suggest dressing conservatively. Regardless of the casual potential environment, I suggest owning the room dressed as the CEO since it portrays confidence. May I suggest a button down shirt with jacket and dress pants for men or women. Classic style which is my uniform for volunteering as well as client consults. Feel free to make a twist but please don’t get it twisted.
- Get your head in the right place: We all get nervous. I suggest working out before the interview, don’t smoke or drink coffee if it ups your adrenaline, eat a balanced breakfast, arrive early, and know your professional gift. You deserve the next adventure so research the company and the person(s) you will be talking to while being prepared with questions and answers.
Questions and Answers
Every week my clients raise concerns about interviews. I’ve been there and know the angst so I suggest the following for confidence:
- Tell me about yourself: Prepare an answer within 3 concise sentences. My example:
- Who: I’m a career consultant with 20 years of Fortune 500 staffing experience who enjoys helping people with their next career adventure.
- Evidence: I’ve reviewed more than 1,000 resumés and collaborated on over 175 LinkedIn makeovers building their personal brand image.
- Results: I’m a former top ranked Northwest tech sales executive grounded by an MBA who builds client confidence to attain jobs in tech and IT at Fortune 2000 companies. Boom, you got this!
- Know the prospect: Research the company’s web site and uncover three things:
- What’s their mission and does it resonate with your life purpose? You will be spending at a minimum physically 40 hours per week so why hang out in a shiitake relationship? I do love those mushrooms but not crappy relationships.
- How are their financials? Determine if they are a sound investment for your future. There are several companies out there who make the news but their financials fall short. For example someone on LinkedIn was extolling the virtue of WeWorks. Yes, their revenue increased to $1.8 billion in 2018 from $886 million the prior year but over that same stretch, its net loss more than doubled to $1.9 billion. Could be the next Amazon but maybe not.
- Do they have a nice lobby? I’m giving credit to Nigel Dessau on this one. His recent tweet had me in stitches: “I am once again reminded that the lobby of your office = the culture inside.” No kidding, thank goodness my clients didn’t want to meet me at my former $23 billion dollar company office in downtown Seattle. The conference room had a spectacular view but the cubicles we “performed in” had mismatched, antiquated equipment, stained chairs and carpet that were augmented by a dingy hospital ward energy. No bueño. I went there once a week for the team meeting and obligatory 1:1 with my manager. At the end certainly worth the monthly pension and retirement healthcare so no complaints here.
Publications
Harvard Business Review: Cathy Salit is CEO of Performance of a Lifetime, and the author of Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work. Her article “To Ace Your Job Interview, Get into Character and Rehearse” cites a provocative approach to ease your interviews jitters.
“My company’s own two decades of practice and research have focused on what we call the “Becoming Principle,” in which the tools of theatrical performance give us the transformative power to become who we are not… yet. Developing your skills as a performer will not only help you land the job, it will also help you grow and gain a new skill that is critical in the 21st century workplace — navigating constant change that requires flexibility and new performances all the time.”
It’s not easy and we all have jitters so please use them to your credit. Land your dream job, you deserve it!
