interview preparation

Interview Preparation

1 – Be prepared for the “Tell me about yourself” question!
You should (a few days prior to your interview) write down and rehearse your answer to this! Come up with a list of two or three concise sentences that summarize your career. Then craft a couple of sentences of an easily understood accomplishment, preferably one that has a positive bottom line financial impact. And then end with one sentence about what you want to do next (something that matches what you’re being interviewed for!) Don’t get too wordy – keep it simple but impressive.

2 – Be prepared with examples of your accomplishments
It’s unlikely you’ll get a chance to just pour forth your career accomplishments, but rather it’s better to look to answer the interviewer’s questions or observations by relating specific qualifications, experiences and/or accomplishments directly related to the needs the client has for asking the question. Basically remind the interviewer where you’ve done similar things in your career and preferably how well they turned out. Think of expressing this in terms of three components: the problem, the action, and the result. What was the problem, what did you do to fix it, and what was the net result in terms of money made or saved for the company? Be sure you prepare in advance for what you consider the three accomplishments you’re most proud of. You may only need one or two. Remember that success = changing a process or helping someone do something more efficiently to impact the bottom line. This is your chance to talk about you’re “competitive advantage” – what makes you the best candidate of all? It’s like demo-ing a product and convincing them that your “product” really is better.

3 – What if the subject of money comes up?
First and foremost, I (your recruiter) will do the final negotiation on your behalf. Discuss salary (either current, past or asking) with either a Human Resources Representative or the Hiring Manager ONLY! Do not get into a salary conversation with a peer or potential co-worker. If you are asked how much you’re currently making, quote your current compensation in terms of the past year’s W2 earnings (total comp). If you’re asked how much you want/need for a next position be vague. Say something like “I’m most interested in the opportunity so, if you think I’m the best candidate for the position, please let me entertain your most competitive offer.”

4 – Asking intelligent questions.
At some point in the interview you’ll be given a chance to ask questions. Recognize that this is typically the point at which the interviewer is beginning to wrap up the interview so it’s your chance to start “closing” them on you for the position. Good questions will frame your successes and qualifications and emphasize why you would excel at the job for which you’re interviewing. You want to get the interviewer to start thinking about YOU as the person who will be in the prospective job! So start by asking a PERSONAL question of the interview – something like “So what made you decide to work for this company?” or “What do you like about your current position?” Studies have found that candidates that ask this type of question typically get offers more frequently!! Then follow up with something like the following: “If I being with you, what are the two or three most important projects you’ll need me to do in the first 90 days?” This will give them the mental picture of you actually doing the job… a good psychological edge.

5 – Wrapping up the interview.
You MUST ASK for the job! You want to leave the interviewer reminding them why you ARE the candidate for the job and that you ARE interested in it. There can be no ambiguity in the client’s mind of your interest in the job while interviewing with you. Remember you can’t turn down an offer you don’t have, so the goal is to end up with an offer that you can then negotiate if need be.

So do this by saying the following three things:
A – “Do you think my background contains the skill set required to do this job?”
B – “I’m very interested in this opportunity so what’s the next step in the process?”
C – “I’m particularly interested in this position because here’s why I think I’ll be successful in this job.” This is your final chance to impress the client with why you have the skills and accomplishments necessary to walk in and hit the ground running to help them make or save money.

Answering the “Tell Me About Yourself” Question
Your Guarantee for Making an Impressive Interview First Impression

Lets face it, interviewing is stressful enough without having to answer stupid interview questions. But unfortunately, many interviewers, because of habit, lack of preparation time, poor training, or yes, even laziness, often ask stupid interview questions. Of those, one of the most challenging is the oft used “Tell me about yourself?” interview opener.

What most candidates ask me about this insipid interview question is “What do they want to know?” They want to know about you the candidate as a potential employee. They don’t want to know about your family, your last vacation, your hobbies, your religious beliefs, that you like the Cubs, or that you are a proud member of AA. Yes, I have had candidates give each of those responses to the infamous “Tell me about yourself?” question. I don’t recall any of them ever getting hired by the employers who interviewed them.

Interviewers also think it is improper, a sign of your lack of preparedness, or even rude, for you to answer their “Tell me about yourself?” question with a question like, “What would you like to know?” If you are prepared, and seriously thinking about making a career change, you will have a prepared and thoughtful answer to this question BEFORE you begin interviewing.

Why? I am glad you asked, and I think one example should convince you I am right.

Let me share just one story about this opening interview question that cost a candidate a job they REALLY wanted. It is a perfect illustration to make you understand why you must plan a response for this question whether you are asked it or not. The scenario was this: The candidate was a financial services professional, a recruiter had a financial services client that was looking to fill a VP position for a 125k base + 25k bonus. The candidate had an ideal background and skills set, and the client thought they were a perfect fit. The candidate knew the client and was thrilled to interview with them. The client joked that when the candidate came to the interview the recruiter should send the candidate with an invoice for the fee, because they thought they might make an offer on the spot.

You can more or less guess how the story ended. The candidate didn't get the job, but please pay attention as to why, because that is the part of the story that matters most. To start the interview the candidate was asked the dreaded “Tell me about yourself?” question. Thinking that it was an inconsequential icebreaker question, they retorted, simply intending to cause an opening chuckle, “Well as you can obviously see, I am 15-20 pounds overweight.” They were only joking! Yet, due to the impact this answer had on the client, for all practical purposes the interview was over as soon as they said this. That “amusing” answer to what the candidate viewed as a seemingly innocuous question, convinced the employer that this $150k VP had an image or low self-esteem problem. Despite the recruiter’s insistence that it was just a joke, the employer declined to make the candidate an offer. The retort was just a joke! But not really. It was no joke to the candidate who lost the $150k dream job. It was no joke to the recruiter who had invested so much time in finding the employer this ideal candidate. This candidate attempted to humorously break the ice, but the interviewer misinterpreted the response to a stupid question, and became convinced the candidate was not VP material.

This whole fiasco could have been avoided if the candidate had just been taught a very simple formula for answering this question. Sure, we know this question is a stupid and unnecessary question with which to begin an interview. But because interviewers open interviews with this question, candidates need to know how to respond to this question intelligently. The formula I’ve learned has worked wonders for hundreds of my candidates, and those of thousands of recruiters I have shared it with over the last half dozen years.

Many, in fact a sad majority, of interviewers open with some form of the “Tell me about yourself?” question. It would be an easy question to answer if candidates answered with a prepared and well thought-out initial marketing statement of themselves and their skills, which are applicable for the open job. This sounds pretty straightforward, but few of the thousands of candidates I have interviewed in the last 15 years have EVER been able to answer this question in this intelligent manner. The best candidates typically respond with a narrowing question like: “What would you like to know?” But let’s get one thing straight: It is extremely poor form to answer the opening interview question with another question. Yet, that is how the BEST candidates do typically answer this question, due to its ambiguous nature. Though it seems to be a logical approach, you must prepare to do better.

Candidates must teach themselves to answer this question with a three-part pre-planned marketing statement that can more or less be reused from interview to interview. Part one of that three-part marketing statement is always a one-sentence summary of the candidate’s career history. For example, let me share with you a former candidate’s opening sentence:

“I am a five-year veteran of LAN/WAN Admin and Systems Engineering with substantial experience using Novell, NT, Cisco, and Lotus Notes/Domino.”

You get the picture; your whole career needs to be condensed into one pithy sentence that encapsulates the most important aspects of your career, the aspects that you want to leverage in order to make your next career step. Few candidates seem to be able to condense a career into one sentence, but it must, and can be done. Ask any recruiter for help here, this is what we do.

Part two of the pre-planned marketing statement will be a one, maybe two-sentence summary, of a single accomplishment that you are proud of that will also capture the potential employers attention. It immediately follows your initial career summary sentence from above. This accomplishment should be one that the employer will be interested in hearing, one that is easily explained or illustrated, and one that clearly highlights a bottom line impact. When done correctly this will build interviewer intrigue about the accomplishment so that they inquire further, giving you an opportunity to further discuss a significant career success. The above candidate’s accomplishment statement was:

“Recently, as a long-term contract employee at a local regional bank, I learned they were about to install Lotus Notes/Domino and were planning to use outside consultants for the project. I let them know I had done a similar installation at my last assignment, outlined how we could get the job done with in-house staff, and successfully completed the install for $55-65k less than it would have cost with outside consultants.”

Part three, the final piece of the marketing statement, is probably the most fluid piece. It needs to be a one-sentence summary of specifically what you want to do next in your career. The reason this third part is difficult is that it needs to specifically address what you want to do next, AND it needs to change from interview to interview to make sure it matches exactly what the INDIVIDUAL employers will be interviewing you for. Continuing with the above example of one of my past candidates, two of his final sentences, which were used for two different employers, follow:

“For the next step in my career, I would like to move away from contract work and find myself as a direct employee of a large firm where I could join a substantial IT team and be involved with a group that focuses on email and network security applications, while having access to the knowledgebase that would come with a large, diverse, IT group.”

But for a second employer, this ending was significantly altered because of the candidate’s multiple interests in differing opportunities, to:

“For the next step in my career, I would like to find myself as a direct employee of a small to medium sized firm that was looking to hire an in-house IT generalist so I could continue growing my career by getting exposure to multiple IT areas, such as networking, help desk, security, and application issues for the users of the organization. As the firm’s IT needs grew, I would love to apply my past team project management skills to managing the second or third members of a small growing IT team.”

These were two very different endings that perfectly matched two very different employer needs. Clearly you can see why the first ending wouldn’t have worked for the second employer or vice versa. With some simple revising, the candidate made sure that each employer heard that they were interested in doing exactly what the employer was interested in hiring them for.
That revising is what makes the third piece fluid and sometimes challenging, as candidates don’t always see the need for being this specific from job interview to job interview. Most tend to be generalized, hoping that a shotgun approach will work. But it is the rifle sharp shooters, those who get specific in what they want from interview to interview, who get the best results. With some simple planning BEFORE an interview, you, the candidate, will quickly realize the benefit of a targeted third sentence in these pre-planned opening statements, as employers feel you are perfectly suited to do just the job they are interviewing you for.

If you take the time to prepare this way as a candidate, it will be apparent to an interviewer that you are a prepared and serious candidate right at the beginning of the interview when you answer the “Tell me about yourself?” question with this memorized, brief marketing statement, which combines a career summary, an exceptional accomplishment, and employer-specific career goal as in this example:

“I am a five-year veteran of LAN/WAN Admin and Systems Engineering with substantial experience using Novell, NT, Cisco, and Lotus Notes/Domino. Recently, as a long-term contract employee at a local regional bank, I learned they were about to install Lotus Notes/Domino and were planning to use outside consultants for the project. I let them know I had done a similar installation at my last assignment, outlined how we could get the job done with in-house staff, and successfully completed the install for $55-65k less that it would have cost with outside consultants. For the next step in my career, I would like to move away from contract work and find myself as an direct employee of a large firm where I could join a substantial IT team and be involved with a group that focused on email and network security applications, while having access to the knowledgebase that would come with a large, diverse, IT group.”

Clearly you can understand how the candidate who opens with this type of prepared response to the “Tell me about yourself?” question will make a significantly better first impression than a candidate who responds to this question by answering, “What would you like to know?” or worse yet, “Well as you can obviously see, I am 15-20 pounds overweight.” Plus candidates who prepare in this manner are typically more confident at the interview’s start, make a substantial and positive verbal first impression, give a clear indication of their interest in making a career move, and force the interviewer to get past the icebreaker questions to the parts of the interview that will help both parties begin the process of seriously determining if this is a solid match. As you can see, there is a great deal of bang for your preparation buck.

Clearly these three simple steps of, summarizing what your experience is as candidate, sharing an impressive career accomplishment, and then summarizing what would be an ideal next career step for you, one that matches what the employer is looking to hire, is the key to beginning your interview with a competitive advantage. Candidates who take the time to do this, significantly improve a their initial verbal impression, get their interview off to a confident and focused beginning, and more often than not get called back for second interviews, or better yet, for offers of employment with employers who are impressed.

How to Ask for – and Get – the Job
If you want to be hired, you must ‘close’ the sale

As a job seeker, you may view an interview as an interrogation or exchange of information. It’s neither. Interviews are sales calls. And, as any sales pro knows, you only get the sale by asking for it.
You aren’t begging for a handout when you ask for a job. You’re offering prospective employers your experience and ability to contribute to their goals. If employers don’t need your skills – or if you can create the need – you’ll get the job.
It may surprise you to learn employers like to hear candidates say “I’d like to work here.” Dick Stone, a recruiter for Gemplus, a SmartCard manufacturer in Montgomeryville, Pa., says, “I like it when [candidates] give me the feeling they like us. A little flattery goes a long way. Often the missing part in the interview is the commitment from the candidate to the firm.”
Sounds easy, but for most job hunters, it isn’t. Asking for the job in lieu of silently waiting for an offer is the hardest part. This step is what sales people call “closing” the sale.
Anyone can learn to apply the tricks of the sales trade to a job interview and close a sale. Following these nine steps will help you ask for the job – and get it.

1. Prepare for the interview.
Learn what your prospect needs. Research the employer, formally and informally. If you’re answering an advertisement, go beyond its sparse facts to learn as much as you can about the organization.

Determine which of your skills, traits or experiences the employer needs. Then you can tailor your credentials to your research findings.
Plan your interview and rehearse your message. This means converting your skills and experience into terms employers will immediately recognize as useful. If you’re confused about your benefit to the organization, the interviewer also will be confused and there won’t be a job for you. Make your presentation persuasive and believable.

2. Learn about the interviewer.
When you enter the interview, start by learning everything you can about the interviewer. Forget labels and generalizations that categorize personality types. Concentrate on that particular individual.

Put yourself in his or her shoes. Fear and greed are usually at work. A recruiter is taking a risk in recommending a candidate. The hiring manager is taking a bigger chance in choosing a candidate.
If they make the wrong choice, at minimum, time and money are wasted. At worst, a bad choice could jeopardize the recruiter’s or manager’s job or even the success of the organization. So it’s up to you, the candidate, to show the decision to hire you will be a good one.
If you turn out to be as terrific as you say, you bring success not only to yourself but to the people who hired you. Be positive and present good news. Help the interviewer relax and see you as someone who’s going to solve his problems.

3. Use “consultative selling.”
The type of selling that works best is called “consultative selling.” This isn’t high-pressure selling. There’s an old saw in sales: “Telling ain’t selling, asking is.” By asking the right questions, you help the employer come to the inevitable conclusion you’re the right choice. You identify the problems and show you’re the person to solve them. You learn the organization’s weaknesses and demonstrate how you can provide the solution.
This technique can create demand. Many times, it leads to the employer exclaiming, “That’s just what we need here!”

4. Motivate yourself.
The desire to close – to ask for and get the offer – is essential. It can be scary to be so bold. Most job hunters aren’t used to it, but it can be done with practice. You just have to psych yourself up.

Sell yourself first. Expect success and think lucky, and you’ll create desire from within. Get rid of negative thoughts and problems before you enter the interview. Be confident and courageous. It takes audacity to ask for the job.
When Judith Gexlb of Lambertville, N.J., was seeking a job in international sales, she sold herself on the idea she was a hot candidate. Next, she lined up interviews. “The fact that I was in demand made me more appealing to employers and precipitated offers,” she says. “They can smell when you’re being sought after.”
When she had two offers pending, she was up front about it. “I made it clear I had two other offers. The employers got worried about the risk of losing a high-potential candidate,” says Ms. Gelb. “They quickly made offers. I controlled my destiny.”
Many salespeople take comfort in knowing they can’t win them all. And you’ll encounter many employers who don’t need your talents at this moment. (To put it in salesman’s terms, for example: I don’t need a car right now. But I do need a computer, so it’ll be hard to convince me to buy a car now. Maybe later. Unless you have a really good deal for me now.)
There’s a 98% chance of being told “no.” However, you have a 2% chance of being told “yes.” By following these steps, you’ll boost your chance for success. The best thing to do is take a chance and try to close the deal. The probability you’ll hear “yes” will be higher than if you don’t ask.

5. Know when to close.
When should you try to close? All the time. Keep trying throughout the interview in small ways. These are called “trial closings.” For example, when you learn the employer has a problem you’ve solved in your previous job, explain how you solved it. Then ask, “Would this help you here?” The answer will likely be “yes.” Do this whenever the opportunity arises. Hearing “yes” along the way makes it easier and less frightening to ask for a “yes” when the time is right for the big one.

Close whenever the interviewer is ready. Listen for signs of interest, look for body language and sense when there’s an opportunity to close. Then ask for the offer.
Some candidates talk so much during interviews that they talk themselves out of a job they’ve already landed. Or worse, they keep selling after they’ve made the sale. Then they’re dead. Listen and give the interviewer a chance to hire you.
Silence is an amazingly powerful tool in closing. If you don’t say anything, the interviewer may feel compelled to fill the void and tell you something vital. Do this discretely. Too many silences can be awkward. Pace yourself with the interviewer.

6. Try these closes.
There are many so-called “closes.” Several of them work particularly well in job interviews.

The choice close. This technique is useful when you are setting up an appointment for an interview. Ask, “Is 9:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. better for you?” This presupposes the interviewer will see you. Just asking, “May I come in to see you?” may result in a “no” answer.
It also works when you’re asking for the job: “When do I start, Monday or Wednesday?” This may seem aggressive, but it shows you’re ready and eager to work for that employer.
Third-party endorsements. When explaining an accomplishment that will help the prospective employer, mention the employer you did it for. “At XYZ company, I…” This gives you credibility and adds the strength of that employer’s name to the story. Then ask, “Will this help you solve your problem here, too?”
Assumptive close. This is one of the best closes. You simply talk and act as if you’re already working for the interviewer’s organization. Use “we” and “us” in your conversation. Describe the situations in which you can see yourself working and accomplishing goals. Become part of the team even before you’ve been hired. Identify with the interviewer and the organization.
When you follow this strategy, the employer feels more comfortable with you than if he or she has to make a deliberate decision to extend an offer. When you assume you’ll get the job, the only question remaining is, “When do I start, Monday or Wednesday?”
A word of caution: Don’t appear too eager. You need to maintain your professionalism.

7. Overcome objections.
One stumbling block for many candidates is the inevitable objection: You’re over-/under-qualified, too old/young, etc.” There are hundreds of reasons given why candidates aren’t right for the job. Many are just excuses or stalls to avoid the risk of hiring someone.

Turn these objections into opportunities to strengthen your candidacy. Acknowledge the objection. “You feel I’m overqualified. That’s possible true.” Then turn the weakness into a strength: “However, that means I’ll start being productive for you that much faster. As I’ve mentioned, I solved this problem at XYZ company.” Make a list of standard objections that apply to you or that you encounter and work out the answers.
Overcoming objections is an art unto itself. The key is to remember that patience and persistence pay off. Don’t take no for an answer. Try one more time. The secret to closing is to keep trying.

8. Sum up and ask for the job.
When appropriate, summarize. Say what you have to offer based on your accomplishments. Sales people call these “features.” Show how the features will benefit the employer. Keep it simple and brief. Stick to basics. Prepare one dramatic sentence on why you’re the person for the job. Remind the interviewer how you’ve contributed at your previous employer and reiterate how you’ll contribute to the success of the prospective one.

9. Confirm the close.
Repeat the terms of the offer as you’ve discussed it. Ask for clarification of any terms not fully described or understood. Each time you close, ask the interviewer, “Do you have any questions?” When you’ve been completely clear about how you’ll help the employer – then and only then – close.

Be sure to thank the interviewer at the end. Write the words “thank you” in your follow-up letter, too, and repeat the statement of benefits you used to close. Also add the other features and benefits you wished you’d expressed during the interview. The thank-you packs a punch. As Mr. Stone says, “You don’t often get thank-you letters. They mean a lot.”
Asking for the job intimidates most of us. Fortunately, these techniques can make it easier to close the deal and get the job. Practice these tips and you’ll soon grow comfortable with these methods and use them automatically.

 

The 25 Most Popular Behavior-Based Questions
Tell me about a time when you . . .
1. …worked effectively under pressure.
2. …handled a difficult situation with a co-worker.
3. …were creative in solving a problem.
4. …missed an obvious solution to a problem.
5. …were unable to complete a project on time.
6. …persuaded team members to do things your way.
7. …wrote a report that was well received.
8. …anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
9. …had to make an important decision with limited facts.
10. …were forced to make an unpopular decision.
11. …had to adapt to a difficult situation.
12. …were tolerant of an opinion that was different from yours.
13. …were disappointed in your behavior.
14. …used your political savvy to push a program through that you really believed in.
15. …had to deal with an irate customer (co-worker/boss/subordinate).
16. …delegated a project effectively.
17. …surmounted a major obstacle.
18. …set your sights too high (or too low).
19. …prioritized the elements of a complicated project.
20. …got bogged down in the details of a project.
21. …lost (or won) an important contract.
22. …made a bad decision.
23. …had to fire a friend.
24. …hired (or fired) the wrong person.
25. …turned down a good job.