I believe the minimum requirements for any job interview are to wear appropriate interview attire with shined shoes, conservative accessories, and a recent haircut; and carry some kind of portfolio that holds additional copies of your resume and a notepad and pen so you can take notes. You have to get there early, have thought-out answers to typical interview questions, and have looked through the job description and researched the company. These are the minimum things that have to happen before you will get a job offer.
That’s the easy part: err on the side of conservative, pay attention to the details, do your homework, and don’t forget your resume.
The key here is that every serious candidate will address these basics.
Every point-of-contact with a hiring manager (or the HR department) is a make-or-break one. Each one is a “weeding” opportunity for them: your resume, your cover letter, your online presence, your phone interview, and your first interview. They’re looking for a reason to throw your name out and narrow down the field to make their jobs easier.
In response to that, the smart candidate will prepare, refine their job search and interview techniques, and give it all they’ve got. But there’s one other trick you could have up your sleeve:
Today’s job search is unlike any we’ve seen before. Competition is especially fierce in this economy, and candidates get weeded out quickly. If you’ve landed the interview, you need to bring your best game right off the bat and knock the socks off the hiring manager. One of the most effective ways to become an all-star candidate is to hire an interview coach. Individualized coaching takes your personal work history and talents into account and customizes solutions for you.
Did you ever wish you had the “inside track” at your interview? Or that you knew exactly how to explain that slightly difficult/embarrassing/sensitive situation in your job history? Or even the very best way to explain who you are and what you do in a compelling, “hire me” kind of way? Maybe you’re getting interviews, but you know that something’s not going quite right because you’re not getting called back for the second one.
Are you going to interviews, but not getting the offer? Or not even getting called back for a second interview?
Maybe there's some issue you don't have a great explanation for: a gap in your employment history, why you're willing to take a pay cut in a new job, why you've been out of a job for so long, you're overqualified/underqualified, or something.
Maybe you don't even know why--you think you're doing a great job, but you're not getting the call back.
It's time for you to invest in interview coaching. Great interview coaching can help you with confidence, communication, presence, wording, emphasis, and other areas that are stopping you from getting the job offer you want and deserve. It focuses on your particular situation and your individual personality and style to give you the boost you need.
In this video, I'll give you some examples of how I helped real candidates with roadblocks in their job searches that gave them a breakthrough and got them job offers. And we did it in less than an hour.
Jennifer had little experience in sales and was having trouble getting a job offer. She was doing what everyone thinks of as "all the right things": networking, had her resume professionally done, and applied to more than 50 positions online, with no success. With a 1-2 hour coaching session, we tailored her resume, taught her how to use social media, and more....within weeks, she received many offers and landed her dream job. See her story for yourself here:
If you've read this blog at all, you'll know how important a 30/60/90-day plan is to your job interview success. In most cases, we're talking about sales jobs. But I often get questions from people who aren't in sales jobs and want to know if that kind of plan can help them, too.
The answer is absolutely YES.
A 90-day plan is critical to bring to every job interview. It works for marketing, technical support, operations, and more.
Why?
Watch the video and I'll tell you:
How the 30/60/90-day plan demonstrates that you understand the job and can do it
Why the 30/60/90-day plan makes you stand out from the pack and showcases your drive and initiative
A hiring manager's secret fear and why a 30/60/90-day plan makes him much more comfortable hiring you
Phone interviews can be deceptively casual to some job seekers--maybe because it doesn't feel like the "real thing"...and they can't see you anyway. But not taking the phone interview very seriously is a huge mistake. If they called you, they like you, and they are screening their top candidates to decide who deserves the time and expense of a face-to-face interview. They're looking for a reason not to like you. Don't let them screen you out.
Beyond the basic phone interview survival tips of dressing professionally (it's an attitude thing), reducing distractions, smiling, and keeping your resume and notes in front of you (hey, you might as well take advantage of the one benefit of phone interviews), you should prepare for it just like you would prepare for a face-to-face. Research the company thoroughly. Think about what questions you might be asked, and practice your answers so that you're smooth and confident.
What are some typical phone interview questions? Since this is really the first step in the hiring process, they are essentially the same questions you might hear in a normal interview. Like these:
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