You Stink and They Know It! – A practical guide to nailing your next job interview.
Why did I choose that as the title of my book?
It stemmed from the frustration I saw in friends, family, and peers who couldn’t seem to land that new career opportunity. They had self-doubt, don’t we all? If you break down the interview process, essentially you are going into a room full of strangers to explain to them why, out of ALL of the candidates, you are a perfect fit for this position. You have 30-60 minutes, GO!
Nerve-wracking!!!
“I’m not good enough, I don’t have an MBA, I don’t have enough experience, etc.”
STOP!!! I can help. What makes me qualified?
- I’ve facilitated countless interviews from entry level to executive.
- I’ve written interview questions, giving me keen insight into what employers are looking for in your response.
- I’ve successfully mentored individuals through the interview, offer, and counter-offer process.
- I’ve successfully applied the techniques I outline in my book throughout my career.
The 5 things you MUST do to nail that job interview
While my book goes into more detail, below are 5 musts if you want to secure that coveted career opportunity.
- Do your research! You should be intricately familiar with the position you are applying. What are the skills needed to excel in this role? Knowing what skills are needed will help you prepare your interview question responses. For example, if all of your current experience is in customer service and you are going for a position that requires little face-to-face time with customers (more clerical); your response to interview questions should highlight a skill-set you possess that directly relates to the companies need.
You should also be up to speed on the company itself. Look at industry trends, financials, technology, etc. I interviewed with a large bank for a position in their mortgage department and because of my research, was able to engage in some small-talk about mortgage standards and government regulations that hit the headlines recently. It was a great ice-breaker and I landed the position. I had ZERO mortgage experience on my résumé!
2. Dress to impress! If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you act with more confidence. Confidence goes a long way when making a first impression. Some studies have shown that interviewers have made a hiring decision within minutes of meeting you, make those minutes count!
3. Prepare relentlessly! You should be prepared to talk about YOU! They are not hiring your résumé, they are hiring you. They are not hiring your experience; they are hiring you and your skills. You should be intricately familiar with YOU. Review the below bullet points and BE THOROUGHLY PREPARED to discuss the details of the following.
My book contains worksheets to aid in the identification of your core strengths.
- What are your strengths? (Prepare 3-5 to discuss)
- What are your strongest skill-sets? Why?
- How have you applied those skills to a recent situation?
- What was the outcome?
- What are your areas of opportunity? (Weaknesses, although you’ll refer to them as ‘an area of opportunity’) Always avoid negative language.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, what are you doing to develop that area?
4. Answer the interview questions. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Frequently, interview questions start with, “Tell me about a time when you…. [Led a team through conflict, etc.].” I’ve experienced success (and those I’ve mentored) using the STAR method. Situation, Task, Action, Result. This technique has been around for some time, but is certainly not leveraged enough.
- Begin your response with describing the situation.
- Outline for the interviewers the various tasks you identified that needed to happen to be successful.
- Describe, in detail, the actions you took as you progressed towards achieving the end result. Be sure to include the skills/tactics you used to drive results.
- Finally, end your response with the results of your efforts.
Below is an example, as seen on pages 39-41 of my book.
Interviewer: “Tell me about a time when you had to motivate your team to achieve a goal they did not believe was attainable.”
Candidate: “That’s a great question, and all too common. I had a team of ten associates and a newly established sales goal of twenty-five units per month for each associate, five more per associate than they had ever achieved. The team was vocal about not being able to achieve that goal. In order to motivate the team to exceed the expectations, I called a team meeting and asked that they help in creating a team action plan for success.
We discussed the following:
- Number of sales needed per day, per associate
- A list of perceived roadblocks to achieving that goal
- A list of best sales practices from each associate
- Ideas of fun games to play during the day to celebrate each sale
- A regular schedule to follow up on our progress
The meeting ended with a clear understanding of our daily goal, the sharing of best practices from each associate, now documented in a central location for all to access when needed, associate ownership of fun sales games to play during the day, and a set in stone follow up schedule to track our progress.
The result was the realization of an achievable daily goal, increased sales skills through best practice sharing, increased accountability, and the now anticipated follow up meeting to share progress. Lastly, it created a sense of team and unity. We ended up hitting 105% of our sales goal and ranked 2 out of 18 sales teams in our department!”
5. Follow-up! I recommend a hand-written note mailed to each interviewer. The lost art of a hand-written letter will go a long way. Keep it brief, thanking the interviewers for the opportunity to discuss the position. Mail it immediately after your interview. This typically works well with a smaller company. I’ve found email to work better with larger companies. If you don’t have the interviewers contact information, email the recruiter and ask them to forward your appreciation.
Good companies will contact you before you have a chance to follow-up with them. I once had a company call me to schedule a second interview as I pulled out of the parking lot immediately after finishing my initial interview!
If you haven’t heard from them, place a follow up call 48-72 hours after your interview. Be polite, direct, and clear. Your communication should simply state who you are, who you met with, and that you are excited to hear about the opportunity. You should also let them know that you are willing to meet again if they have any additional questions.
Finally, CELEBRATE! You prepared for and NAILED your job interview! That takes courage and dedication.
I pray you find this article helpful and am happy to answer any questions you may have. I can do so through this post or by email, danny@dannyjohnson.com.
About the author: Danny Johnson is a 15 year corporate veteran who has facilitated countless job interviews, written interview questionnaires, and helped several large U.S. companies build entire departments from scratch; helping them hire the right candidate(s) for the right role(s). Danny is also an accomplished Comedian and Actor; having performed at Comedy Clubs, Corporate Events, and Churches, all over the United States. Danny has starred in over a dozen of commercials, a variety of voice-over spots, won multiple comedy contests, and appeared on Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots.
Danny’s dual career track allows him to blend his corporate experience, study of human behavior through years of stand-up comedy, and his own personal application of the principles in this book to outline how you will nail your next job interview!
Danny is available for speaking engagements, workshops, one-on-one coaching, stand-up comedy, acting or voice-over work.
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