Career Services from Measurability

Jobseekers can fail interviews for many reasons. I received a phone call from a jobseeker I had previously help with CV design. Their problem had now moved another step down the line. They were able to locate the jobs and get the interview but unfortunately failing at interview. My initial response was to enquire what feedback they were getting from the employers. There was a mixed response which can be normal as may employers feel they do jobseekers a favour by letting them down politely greatly reducing the opportunity to improve. Two bit of feedback stood out. The individual said one employer said that he came across as desperate to leave his current job. Another employer said that he didn’t seem interested in the job.

Interview preparation – hiding desperation.

Quite often a jobseeker can be desperate to leave a job BUT employers will look on this negatively as the question will always be there – does this individual want to join us or just get away from the current role. The likelihood is that most employers will shy away from these individuals as could be perceived that negativity is your driving factor and you would take any job. If you are desperate you must ensure that you do not portray this to the employer.

Interview preparation – playing it cool

Many jobseekers use a play it cool strategy when job hunting. They will not show desire to join a company for fear that they may seem desperate or that it may affect salary and package negotiation. Playing it too cool though can give the impression of lack of interest.

Conclusion

There are responses that can help you get the balance right ensuring that you do not fall into the above pitfalls at interview. Interview preparation will hone these skills so ensure you spend the time. Interview coaching can help you iron out the problems and improve your success.

Interview preparation is the key ingredient to interview success. Interview preparation will boost your confidence and improve performance getting you the important job offers.

Why is researching the company important?

An important part of interview preparation is research the potential company and related industry. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly it benefits you the jobseeker indicating if this is the company or industry you want to join. It also shows the employer that you have put some work in before interview – evidence that you have planned your approach to the interview and you job hunting in general.

How to get information on a potential employer.

Internet – This is the obvious port of call. Most organisations have a website which will provide most of what you need. It is important that you don’t stop there. Use Google searches to identify live information that could help you stand out in the crowd. Remember most of your competition will be rhyming of material from a website – so you go the extra mile.

Employees – do you know anyone working in the company? This can be a great resource. If you don’t know anyone directly can you network of friends, work colleagues or family help you.

Marketing Material – The company may have brochures or other marketing material that you can request. To be honest this has been replace by the internet but still can add value.

Competitors – What information can you get from the competition about the employer or as importantly about the competitor as this again can help you differentiate from other interviewees.

Newspapers – It is quite common that you will be asked about what you read in the papers that morning so you should flick through the papers anyway before an interview. I did come across it one time where a friend interviewed with a company with a huge announcement in the papers that he missed before his interview.

Researching the employer is a key ingredient to interview preparation. There are however other important aspects to it. Do you need help with interview preparation contact an interview expert now.

If you are blessed with impatience like me the most frustrating thing about job hunting is waiting for feedback and decisions from Job Interviews. Waiting for a call from a recruitment agency or a company where you have submitted a CV for a job. I would say it is even worse waiting for feedback from an job interview though as you are at the final hurdle.

So how do you manage this to ensure prompt feedback without annoying the potential employer?

1. It is essential to ask the employer when they hope to have a decision. You can do this at the end of the interview. Ensure that the employer has the correct contact details for you.
2. Some will advice you to send a thank you letter. I have never personally done this myself but it cannot do any harm. It will keep you in the employers mind and could help sing a recruitment decision.
3. If you don’t hear within the agreed timeframe – call the employer unless it was clearly stated not to do so. To facilitate this make sure that you have his or her contact details. If you are not provided with a business card at the interview you can request it.
4. Chasing feedback from an interview when managed correctly shows that you are keen and take initiative. But ensure that you do not overstep the line as this can paint a picture of annoyance and desperation.
5. Recruitment processes do not always run to smooth timeframes so stay patient. An employer may provide you with a decision date BUT when this passes it does not always spell bad news. To counter this keep yourself busy applying and interviewing for other positions.

When you do finally get a job offer it is a nice touch to let appropriate parties know this. This can be recruitment agencies or other employers where you are in consideration. This is a nice touch and will ensure you leave a good impression with people as you do not know when you will be back on the job market.

Need help with your CV or interview coaching contact Meaurability.

Probably the most common question I am asked when providing interview coaching sessions is “How do you handle the Salary question?” Simple think of a figure and multiply it by 10 – That would be nice!!There are a couple of points I make clear to job-seekers.1. It is probably best to dodge answering this question because you could price yourself out of the job BUT worse under-price yourself. I advise job-seekers to respond something like “I am currently on x but I am open to salary depending on the role and the location” This side steps answering and it also give the impression that you are not money driven. Or you could answer with a question “What would a role like this pay in your company?” The important thing is that this strategy forces the employer to lay their cards on the table first. If they make an offer under your expectation then you can negotiate. If they make an offer over your expectation – great!!.

2. If you have a minimum figure and money is a key motivation it is probably best to give the client indication of this if asked. Again how you ask for it is important. There is no point dancing round the question only to find after 3 interviews and alot of time invested that they can’t meet your expectations - wasting you precious time.

3. Final point – it is probably best to let the employer bring up the Salary topic. Only time I would go against this if you have to go to great time or financial expense to attend an interview and what to assess if it is worth your effort.

For additional information on Interview preparation, Interview Coaching, Competency Interviews and more check out our website Measurability.

 Happy Job Hunting

This post will look at two reasons why many jobseekers fail at interview and why Interview Coaching can help..

 Poor communication at a Job Interview - I am not talking about verbal but non-verbal communications. Have you ever heard the 55:38:7 rule. 7% of communication is the words you say so 93% is actually non-verbal. This means that honing non-verbal skills is essential for interview success. You have heard the urban myth that many interviewers make a decision within a few minutes of meeting the interviewee. Interview Coaching can help you get the basics right and you can improve your performance greatly.

Not asking questions at a Job Interview - It is essential that you ask questions. Interviewees will be asked if they have questions at a job interview so have must be prepared for this. By not asking any questions you are sending out the wrong message and a lack of interest in the position or even a lack of preparation for the job interview. Not asking a question is a missed opportunity to get valuable information to help you make important career choices. A job interview is a 2-way process and it is an opportunity for you to find out information about the company.

Interested in interview coaching?