Goal:
In your mind, your goal is to find out if you’re the right fit for the job, not to win the job (salesmen) or to reject the job (arrogant). Being in this mind frame puts you in the same wavelength as your employer. Everytime I kindly turned down a job offer at the end of the interview because I felt i wasn’t the right match, i got a return call for a better position. BUT, I wait till then since I want to give it a sincere and fair chance and then I make my call (if i have an answer)…. this is the right approach since I get a chance to showcase my talent and i don’t come across as arrogant. 🙂
Two important points:
– The right mental attidue: Be Zen (a.k.a. cool, calm, and friendly).
– Always remember: “With careers, the ball is in your court, not theirs. Too often, we think of a particular job as, ‘oh man, this is the one i need or hope i get this particular one.’ But always remember, you’re looking for a career not a particular job. Jobs and interviews come a dime a dozen, and as scarce as they may appear to be, you’ll get better and landing more and more interviews as long as you never give up. So go in there, feeling like you can be free to speak your mind and admit to your flaws and strenghts. ”
Preparation:
3 achievements: Think of three achievements that you can summarize end-to-end and explain in exactl 60 seconds. Here’s a good breakdown of how you should explain each achievement:
– What was the problem you were trying to solve (either your bossed approached you, or you discovered yourself… either way, identify the problem well.)
– Why was this problem important to the company (this shows you understand the bigger picture).
– How did you solve this problem (use the white board or a blank sheet of paper to draw diagrams if necessary i.e. flow charts of all the key stakeholders you brought together to solve the problem AND/OR talk about the type of skills you had to develop or learn to help you solve the problem.)
– Finish by telling them you solved the problem on time, and the great feedback you got from your boss.
– Did you learn anything you could do better here (don’t have to tell them, but if they ask you or if they asked you to name a weakness… you can tell them a weakness followed by this whole story in 60 sec and then tel them what you learned and what you’re doing to improve this weak area)
Questions for the inteviewer: Close your eyes and imagine you got the offer… it’s your first day and you’re introduced to your manager or the employer who’s going to show you around. What kind of questions would you ask? I imagine they would be very specific to your job, and your employer or trainer will be more than willing to invest their time answering these questions since you took the offer. I’d imagine that you’d take notes in a calm fashion (if necessary). So read the posting again and again and understand the companies’ goals… Ask challenging questions, but make sure your goal isn’t to stump them or make them look stupid, but to compliment them and engage them w/ interesting questions. “I understand Company X is known for Y [some subtle flattery here], and I noticed in ths job posting this department is known for Z role. Is Z is connected to Y, if you can you talk a bit about that?
Tags: Job Interview, Workaholics
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