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niborch

Job Interview Skills - Going for a Job - (How To Get The Job You Want)

Going for a New Job?

Jo Ellen Grzyb has been offering some form of interview help and careers advice for the past 15 years. She used to run career development workshops, and now does one-to-one sessions called Career Action. A couple of years ago Jo Ellen had a Careers Advice column in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Lots of the queries she got were on job interview technique and job interview tips. Here are some of her thoughts after years of helping people get where they want to go:

How To Get The Perfect Job

Interview Presentation

You hear all sorts of rules about job interview success:

people decide about you in the first 10 seconds
you have to make a good first impression
always ask insightful job interview questions
learn as much as you can about the company
they'll probably ask interview questions designed to trip you up
have some quick answers to interview questions at the ready

Not bad, as far as rules go: some of them make perfect sense. But getting the job you want isn't about following rules or giving the 'right' interview
answer.

It's about presenting yourself in the most authentic way that takes care of
you and the interviewers at the same time.

So many people chuck their chances away: they don't take enough care and
interview preparation time so that the whole process is enjoyable, stimulating and informative for both parties.

Your First Opportunity: Getting The Interview

If you want the job, chances are so do about a million other eager people, so your application has to stand out from the crowd. British CVs are usually dull and boring, and people create them as historical documents, rather than as marketing tools. You can boost your chances of getting an interview by making your CV look and 'sound' special.

use good paper
design a personal logo
fiddle with the layout to make it easy on the eyes
edit it ruthlessly (people always put in too much detai).
highlight the bits that relate to the job you're going for
they don't need to know you went to St Mary's School when you were 12!
put 'who you are now' at the beginning of your CV
leave education and qualifications for the end.

If you don't have what you think are the right educational qualifications,
don't worry. Just leave them off. If you include enough interesting and
intriguing material about who you are now, what you didn't do is far less
important.

I recommend a short paragraph at the beginning that says something about your personal qualities and your business skills. A short statement about what you're seeking can also go down a treat.

As we know, a job for life is so rare nowadays, that eclectic, unusual and
even inconsistent CVs are OK as long as they're presented well.

Even if you think your current job stinks, look at the good points as though
you were looking at it from the outside in. Most jobs appear much better from the outside than they do from the inside (only you know the real truth); so pump up the goodies and soft-pedal the baddies!

So that worked. You've got the Interview; now what?

Preparing For a Job Interview

Here's the key and the most important thing to remember when preparing for interview

Before you go through the door, tell yourself that unless they are simply
going through the motions because they've already appointed someone, they want it to be you.

They want to know their search is over, so for the length of the interview,
the job is yours. You need to make the most of it.

Having said that, first impressions are incredibly important. Be yourself
right from the start, turning up the volume on those bits of you that most match the job; turning down the volume on the bits that don't. However, never ever shut the volume off entirely, as you will then be pretending to be someone you're not - a sure recipe for disaster.

Not a good idea to lie! You can be judicious with the truth, but lies have a
tendency to return and bite you in the bum! Even if they don't know you've lied, you will be giving out signals that are a give-away that something is wrong.

Being put on the spot can feel very uncomfortable, and it's easy to fall into
a defensive posture. If you're not sure of answering interview questions or feel boxed into a corner it's all right to buy time - including saying 'I need some time to think about that.'

No matter how nervous you are, you do need to look after the people
interviewing you. Show that you know how to communicate and relate to people: ask surprising questions.

Have a stockpile of question to ask at interview and anecdotes of past
triumphs (and even a few disasters, as long as their funny or humorous side is apparent). This is not just a list of what you can do, but some personal
examples that paint the whole picture.
There are no right answers to job interview questioning. In fact a good
interview question is one that allows you a chance to talk about
yourself.

Phew! Got through that; anything else I can do?

Job Interview Follow-up

At the end of your interview, if you haven't been advised, ask when they
think they'll be making their decision. At least then you'll know how long
you’ll have to wait before you hear.

Many places don't automatically let people know if they haven't got the job;
so one follow-up call is allowable. More than that and it can feel like
badgering.

No matter how badly you think the interview went, if you want the job, always send a follow-up interview thank you letter. Since most of us think of clever things to say after the fact, include one or two of those, referring to
something specific from the interview.

Use phrases such as:

If you don't get the job and you're curious why not, phone up and get some feedback. It may help you for the next interview.
Happy job hunting!

Lou3000 · Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject:

That made interesting reading, Niborch! I do believe it's best to leave the education and qualifications until the end of a CV (particularly for the older applicant whose qualifications may not be relevant for today's workplace but whose experience outshines their old qualifications).

However, there's not much to be done when faced with a standard application form where the very first box states 'Education' and 'Qualifications'!!! I am in the middle of putting together an application for a super job which I really, really want. But I've had a lot of research to do in order to wow them with my answer to the box marked: "Please explain how you meet the requirements of the job description." That's half-way down the second page so it's got to be damned good! Wink

StefanJechel · Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 8:03 am Post subject:

A very intersting post... maybe the most intersted I read on this subject...

But I still have a few comments regarding the writing of the CV / resume:

1) "design a personal logo"
1) That's great if you apply gor a high position... but if you apply for a low position it will look wierd

2) "edit it ruthlessly (people always put in too much detai)."
2) Again it depends what kind of job you're applying for; for an academic job for example the resume must contain all possible data (like published papers, conferences attendance, etc)

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