Interviewing is about selling. In a job interview you sell yourself as a solution to the hiring manager’s problem.
It’s a straightforward process:
An employer has a problem: work to be done. The first step the employer takes is to define what qualifications are necessary: a “wish list” for the type of person who best fits the position. A posting is entered on the Internet or an ad is placed in the newspaper with the hope of finding the “best” person for the job. In a normal job market an employer will settle for a match of 80 percent of the requirements; when the job market is tight, the employer has such a vast selection of candidates to choose from that the percentage rises to 100 percent and then some. In these kinds of market conditions people giving interviews frequently ask, “What else do you have to offer in addition to the basics required?”
You, as the job seeker, see the ad or posting and know that you are the perfect person for the job. You have most or all of the qualifications and know that you can do the job. You submit your résumé and wait for the phone call to be invited for an interview so that you can convince the employer that you are the solution to the problem and the best person for the job.
When you receive the call inviting you to an interview, you are delighted.
It would be nice if the excitement lasted and you sailed through the interview process and got a job offer every time. However, life is not that simple, and neither is the interviewing process.
Often your initial excitement turns to fear and then to panic. “What if I don’t have all the answers to the questions?” you ask yourself. “They probably will choose another candidate because things never work out for me,” you tell yourself. “If only I didn’t have to go through the interview process; I know I can do that job,” you say to yourself.
All these feelings of questioning and self-doubt are normal. In fact, they are extremely normal. Most people hate interviewing. It’s a judgment process, and who wants to go through that and face the possibility of a rejection?
By learning the specific interview storytelling techniques, you will begin to feel more in control and confident about going to your next interview. Instead of feeling that you are bragging about yourself, you will be focusing on what you have to offer and letting the interviewer know that you are not only qualified but are the best person for the job! In Part I, the Interview IQ Test and the sections that follow will guide you in preparing your own stories and examples. Being prepared with your success stories will make a tremendous difference in the way you feel about interviewing.
By taking the Interview IQ Test and rating your ability to judge the strongest answers, you will see how good you are at judging what the interviewer will be interested in hearing. You then can write your own stories as a way to tell interviewers about your own experiences and back up your claims and statements.
Once you understand how to give an example of past behavior with an interesting story, you will be able to prove to the interviewer that you have the relevant experience that company wants in the person it will hire. When you have written stories that are specific and focused, you will
feel more prepared and confident. That means more successful interviews— and more job offers.
Although the emphasis is on the candidate, the information is appropriate for anyone desiring an in-depth, experiential approach to the interviewing process.
Quote of the day:
There is no doubt that the first requirement for a composer is to be dead. - Arthur Honegger
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