3 parts?
Huh?
I thought there?s just one!
Could that be the reason that you?re not getting the success you want in job interviews?
The first and most important thing to recognise is that there are 3 distinct and equally important parts to a job ?interview?:
- Before the meeting
- The meeting
- After the meeting
This is true whether:
- your interview is face-to-face or via videoconference
- you will meet an individual person or be part of a panel interview
- it will be the only meeting or the first in a sequence of several
Most people put at least 95% (and more commonly 100%) of their effort into #2 (the meeting) so if they don?t perform as well as their competitors in that part, they you will lose out to better performers.
Those people are not necessarily better candidates but are those who understand the process and what counts and perform better across all 3 parts.
The other 2 parts are areas where you can score a lot of extra points, simply because the majority of your competitors won?t be doing them at all, or they will be doing them poorly.
So even if you don?t do as well as your competitor in the actual meeting, you can often make up that shortfall by your superior overall performance across all 3 parts.
This ?Before the meeting? part entails an adequate amount of research.
How much research?
The more you do, the better you?ll be positioned to do well in the meeting and to make the right choice whether to accept an offer when that time comes.
Certainly, there?s no such thing as doing too much research.
But doing too little will likely result in underperforming overall.
Yes, it?s work, but it?s very worthwhile and definitely not something to be neglected as most people do.
Hiring managers are continually amazed at the number of applicants who drift into their office for an employment discussion without any apparent preparation and only the vaguest idea of what they are going to say, what the company does or the details of the role on offer.
Even simple things like the time and place of the meeting are often misunderstood, which never bodes well when the recruiting manager is assessing you for future employment.
All of this gets you off to a bad start and probably a bad end as well.
Thus, it is vitally important to observe at least these half a dozen guidelines:
1. Know the exact place and time of the interview, the interviewer?s full name (including the correct pronunciation) and his/her title. You will want to know the exact address of the office, so you can check if it?s in a building with many other companies or a standalone office or a campus, a factory or whatever.
2. Figure out how you are going to get there, how much time you need for travel (you should assume the worst case for traffic, weather etc) and allow time for security registration in the building if applicable, and allow at least 15 minutes extra, so that you definitely won?t arrive late, which is a big no-no!
3. I always suggest finding out where there is a nearby cafe where you can hang out, in case you arrive way too early. If it?s hot or cold or raining and you are stuck outside, your appearance will probably not be your best. If the meeting itself is arranged to take place in such a cafe or restaurant ? same thing; find out the exact details. Oh, and one more thing about meeting in cafes ? if they tell you the meeting is going to be held at say a Starbucks on X Street, just ensure (use Google if you forget to ask directly) you know which one, as many streets in big cities have more than one Starbucks!
4. Increasingly, interviews are conducted via videoconference (e.g., Zoom, Meet etc) but the same rules apply about finding out the exact place (if you aren?t joining from home) and names. You will also need to ensure a good Wi-Fi connection, nice background, good lighting, attentive posture, and clear sound for such videoconference meetings ? and of course make sure you get the login details ahead of time and enter them correctly! Always log in several minutes before the start and if you land in a waiting room, turn off your video and mute your sound until you are let into the meeting ? you don?t want to be seen doing anything untoward while waiting.
5. Find out specific facts about the company ? as a minimum, when was it founded and by whom; where its factories, offices or stores are located; what its principal products and services are; what its growth has been; and what its growth potential and plans are for the future.
There are a number of places to find such data - the most helpful sources include:
a) Their website or FB/LinkedIn page (almost every company has one)
b) Google
c) The Business ?Who?s Who? of your country
d) The Registrar of Companies
e) The Stock Exchange (if the company is listed)
f) Current and former employees.
Note: in all cases, you will need to try to discern ?the truth? and reject the bias which will be inherent in the source of the information
6. Prepare questions that you might ask ? below are a few ideas:
a) Detailed description of the position?
b) Is this a new position or a replacement position?
c) Reason the position is available?
d) Culture of company?
e) Anticipated induction and training program?
f) Advanced training programs available for ?hi-pots? (high potentials)?
g) What sort of people have done well?
h) Earnings growth potential of such successful people by their third year?
i) Company growth plans?
j) Best-selling products or services?
k) The next steps?
In all cases, present yourself as well as you can ? authentic and likable.
??
· ?Needless to say? you might think?
· Yet incredibly, so many fail to do so
So this part of the process is vitally important, and, in this blog, you will find a number of articles and tip-sheets providing guidance on how to go about it.
If you prefer to get our job interview tips all in one place, you can download my e-book
7 POWER TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR PEFORMANCE AT JOB INTERVIEWS
at a special member?s price.
Till next time, always remember I am rooting for you!
With love & blessings
Peter Fleming FCMA
Your Career Success Coach