In our coaching and training, we end up discussing the interview process all the time. Many of our existing clients interview regularly for promotions within their company. And we also partner with many young professionals or “pre-professionals,” who are trying to get launched and established on their career path.
In other words, regardless of where you are on your career journey, the ability to interview well and advocate for yourself is a mission critical skill.
What are the most common interview issues we see? What are the classic mistakes we are coaching people to avoid? Let’s review the list:
1. Know the position you are interviewing for, and know something about the organization. You need to demonstrate some knowledge about the job and the company, so you can discuss why you are a good fit.
2. Don’t just talk about yourself. Don’t regurgitate your resume. Try to engage in dialogue with the interviewer. Think about being on a date with someone who only wants to talk about themselves… not fun, right? An interview is not that different.
3. Have some questions for the interviewer. Ask something about how they will define success, the biggest issues they are trying to solve, etc. Ask questions that will demonstrate that you are thinking about results for the company, and not just trying to secure a job for yourself.
4. Don’t ramble. Think about the macro themes you want them to hear, and make sure you stay on message. Speak in complete sentences, that have an end point. Many people, when they get excited or nervous, speak in long, run-on sentences that have no end, and are hard to understand. If the interviewer has trouble understanding you or following your train of thought, they may not want to work with you.
5. Don’t check your phone or look at your watch in the interview. Enough said…
6. Have a notebook, write some things down. It shows that you care, and that you are engaged.
Most people make the same fundamental mistakes in an interview, the common denominator of which is this: they oversell themselves, and end up sounding self-absorbed because they only seem to be able to talk… about… themselves.
Go the other way. Put yourself in the interviewers’ shoes. What will they care about? What will be interesting to them? How can you make it easy for them to remember you, in a good way? How can you demonstrate that you are engaged? Yes, you have to sell yourself. But you also need to show that you have a perspective beyond your own resume.
Interview skills are important. They tend to represent key moments in your career. And you want to be at your best in those key moments.
Good luck!
Does your team:
– Take too long to make decision?
– Fail to ask for what it wants or needs from you?
– Make things too complicated?
– Deliver unconvincing or disorganized presentations?
– Have new hires who are unprepared to communicate in the workplace?
We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication.
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