JOB INTERVIEWS ARE SALES CALLS

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The Call

               You get that call offering you the initial interview you've wanted.  Control your elation!  You need to do several things on the phone now to begin selling yourself and stacking the odds in your favor.  First accept the offer to interview warmly and gladly.  Get clear directions and a phone number in case you must reschedule.  Ask how much time to allow for this meeting.  Ask for the names and titles of the people you will be meeting with.  Social scientists can't say why, but they have noticed that the first person interviewed is the least likely to get an offer.  This doesn't affect any slot other than first, so try to avoid being first if you are in a field of candidates by asking for the range of times available.

               Request information about the company, such as sales brochures and anything else that will arm you for the meeting.  Avoid getting interviewed over the phone, but you might ask what prompted the caller to phone you.  Having the interviewer describe why he likes you will solidify you in the interviewer's mind as "highly qualified." Listen for his "hot buttons."  Ask the caller to describe the ideal candidate.  What is the dress code?

               One of the best calls you can make to the people in your network is to say you have an interview with a company.  Do they know anything about it?  This reinforces your campaign and says you are a winner.  Continue your preparation with research from the library.  Continue to absorb information as you approach the office, meet the interviewer, and enter the room. 

               Preparation and research are important to the job interview because of the basic sales formula:  Ascertain Needs, Show Benefits.  You must have full command of your sales tools:  your overall self-description, accomplishment stories, description of positions, and standard replies to interview questions.  What I mean by showing benefits is being able to summon and arrange these tools to fit the situation.

You Go First

               Many interviewers will begin by telling you about the company and the position.  They will include duties and responsibilities in some detail and will allow you to ask questions before getting around to questions about your background.  This order is ideal for the prepared candidate.  Try to control the meeting to make it go in this direction as much as possible.  Your first priority is to get the prospect to describe the position.  Ask open ended questions while you can mentally list his "hot buttons."  Before describing your background, you would like to know the interviewer's response to the following questions:  "What is the number one priority for this position?"  "What are the problems in the position that I will get a chance to help solve?  “  How should they be addressed?"  “If I do well here, where else might I be of service in the future?"  This way when it's your turn, you can tailor your responses to the specific situation. 

               If prematurely asked about compensation, use several of your prepared responses including the fall back positions. 

How to Answer Interview Questions

               The basic formula for answering interview questions is to listen to the question, listen to the underlying question, address both questions, and then use an accomplishment Situation-Action-Result.  There are only a few underlying questions.  "Are you qualified?"  "Are you a leader?"  "Are you interested in growth?"  "Are you normal?"  "Why shouldn't we hire you?"  The last one, "Why shouldn't we hire you?" is crucial because negative information is weighted especially heavily in an interview and must be avoided.  Tattoo the lyrics from the old song to the inside of your eyelids.

              You got to

              Accentuate the positive,

              Eliminate the negative,

              Latch on to the affirmative and

              Don't mess with Mr. In-between.

               Asking clarifying questions gives you time to think and gives you a chance to see the issue from their perspective.  Remember, answer the question, the underlying question, and use an accomplishment.  This will help you to use a combination of abstract and concrete responses. 

               You want to be in the position of overcoming objections.  This is when selling occurs.  It is often difficult to learn what the interviewer doesn't like about you.  You must uncover doubts because a doubt is the risk of a negative.  The discomfort with that risk is often worse than the actual negative.  One method is to ask, "Are you considering other candidates?" so that you can ask, "How do my qualifications stack up?"  You can't address an objection you don't know about.  If your experience is light in one particular area, find out what percentage of the job this represents.  Then, attack it head on and do some mutual problem solving to put the weakness in perspective.  Doubt out!

Ask for the Job

               It is common sales advice to ask for the order.  Here's how to ask for the job.  "As I understand it, you want someone with x education, y qualifications, and z experience.  Do I have the requirements?"  Now wait; the interviewer is making up his mind.  Hopefully this question will raise an objection that you can address. 

               In that second interview say:  "I understand you want someone to handle these duties, responsibilities, handle these initial assignments and overcome these obstacles -- is that correct?"  After you verify your impression and get amplification, you are in a position to hit the nail on the head with your qualifications and relevant accomplishments.  Position yourself as the solution to their problems. 

Ascertain needs, show benefits.

1. Advanced Job Search  2. Communication  3. Documents  4. Getting Interviews  5. Interviewing  6. Research  7. Miscellaneous  8. Tools