Are you getting ready for a job interview?
Start, interview coach Laura DeCarlo recommends, by “putting yourself in the shoes of an employer and think what they would want to hear.”
Mostly, career counsellor Leenie Glickman adds, “think about what they would want to hire.”
“Prepare by writing down what traits and skills they would looking for,” the Boston-based counsellor says. “Then it’s almost irrelevant what they ask you, you already know what you want to tell them.”
A command of the conversation won’t only put your interviewers at ease — which, DeCarlo says, is your first task in your new job.
“As a job seeker, yes, you have a lot fear, but in reality, it’s just dress rehearsal,” she continues. “If you get it wrong, you can always keep applying, keep learning, but an employer has a whole lot at risk when they’re interviewing job seekers. They can be very insecure.”
They can also be dismally unprepared, she adds.
“There are a variety of unprepared interview types,” she says. “They range from the leads-the-interview-astray-talking-about-wife-and-kids interviewer to the interviewer is so shy and quiet that you’re going to have a stilted interview if you’re not outgoing and personable.”
If you find yourself locked in an inquisition with a manager like that, be ready to manage your talk time like a chess player slapping the clock, Glickman suggests. Studies show a jobseeker should speak about 20 per cent of the time during their first round interview.
“The best interviews are the ones where it’s interactive,” she notes. “They ask you a question, you give them the answer, you come back with a question. It feels conversational.”
Just Google ‘Em
It’s a 21st-century given that your job interviewer is going to Google you – and probably gawk at all those Facebook photos you left online.
But the web’s translucent curtain goes both ways. Take advantage.
“All these companies have LinkedIn groups,” Glickman points out “Use LinkedIn’s advance search functions. Search for people who work at that company. Find out more about them.”
