Tag: job interview tips

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Influence the Job Interview Rule No.10 Cheat the Interview

Rule No.10 Cheat the Interview

 “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
* Mae West

You don’t even have to be an expert to win job interviews you just need to come across as an expert – what is an expert anyway? It is just someone who can remember more about one subject or niche than others, so all you have to do is show you have this in-depth knowledge (don’t worry you will learn how to remember vast amounts of information later using the Memory palace technique)

If you’re passionate about the career and the industry you have chosen or you just want to pass your job interview, you need to become an Industry Expert and you can become an expert or sound like an expert in just one week. 

An industry expert will have extensive knowledge about your career sector, the leading companies in this industry and the industry jargon employers use.

7 Quick Steps to Cheat the Interview and become an Industry Expert in just One Week: 

  1. Use A Search Engine: Open a web search engine such as Google and in the search box write “Your industry name” and “Job profile” example “Web Designer Job Profile.” Once you open a Job Profile, go down to the bottom of the page, as you will find links to industry websites such as the sector skills council websites. These websites are valuable and record a large amount of information and can be used to research the industry and future job trends.
  1. Match Your Skills to Your Career: The job profile will also record the job duties, skills and qualities often required by employers. Highlight the skills and qualities you already possess and the duties you would enjoy undertaking if you were employed in this role. If you have highlighted at least 80% of these, you have found an industry that you should excel in, as the job duties already match the motivational part of your personality. While answering interview questions give examples of the skills you possess that are recorded on the job profile
  1. Set up Industry Alerts: Set up Google alerts to receive relevant daily news feed, blog articles and website updates on the industry you are interested in applying for. You need to search for the following on Google Alerts then read and quote interesting and relevant aspects during your interview.

[Insert Job Title] News

E.g. Marketing Assistant/Accounts Manager/ Graduate Internship News

 

[Insert Job Industry] Industry News

E.g. Marketing /Accountancy/ Publishing/ Hospitality and Catering Industry News

[Insert Job Industry] New Contracts and Funding

E.g. Social care/Financial Services/ Beauty/ Public Services New Contracts and Funding

  1. Twitter: Follow “Industry” tweets to receive industry news feeds, industry job adverts and updates. Set up an “Industry” list. After a while Industry twitterers will search and add to you. Use twellow to search for twitters by industry. Don’t be afraid to ask tweet questions to these people – even asking answers to potential interview questions, twitterers love to reply to tweets, they will feel flattered that you have picked them.
  1. Social Network Sites: The social network sites for businesses is growing, join 3 of these such as LinkedIn and join industry forums, discussions and join in asking questions around the industry growth and decline and learn the meaning of industry jargon. Set up your own online industry profile-this needs to be a professional, polished page.
  1. Ask Facebook: On Facebook search for “Friends” under “Co-workers”, searching for them typing in their company name. You can befriend people working in your industry and then ask them questions or ask them to complete a questionnaire or poll – social networkers are normally keen to respond to this.
  1. Network: Attend industry network events, always dress smart and be prepared to distribute your business card to other professionals. This is a great chance to update your industry information and meet industry leaders. Many job hunters establish productive links in this way and gain offers of employment or inside knowledge of when recruitment is upcoming.

With your research completed, and an increase in your industry knowledge and are now heading down the road to becoming an industry expert, to convince the interviewer of your new-found expertise you need to communicate using the interviewers secret language…

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6 Principles of Job Interview Persuasion

The Psychology of Influence is an insightful read on the principles of influencing and persuasion techniques Dr. Robert Cialdini.

This book is often quote in other books on influence, persuasion and manipulation, which shows how regarded this book is by professionals.

We have taken what Dr Cialdini researched and taught us and made it relevant to the job interview situation.

Dr Cialdini talks about the six principles of influence, we give examples of how any interviewee can use this psychology to influence their next job interview outcome.

COMMITMENT

People have a need to follow through on their commitments; we all strive for consistency and when we commit verbally or in writing to something, we often won’t want to back out of this personal commitment.

To win job offers you first need to gain the employer’s commitment, if they commit to employing you during the interview they won’t want to change their mind.

During the interview you can ask a mixture of questions while answering the employer’s questions, that subtly get the employer to commit to employing you through answering yes to each of your questions, as these yes answers build so does the employers commitment.

“Do you want to hire someone who can (add a unique selling point) example increase your sales?”

“If I could give you real evidence of how I have doubled profits in my past 2 companies, would you want me to show you how I can double your profits?”

“Imagine you hired me, and we worked really well together, increased the sales and made a bigger profit than any previous year, would you want me to teach other people to get the same results that we are getting?”

“Would you hire me, if I could bring over the customer base that I built up?”

All the questions designed to make the employer say yes, even the last question which asks “would you hire me?”

RECIPROCATION

People feel indebted to others who do/give something to them. In the interview, you can’t offer to buy the interviewer a coffee (giving gifts works well for the reciprocation rule) instead you need to give them advice or an idea that would add value to their company.

This has to be unselfish; tell them how X technology will improve production, or how X company have a contract they want to subcontract or explain how a certain sector needs X

It doesn’t matter what the gesture is, what matters is the employer will realise how valuable you are. They will first feel indebted to you because you have told them something that can help increase their profit, and secondly, the interviewer will think if you will give this gem away for free, what else will I get when I employ you?

SCARCITY

Make yourself scarce, unique or valuable. You need to think about the value you can bring to the organization, what do you possess that others don’t? How will you increase company profits? How will employing you add value to their organization? And more importantly, if they don’t employ you what will they miss out on, especially if you become the employer’s competition as an employee at a competitive company.

Once the employer realises how valuable an employee you are, let them know how employers from other competitive organizations have already offered you a position and there troubling you for an answer.

Now you are becoming scarce, the employer might miss out on recruiting you and we all want something we can’t have more. 

AUTHORITY

People listen, trust and follow experts. The more you learn about your industry the more you will sound like an expert.

With all this expertise in your head, share it with the employer, explain how this knowledge of yours will benefit the organization, how you can increase productivity, how you will win new contracts and save on overheads.

In the job interview you have to be seen as an expert in your industry, as this will increase your value, the rule is, if your an expert your worth more to the company. People believe experts and won’t always question your general statements if they believe you are an authority on the subject. 

LIKING

People find it hard to say no to people they like; people like people who are like themselves.

During the job interview, you can increase liking by finding common ground; you both enjoy the same sport, you both went to the same school, you both holidays in Greece or you are both interested in history.

To find common ground, ask friendly questions as the interviewer takes you from the reception area to the interview office, there may be signs of the employer interest in the form of photographs or books/magazines in the office.

Ask open questions about these pastimes and if the employer sounds interested in this, explain how you also enjoy this hobby. 

SOCIAL PROOF  

Most people are followers not leaders, especially when their uncertain about a course of action – to feel comfortable we will go with the crowd. In panel interviews, there will always be a leader.

During the interview make eye contact and answer everyone’s questions, but ensure you meet the values of the leader, impress this personal over all others, as in many cases they will have the last say.

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How to Ace the Job Interview

Tips to help a career professional ace the job interview

We all love a good story

When asked interview questions, don’t be tempted to answer your question as a list of achievements, as many interviewees do, use a story to sell yourself. Interviewers become bored of hearing list, while a story is intriguing and exciting, you can use a compelling story to build up suspense and make you, the main character, come out on top.

In your story highlight what you personally did to achieve a target or to complete a task. Add to the story, what others thought about you “My Manager said that I was the only one to…” use numbers and percentages to sell yourself “I had a 95% success rate…”

Sell Yourself

Why do you buy certain products? The advertisement tells you how you can benefit from buying this product; they don’t discuss the products faults. You need to use this procedure during your interview, explain how you will benefit the company and what you have to offer. Don’t discuss your faults and answer any potential negative questions with a positive answer.

When to ask questions

Many job hunters think that employers have an unwritten rule and we can only ask questions at the end of the interview – this is not true. By the end of the interview, with some questions you wanted to ask, the interview has moved on so much, that your questions can seem pointless.

Ask your questions throughout the interview, this will show you have confidence and allows the interview to turn, naturally into an employment conversation rather then a set of questions and answers.

Influence the Interviewer

Use a career coach to help you understand how body language, hand shaking, language patterns and mirroring can influence your interviewer.

You can quickly learn how to gain instant rapport with an interview and how matching body language and verbal language can make a positive impact on your interview outcome. Everything you need to know about influencing the employer is in the Secrets of Employment e-book.

Do you Job Hop or Have Gaps in Your Employment History?

Are you a job hopper? Or do you have big gaps in your employment history? Employers are more interested in how productive you are, again use a story that sells your strengths and don’t ever apologies, as this will weaken your interview answers.

What ever you have undertaken, several jobs, gap year, volunteering, education – talk about what you have learnt and achieved form this experience.

Be an Industry Expert

To give the interviewer confidence in your knowledge and ability, become an industry expert. This is good for two reasons, the first, by being an industry expert you will fully understand the industry and will be able to answer questions confidently. Second, an industry expert will know which company won the new contracts and which employers are best to work for; this will help you choice the employer you feel would suit your working personality.

Practice Makes Perfect 

Don’t struggle to answer questions, by thinking about the answers on the spot, think about the job role you are applying for; what would your duties be in this new role? What skills and qualities do you need to complete your daily task? Your interview questions will be based on these answers, from this you can predict what you will be asked and prepare your answers.

Many people use an interview coach to help them prepare for the interview and to complete mock interviews.

Think about the type of interview you have to attend and what, if any task or presentations you will have to complete. Not all interviews rely on just a one to one interview question and answer session. Learn what type of interviews you may have to attend and how to overcome interview fears.

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I can’t get an interview

Struggling to get an interview?

Many job hunters become frustrated after applying for large numbers of job advertisements, only never to receive an interview.

As a careers advisor, I would always check how the job hunter had applied for these vacancies.

As an example you may in the main, be applying for jobs using your CV, if your CV does not gain you interviews it will either be because:

  • Your CV is not targeted to the industry you are applying for
  • The CV you use is more then 2 pages, so the employer is not reading the whole of your CV
  • You have not sent a Cover Letter with your CV; in some cases, employers see this as essential, while other employers don’t.

If you’re unsure how good your CV is, have your CV reviewed for free.

If you have a good 2 page targeted CV, with the text split up by headings and bullet points and you always send an individual tailored covering letter. Basically, your CV is great and sell’s your strengths to the fullest.

If this is the case you may need to re-look at the job positions you are applying for, as some job hunters apply for jobs out of their ability.

• Are you applying for job you feel has a large salary, compared to your ability to fulfill the role?
• Do the job roles you apply for ask for skills and experiences you do not have?

It is always good to aim high and follow your dream, as I always believe everyone can achieve their goal-sometimes you first need to overcome a couple of small barriers.

If you don’t have a career goal, you can use a career coach to help you move forward.

If your job goal is set high, you need to ask yourself if you first need to apply for a vacancy a level below your career goal? And use this as a stepping stone towards your dream career.

How to check if you are applying for job at the right level.

Pick 4-5 job adverts you have applied for and highlight with a highlighter the common skills, experiences and qualifications needed for all the job adverts. you now need to be honest with yourself, you may already know you would be a dedicated worker but if the advert is asking for a certain qualification or a certain number of years experience as an essential requirement – do you have what the employers are asking for? Be honest, as we want to increase the amount of interview you receive.

If the answer is yes, you do have the essential requirements, then you need to re-look at your CV or application forms review them.

If you answered no:

You can apply for any job and hope that your other strengths will out way the criteria you do not have, but if you have already applied for a large number of similar vacancies with a good CV or application form and you do not make it through to the interview round, if you want a different result, do something different, you may now need to re-look at the positions or salary you are applying for (the higher the salary the more strict the employer will be when it comes to flexibility around the essential criteria)

Still apply for jobs in the same industry, jobs that suit your skills and abilities and use this experience to make you more employable for future industry job roles on a higher scale.

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Preparing for Interviews

Job Interview Preperation Techniques 

Before the interview you need make several preparations to ensure you make the most positive impression during the interview.

Travel.

Plan your travel, ensure you know where your interview is being held and complete a mock run; there is nothing worse than arriving late for an interview. Ensure you have set your alarm clock.

Clothing.

Plan what you are going to wear, your interviews clothes should be smart and need ironing the night before, this will give you time in the morning to relax and re-read your CV.

Always ensure you shower and shave before each interview, most of us will sweat during the interview and there is nothing more off-putting to an employer then a smelly candidate.

Practice Interviews.

Practice the interview questions and answers, think about the job you are applying for and the skills and qualities needed for this job role, the interviewer will ask questions based on these.

Re-read your CV or application form and ensure you are familiar with the information you recorded.

Ask a friend to interview you; give them a list of questions to ask you as this will help you plan timings and the delivery of your answers.

Plan questions to ask the interviewer; ask about the company, the workforce, opportunities for promotion and training.

During the Interview.

Shake hands with the interviewer and introduce yourself.

Waited until you have been asked to be seated.

Answer all questions with a detailed sentence, never give just a “Yes” or “no” answers. If you use a “yes” or “no” answers, add the reason why; “yes, because….”

Ensure all your questions mention at least one skill and quality that is needed for the job role you are applying for. You can find this information on the job advert and job specification.

Be positive with all your answers, this is not the time to be shy.

Always be polite, friendly and smile.

Have questions prepared to ask the interviewer and ask the interviewer to repeat any questions you did not understand.

Keep eye contact with the interviewer.

At the end of the interview, shake hands and thank the interviewer for their time.

After the Interview.

Take a deep breath the interview is over.

Think back to the interview, review your interview questions and answers-which questions did you answer well? Which answer need improving?

Write down any questions you didn’t expect to be asked and think of positive answers, as you may be asked this question again at your next interview.

Continue to job search until you receive a job offer in writing.