3 Ways to Feel More Powerful in the Job Interview

Yes job interviews are scary and no, its not just you who thinks that.

In fact job interviews are in the top ten most commons fears. But there are ways to feel more confident, to feel more powerful. By creating the feeling of internal power, increasing your job interview self esteem your interview performance will impress and show you at your best.

By creating this positive state you are more likely to sell yourself, build rapport and of course be offered more job positions.

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Create Job Interview Power #1

Interviewees feel inadequate as the compare themselves to a fake but positive perspective of the interviewer. We wrongly believe that the interviewer is this powerful god like person who has your life, your future in their hands.

We search for and find all of our own weaknesses and presume that the interviewer god will know about them. To feel more powerful you need to turn this negative technique on its head. Instead of looking for your on weaknesses, search for theirs. Look for little signs of weakness; a dirty shoe, un-ironed tie, messy desk – anything that makes them human again.

Even compare yourself to this weakened person – my shirt is smart, clean and ironed – this creates a natural aura of power within yourself

Create Job Interview Power #2

Every time you go to a party there is always one person who stands out, a person who grabs the attention of the room, a memorable individual that everyone warms to

It is this same type of person who sticks out and gets offered the job from any job interview

Whats the secret??? Stories! Yes stories.

People are emotional drawn to a story. The likable party goer will have hundreds of stories and anecdotes for any situation. They build up suspense, give a detailed description and end with a bang. By adopting this story telling tactic in the job interview you can create an authority by selling your skills, experiences and qualities through the adventure of a detailed story

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Create Job Interview Power #3

Create a conversation

Because people, generally, are scared in the job interview, they will nervously smile, answer the question in a matter of fact way (no story telling here) and prey for the job interview to end

Instead build both rapport and likability, which increase your chances of receiving a job offer, by asking questions to the job interviewer.

This answer then ask a question technique puts the interviewer on the back foot, helping you to feel more powerful. It also creates a natural conversation that will create a connection between you and the interviewer. Its this connection and gut instinct from the interviewer that will land you the job offer.

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June 15, 2015November 30, 2020

3 Steps to Successfully Sell You in the Job Interview

There is a simple process in any sales technique that increases the amount you sell to customers and this same technique can be used in the job interview.

First you need to know your customer – in our case the interviewer. Then you have to uncover their needs/wants and finally explain how the product (in the job interview you are the product) will match their needs

Rapport – Needs – Match

Step 1 Build Rapport and Get to know the Interviewer

The more you understand the interviewers personality trait, their values, work ethic, what motivates and stresses them, the way they approach task, if they are goal ordinated or problem solvers, their management style and the traits they deem important in an employee the better you can sell to them.

Check the employers linked in profile
Ask questions at the interview start to undercover their values
Listen to the language they use as this uncovers their personality and motivational traits

People like people who are like themselves. If you show that you have a similar work ethic, approach to task and motivational traits you will build instant rapport.

To build on this rapport, mirror the interviewers body language, gestures and speech as research has shown has this increases likeness.

Step 2 Uncovering the Employers Needs

Uncovering the employers needs is the key to interview success. Once you know what they require you can offer it up to them on a silver platter.

The technique to uncover their needs is simple – ask them!

At the interview start when the employer is asking opening questions to put you at ease, explaining the company vision to inspire you and as the interviewer walks you to the interview meeting room, find a suitable opportunity and ask the interviewer “what type of person they are looking to recruit”

Interviewers will happily release this information as they want to find the best match. Once know all you have to do is explain how you have these traits and skills

Step 3 A Full Platter

Your competition will sell themselves throughout the job interview.

To sell effectively you have to frame your answers by discussing the perspective the buyer (interviewer) is interested in.

Using the rule of 7, mention how you can deliver and meet their needs throughout all your interview answers, discussing your unique selling point at least 7 times during the interview.

Familiarity sells – by discussing the same successful point in a variety of ways throughout the interview the interviewer will associate this key selling point (how you meet their needs) with your interview.

December 2, 2014December 5, 2020

Becoming an Asset for Your Organization

The greatest of companies were formed by hardworking and dedicated team members. An organization is nothing without its people.

The treatment and the attitude of the employees speak volumes about the culture and ethics of the company.

These things are usually established by the company founders and year and year, the same ethics are passed down to each department and each team member. Once a certain set of rules and regulations are established and the organization has been around for a while, it can be quite difficult to make big changes.

Also, the company code of conduct cannot be implemented on other levels without it being followed religiously at the top.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree; an organization that doesn’t have its policies in place, will probably not do a great job at creating future leaders and great managers.

And great team leaders are not born; they are created. With the right amount of discipline, gratification, motivation, hand holding and discipline, the freshers of today can turn into highly successful department heads at chief executive officers of tomorrow. It is not as easy as simply doing courses in MBA; though a degree or diploma from the right institute can definitely speed up the process.

However, great organizations will not be able to sustain testing times unless they have the full commitment and dedication of their employees.

Young professionals, who only think about how they will benefit from the stint in a particular company, will probably not get too ahead in the race. Take the example of a FMCG giant.

Everyone from the research and development team to the product team to the marketing team to the branding team has to put in loads and loads of hard work for a particular product range to succeed.

It could be coming up with an anti aging cream – it takes understanding everything from the target audience’s point of view – the price point, the packaging, the application, the availability, etc. It cannot be executed by a self-centred brand manager, only concerned with his targets.

Any good company has to function smoothly like a well-oiled machine. It is a proven fact that employees that are looked after, respected and motivated perform better than the ones that are under constant stress of displeasing the superiors. On the other hand, it is also true that companies that have tried to run their operations like a family have failed miserably. The key here is obviously finding the right balance.

Team leaders and managers need to define the processes and deadlines better and the employees need to put in more of an effort in the task instead of simply getting involved at a periphery level.

A lot of new age companies are adopting the horizontal structure and choosing offices without walls and cabins.

While this type of management may suit some employees, in some cases it may just fall flat on its face. There are people who perform best in a group – they love to brainstorm and work till the wee hours with their team members and giant pizza slices.

However, some people may simply detest the idea of sitting with a bunch of people and a white board. They may be great when it comes to interacting with teams, but as far as their work goes, they may prefer to work in solitude.

When it comes to becoming indispensable to an organization, there is no one formula that makes sense across the board. Showing your enthusiasm and commitment may mean different things to different people. But hard work, dignity and the right attitude are common ingredients involved in the making of a successful person.

June 16, 2010November 20, 2020

How to Gain a Job Promotion

Job Promotion

Once you gain employment, its time to think about your next step up the career a ladder – A Job Promotion.

To be successful in your career, you need to aim high to help get away from low level jobs. We already know that the future employers in the UK will be looking for highly skilled individuals and a job promotion is one way to gain these skills.

The ideal job role is a position that challenges you (to stop you from being bored) in a job role that is inline with your values and beliefs – this helps you feel that you personally are achieving something you believe in.

How to gain a job promotion:

Personal Resources

First, look back at your career, then look where you are now. What have you achieved to gain your current position? What skills and qualities do you already possess? Which of these skills have you used to move this far forward with your career? Can any of these skills help you gain a promotion? Are there any weaknesses that you need to improve? What resources do you have around you to help you overcome these weaknesses? What else do you need to do before you gain a promotion?

We all have the resources inside us and these IAG questions will help you unlock your personal resources and the answers you need to help you gain a promotion.

Do You Want a Promotion?

Before achieving a promotion, you need to decide if a promotion is for you! What job role do you really want? Be clear; think about the duties and responsibility you are looking for. If you were promoted now how would it feel? Would you like this new role? Are you looking for a promotion up the career ladder or a side promotion to a different department? You may enjoy your current role, but would you enjoy the new role and responsibilities that will come with your promotion?

Make a Visual Action Plan

Write down your goal at the top of a piece of paper, make this big and draw a coloured star around it. Draw a thick 2 line path from the bottom of the page to the star, this can be straight or curved, add 9 horizontal lines to the path, making the path look like it has 9 large paving stones.

On these paving stones, starting with the one at the bottom at the page, write or draw the steps you need to take to reach your goal – your promotion. This is your personal promotion action plan, put as much or as little detail on as you want, the main part is having a written action plan that we can look at each day, as research will often show that we are more likely to achieve what we write down.

Let Others Know

Now you have direction and a plan to follow, you will know if you’re ready for a promotion now, or if there is something to develop before you gain a promotion. Once you are ready, let other people, including your manager, know that you are looking for a promotion. Be ready to back up why you are ready for a promotion with your knowledge, skills, attitude, determination and positive actions. In some cases you will have to convince people several times that you are ready for a promotion; take any criticism as an opportunity to learn.

Take Pride in Your Job

Some employees gain promotions quickly in any company they work for, why? Most take pride in their work, when given a task they will be positive, creative and look at how they can complete their task, and then they will check to see if anything could go wrong or be improved before completing the task.

Be your best at work-everyday! Complete all tasks, no mater how small with equal passion and enthusiasm. Believe in yourself, believe in the job role, promote passion and hard work and never give up.

Embrace a Challenge

As your manger see’s this new positive you, they may test your ability by giving you more changing task; the best way to test if someone is ready for a promotion is to see if they can complete a task that they would be given in their new role. Don’t see any additional task as a chore or more work.

Embrace the challenge, manage your work and make an effort to complete the task before the given deadline. Don’t tell others about your additional work, they don’t care! Make every effort to prove yourself, this could be the difference between gaining a promotion or not.

If you have not been asked to take on additional work, ask for it! Look at the problems your company is having, solve them and take the answer to your manager – employers like people who come with solutions not problems.

Act like you have been promoted

Start taking on some additional responsibility and tasks that you would do once you gain a promotion. Become the expert and give advice and support to others, think about your comments at meetings and how you word your e-mails; communicate like you would once you gain a promotion.

June 12, 2010November 20, 2020

Why You Need a Positive Job Identity?

How you are perceived in the workplace

In the current fast paced working environment, you can no longer rely on the concept of a job for life, even in traditional industries such as Banking and Teaching due to new technology and global competition.

Your job identity is becoming more important, as the number of job applications for every advertised job and promotion increase and the threat of redundancy looms over many industries.

Your job identity is the identity your employer and colleagues label you with; this could be positive or negative.

What is your Job Identity?

The Joker
The Worker
The Time Keeper
The Motivator
The Mood Hoover
The One Who Gets Things Done
The Helper

It is highly important to secure a positive job identity when you first start in a new company, as we all know first impressions count, it can often be hard (but not impossible) to change an employer’s first impression of you.

If you have a positive job identity, you are more likely to gain promotions and work your way up the ladder.

Job Identity by Groups

When starting a job at a new company you will often be quizzed informally by your new colleagues and line managers.

Like in a playground at school, your new colleagues are unconsciously checking if you have common working and personality traits. Often in the workplace, as in the playground groups often form.

Do you fit in with “the naughty kids”, “the moaners”, “the jokers” or “the hard workers”? That is the question!

This may be stereotyping and even prejudicial, but it is a frequent reality in most industries and companies.

You can often “be painted by the same brush” when you’re attached to a certain group, with a certain reputation-this can be positive or negative, choose your group carefully.

Individual Job Identity

Look at your workplace, who is the person who is always is always on time? Which colleague can always be counted on to put their all in to each task? Is there someone who will always drop what they’re doing to help others?

Do you have a “mood hoover” in your workplace, the person who we all try to sneak past, as we know that after five minutes in their company we’ll be convinced that the world is as bad a place to be as they tell us it is, the type of person who can suck the fun out of any task.

Both managers and colleagues can contribute to our job identities, although there may be a distinct difference in how your colleagues and manager see you in your work place.

The joker in the workplace is often loved by the workers, as the joker releases stress and is fun to be with. From a manager’s point of view, they may see the joker as a distracter who spends more time chatting to others than working.

Your job identity is given to you within a couple of months of working in one place, it’s important to ensure this identity is going to be positive. Remember your identity is rarely revealed to your face, but often discussed behind your back – especially negative identities.

Once given these are hard to change, people often play up to other’s perceptions of them, if you’re told that you’re lazy you may start to think ‘Why should I bother?’.“The joker” may feel he has to start each day by telling jokes, and “the worker” may take on too much.

Widening Your Reputation

Your reputation or job identity travels far through formal and more inconspicuous channels as your reputation can quickly pass through your company and even infiltrate other organisations.

You need to consider how you project your work identity in order to understand which of these descriptions your manager would use to describe you:

Candidate 1 “I will give this to X, she can always be relied on.”

Candidate 2 “No, don’t ask X, he spends too much time chatting-we have a short deadline.”

This job identity can be the difference between you moving forward in your career and feeling stuck in a job role that you start to resent.

Starting Your Positive Job Identity

At the beginning of a new role you will encounter a lot of new faces as well as a barrage of questions from colleagues, showing a healthy interest in the new recruit.

At the start it is advisable to keep your answers very general so that you have the opportunity to get to know the company’s ethos and practice as well as your new colleagues’ and manager’s personalities.

Once you know the office politics you are in a better position to word your answers and to give your own opinion to ensure the reinforcement of your positive identity. You have already tackled the job interview with success so it can be assumed that your new employer felt confident that you would fit in well with the current workforce and the company image.

If you discover that you don’t like the company’s work ethics or work politics, you will need to start your job hunting again to find an organisation in line with your working practice ideals.

8 Ways to Increase a Positive Job Identity in the Workplace

Start by building Rapport

People gravitate towards those who are like them, and everyone can find common ground with another person. Fi nd out what your common ground is and use it as an icebreaker.
By spending time each day asking people about their lives, enquiring about their children, partners, holidays for example, will show others that you are interested in them as a person and not just their value in the workplace.
Listen intently when others are talking, reassuring through positive body language, nodding and reassuring that you are interested. Don’t interrupt and at the end ask questions

Be an Expert

People follow authority and experts- you should start by sharing your job expertise. Don’t be embarrassed; people won’t know about your strengths, skills and experiences until you tell them!
Know what you want to achieve and let others know. Don’t cover your goal in cotton wool, don’t add pleasantries “I hope this is OK with you” as this can sometime make the message unclear.
You need others to see the benefits and possibilities of your ideas and experiences, so be truthful, and if something has not worked tell them and back this up with what you have learnt from the mistake, this will show you as knowledgeable and that you won’t give up.

Do You Want to be Respected or Popular?

One of the most critical mistakes colleagues make at work is the pursuit of popularity rather than respect. In a new job we are concerned with how others see us and can easily dwell on this.
Respected employees rather than popular employees will make you more influential and more likely to gain a job promotion. Body language will often give you away unconsciously if you are looking for popularity rather than respect.
Avoid feeling pressured to agree with others, instead give your personal opinion using calm and relaxed voice – also smile as this helps others feel you are being helpful rather than just being negative.

Listen to Others

We all have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we talk.
Write down people’s names and remember their face, so next time you met you can address them by their name, helping to increase rapport.
Good listeners gain good reputations- When unsure what someone has said you should feel confident to ask them to repeat themselves.

Be Helpful

Be helpful to your colleagues with work and general tasks, invite people out for lunch, hold open doors, if you help people, then they will feel more compelled to help you.
When giving suggestions and presenting ideas, explain considering others vantage point, selling what they will get out of it personally not just the benefits to yourself or the company. Plan your timing.
Don’t interrupt when someone is busy or when they have other things on their mind, as they will not listen fully to what you are saying, in many situations you need to ensure your first conversation gets through.

Don’t Seek Out Recognition

When you have a great idea, especially when you have a brainwave during a meeting, don’t seek out recognition, allow time for it to find you.
Don’t get carried away with the pursuit of praise or too excited in highlighting to your manager the creative ideas you have thought up. You need to step back and dissociate yourself from your feelings, leaving your mind free to listen to the details of other colleague’s comments; otherwise you may miss valuable suggestions and your reputation may become one who does not care about other people’s ideas.

Show the Way to your Colleagues

When you have a great idea, you may need to get others to come along with you. To do this you need to explain what they will gain from your idea and what they could lose if they miss out
Give people clues, show people the way, prompt them and let them work out how your suggestion will work out, they will feel that they are part of the idea and will start to back you up-you will start to gain a reputation as a team member.
Don’t be too forceful as this will only work for a small period of time until people start to resent you. People like to feel they have contributed to what they are doing.