Seven Steps to Successful Interviewing

Seven Steps to Successful Interviewing

Interviewing is about selling! In this case, the product you are selling is YOU! As with the selling of any new product, you need a plan and a strategy to get people to buy your product.

Preparation will make the difference in the success of your sale.

1. Before the Interview - Preparation: Get it together.

Organize: Prepare a "job hunting method" for yourself – a binder, a box, a card file, a database.

Tools: An excellent attention-grabbing resume, a template cover letter, a reference list (be sure to ask permission, as well as how they would like to be contacted), a professional message on an answering machine or service.

Image: Good grooming, Personal hygiene, Look professional.

Homework: Research is essential, check out the company, the industry, and the position – the future outlook, check out salary norms for your position/skills/background - "your worth."

2. Before the Interview - Preparation: Inventory

Assessing your skills: List the skills you have that are appropriate to the position.

Scripting – The words to use: Writing out scripts before the interview will greatly assist you in being focused.

3. Before the Interview - Preparation: Practice

Observe your feelings while listening to your answers.

Are you coming across the way you intend?

If role-playing, how are you being perceived through someone else's eyes?

4. During the Interview - Confidence: The Sale

It's not unusual to feel nervous before and even during the interview. We fear rejection; we feel we are being judged; we feel inadequate for not knowing the answers. The best way to deal with these feelings is to change your thinking about the process. Begin to think of the interview as a two-way process.

Listening: When you concentrate only on the questions you miss an opportunity to gather valuable information and, to impress the interviewer in a way few people do. When you ask questions about what is said and asked during the interview, you show the interviewer that you have been listening to what was said and are interested in more information.

5. During the Interview - Confidence: The Questions

Dreaded Questions: Why did you leave/are you leaving your last position? (Script the answer before the interview)

Why did you choose this job/company/industry/?(Research will get you through this question)

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? (Stay positive –focus on something you are improving)

What do you know about this company? (The Intranet is your source for the best information)

Why do you feel qualified for this job? (Assess your skills – summarize what you have to offer)

What has been your most significant achievement? (Tell a success story – “been there and done that”)

How would your last boss/colleagues describe you? (Assess your skills - read through your past performance reviews)

Why should we hire you? (A summary of your past experience, skills, and what you bring to the job)

Do you have any questions? (Yes, I do - and they are great ones!)

Asking Questions – Your turn:Depending on the interviewer's style, you will have an opportunity before or during the interview to ask questions. Timing of your questions is key here. The first round of interviewing is usually about discovery; learning about the job and the company and not the benefits or vacation policy. Good questions to ask in the first round are about the job content and the company’s culture.

6. During the Interview - Confidence: The Answers

Your answers should demonstrate the skills you want the interviewer to know about you.

Your answers should indicate that you have had similar experiences and proven successes at past jobs.

Your answers should give specific examples of your previous work or education, as proof that you have "been there and done that."

7. After the Interview – The Close: The Follow Up

Never assume that the interviewer remembers everything you said or has an accurate picture of who you are.

Thank you for the time taken.

Express your interest in the job

List the reasons you know you are a "great" fit for the job

Address any concerns you picked up during the interview

Offer ideas or thoughts you have on how you could bring added value, or solutions, to the position.

Let them know you are ready and eager to begin a part of the team

Ask, "When can I start?" (This comment will depend on your style, situation, and the personalities involved. It is an aggressive close.)

8. Summary

As with any new skill, the best way to achieve success is to prepare and practice, practice, and practice some more.