Rehearsal

Actors rehearse. Football players rehearse. Golfers rehearse. Great musicians rehearse.

 

Ask any talented professional listed above and they will tell you that they rehearse. A lot. Some for several hours a day, often in grueling conditions. Also, most of these professional take rehearsal very seriously. Most of these folks practice for hours in preparation for just one potential opportunity.

 

What if your favorite band no longer rehearsed? Imagine  that this band was coming to town. You paid dearly for tickets-months in advance. All the while, they were not rehearsing. Then, the night of the concert, they just showed up, got dressed and walked out onto the stage. They hadn't rehearsed and it was painfully obvious. How would you feel?

 

Rehearsal = Rock Stars

 

 

As a hiring manager, I can tell you I have been disappointed in the past by candidates who looked great, were educated, experienced, and had impressive resumes. It became clear after two or three basic questions, that they did not rehearse. That lack of rehearsal cost them a second interview and sometimes an opportunity. It was clear, they just got dressed and showed up.

 

Some will argue that raw talent is more important than rehearsal, but for those of us who were not gifted with such raw talent, we must rehearse. Most candidates fail to rehearse for their upcoming interview. They too think they can just get dressed and show up. But, that's great news for you as rehearsal can become the great equalizer. A skilled interviewer can trump the accomplishments of those who don't invest in rehearsal.

 

If we know that rehearsal can make us better, less nervous, and more confident, then it seems perfectly logical to rehearse our job interviews. A mock interview can provide an invaluable rehearsal and critical feedback.

 

Did you rehearse before your last job interview?

 

 

 

 

Interview Tutor

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Sometimes, you don't know what you don't know...

I know, that title is confusing. But, what I am trying to say, is that many job seeker suffer from over confidence. Sometimes, you don't even know what you don't know. It's no fault of yours for not knowing. Many times, through experience you learn things. Other times through formal education or reading you learn. Learning how to interview can be hard and expensive (in the sense of the jobs that you don't get).

 

The entire interview process is cluttered with unknowns. Rarely do you get any honest feedback from a job interview. So if you have a fatal flaw in your interview style, you could go through your entire professional life wondering why you get offered so few opportunities.

Tower Power

 

Case in point; my most recent client has 3 college degrees. He has 5 years of professional experience. He is likeable, well spoken, and hard-working. His cover letter is well written. His resume is nicely put together and his LinkedIn page is far better than most. BUT, after over 20 interviews within the last 12 months, he has not been offered a permanent opportunity!

 

So, why is this candidate not getting hired? On paper, he looked great!

After the mock interview, it became clear.  He did not know some very important things:



 

1.) You must craft your "You Statement" and be ready to deliver it.

 

2.) You must sell to the position.

 

3.) You must research the company.

 

 

As evidenced by this client, if you don't do these three things with passion, you will consistently be overlooked, regardless of your qualifications, education, and experience. Once again, this client, like many, truly didn't know these things. Hence the true value of a mock interview with open and honest feedback.

 

 

 

Interview Tutor

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508.365.0077

www.interview-tutor.com

 

 

 

Help! How do I address my age during my job interview?

I recently had a conversation with a job seeker that is 63 years old. He has no trouble getting interviews, but he has gone 6 months without a solid job offer!  He thinks the problem may be his age. He is concerned that he is being eliminated from consideration because he is an older candidate.

He asked me, "How do I address my age?"

Here is my recommended strategy: Be pro-active, and don't let the hiring manager make assumptions about things they can't ask you about.

Here are four things that the hiring manager's is thinking while he interviews an older candidate:

-How old are you?

-How is your health?

-How much longer do you want to be in the workforce?

-Do you understand and use technology effectively?

 

So, the hiring manager is thinking these thoughts, but he can't ask. So, I recommend you address these concerns up-front and honestly, before you let him or her form their own opinions.If you address each one of these, your odds improve significantly.

 



Better with age



For example, you could say something like this; "You may be wondering how old I am and just how long I plan to stay in the work force, that's a legitimate concern. Well, I'm 63 years old, I have over 40 years of experience, and plan to stay in the workforce as long as I can. I enjoy the challenges of working and have no intent of retiring soon. I am in good health and stay active. Also,  I embrace and use recent technologies."

 

Stress your experience. There is NO substitute for experience.

 

Plus, here are four qualities that most older job candidates posses that you should be aware of and weave into your job interview:

 

1. You have true people skills. You can communicate effectively face-to-face, most youngsters really  struggle with this.

 

2. You have decades of experience. This can't be taught in college.

 

3. You have wisdom. In all of your time in the workforce, you have forgotten more than most know.

 

4. You have a track record (hopefully a successful one), not just a degree and potential.

 

 

 

Interview Tutor

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508.365.0077

 

3 Things you MUST take to your next job interview

A college senior recently asked me  "What should I bring with me to my job interview?" Great question, I thought. Here is my short list of things that I would recommend that you bring. These three things may seem obvious, but during my time as a hiring manager, they were often not obvious to many candidates. 

1. A copy of your resume. (heck, bring 3 copies)

A major mistake that many candidates make is forgetting to bring a resume with them to the interview. As a hiring manager, you may interview several candidates per day, receive several resumes per day, and have countless applications. As such, the interviewer may not have your resume. Or, he most likely has it - but really wants to see just how prepared you are. (Also, be sure to review your resume the day of your interview. You can bet your 1st paycheck that they will have questions about your resume.) 

 

2. A pen.

 

Sounds easy right?

 

Bring a pen.

 

I can't tell you how many candidates show up to an interview without a pen. Often times, you may be asked to complete an application. Don't be the guy or gal that asks for a pen to complete the application. 

 

3. A list of your references.

 

You may also be asked to supply some references during the interview process. Be prepared with a list of your references that you can easily hand over to the hiring manager if asked. This looks impressive.

 

 

These 3 things can all fit into a nice leather bound portfolio. Before your next job interview, make sure you put these three things into your portfolio.

I'd love to hear from you. Did I forget anything that you would take?

 

 

Interview Tutor

Professional Career Services

508.365.0077

www.interview-tutor.com

 

Want to be happier? A better interview can help.

Your career is an epic journey. For most of us, it will last many decades and it will naturally just take some time to advance. One position  typically leads to the next better one. The position after that one should be even better yet. At some point, as you climb the ladder of success, you become happier. You become more confident. More experienced, respected, and knowledgeable. You become more satisfied and fulfilled with your daily responsibilities (and your pay should also improve). This creates a happier you.

 

If you are reading this and currently in your first job, rarely will this be your first and only job. For the rest of us, you know the twists and turns that your career can take with the ending and beginnings of different positions.

Curves in your career?

 

 

 

When taken in that context, the position you don't get now can affect you for years!


From my experiences as a hiring manager, most hiring decisions came down to very small differences between candidates. It was rare when interviewing for a specific position, that one candidate was far superior to the others. Most hiring decisions were very difficult and came down to the smallest of details.

Why is this important to know? 

Even the smallest improvement in your interview skills can mean the difference between a life changing opportunity and a rejection letter.

 

A typical hiring manager interviews 6 to 8 candidates for every open position.

 

Why?

 

One reason is that they really hope to find the perfect candidate. But the truth is that the perfect candidate is a rare find.

 

Why ?

 

Most candidates don't interview that well and as such they never represent themselves as the perfect candidate. They get nervous, don't work on their interview skills, and have trouble articulating. 

  

It is very difficult to hire a candidate that doesn't interview well, regardless of his or her qualifications. Trust me, it would save so much time and company resources to interview just half of the candidates that compete for the open position.

 

So, how does this relate to your happy place? One way is to become better prepared for your next interview. Over the course of a professional career, you will be given incredible opportunities. Many times, what stands between you and an incredible promotion, an exciting new job, or that coveted internship is THE INTERVIEW. 

 

Have you done everything possible to maximize your next interview?

 

If so, you will be soon be happier!  

 

 

Do you have any questions for me?

The job interview process should really be viewed as a two-way street. The employee is looking for the perfect candidate and the candidate is looking for the perfect position. Often times candidates forget this. They get excited about the prospect of a new position, an new company, a change of scenery. Also, some candidates really need any job, due to personal situations. But, the experienced and discerning candidate will be best served in the long-run to truly consider the job interview process as an opportunity to be critical of the potential employee as well.

Questions?

Make no mistake, this is not easy. You are nervous. You are excited. You are thrilled that someone wants you! When the person on the other side of the table says "do you have any questions for me?",  this is really the time to relax, think, question, listen, and reflect on what you have heard and saw.

 

Relax. Take a deep breath and realize that if you have made it this far, they are truly interested in you and what you can bring to the organization. Thus, if they are interested, others must be interested as well. This is not the only opportunity in town. Also, several well thought out questions are impressive to most hiring managers.

 

Think. Think about what type of company and leadership you want to work for. Think about the things that frustrate you. Think about the things that excite you. Think about the things that you desire at your workplace. This is serious business. Most likely you will spend 40+ hours per week at this company, not to mention your commute! Life is too short to spend it with the wrong company or leadership. Think about what questions you want to ask. Write them down, take them with you, and ask.

 

Question. There are any number of questions that you could ask. If you are experienced, you may want formulate your questions to reflect your concerns and frustrations from previous situations. Recently, I asked an experienced health care professional for some potential questions that she would ask at her new job interview, given her recent experiences.

 

-How do you motivate your employees?

 

-How do you communicate with your staff?

 

-How do you reward performance?

 

-How do you team-build?

 

-How often will I receive performance reviews?

 

-What will I learn here?

 

-How long have you been with the company?

 

-Can I talk to some of your staff?

 

 

Listen. As your questions get answered, listen. Really listen. If you have your questions written down, you can truly listen and not worry about your next question. Listen for any answers that seem to present a red flag.

 

You must be aware that no one place is perfect. Every place that you will ever work will have its challenges. But if you are truly viewing the interview process as a way for you to interview prospective organizations, you must listen and consider the answers you hear. 

 

Reflective

Reflect. After the interview and you have had some time to de-compress, reflect on the answers to your questions. Also, reflect on the body language and tone. Was the hiring manager open and honest? Did the hiring manager struggle to answer? Did he or she seem sincere? Did they get annoyed at your line of questioning?

 

Do yourself a favor and critically reflect upon the answers that you received.

 

 

 

P.S. Interview Tutor gift certificates make great gifts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Interview Tutor

Professional Career Services

508.365.0077

www.interview-tutor.com

Guest Blogger - Dan's telephone interview

In this weeks blog, one of my friends (we'll call him Dan) writes about his experience during recent telephone interview. Dan is an experienced sales professional that has discovered an opportunity though a professional friend. Here is his post:

 

The call started out by being 5 minutes late. It was scheduled for 11:30 and by 11:34 I was really beginning to get anxious. However, at 11:35 the phone rang and the phone interview began. After some brief small talk her first question was;

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

 

Why do you want to leave your current position?

 

I was still overly nervous at this point. The 5 minute wait seemed like an hour. I couldn't  help but wonder if she made me wait on purpose. Regardless, I think I did OK with this question. I was careful not to trash my current employer but also made slight mentions of my current frustrations, stated that I know that no place is perfect, and said I am always interested in new opportunities when they arise. I also told her that I was aware of her company and the special markets they serve and the way that they have differentiated themselves. I tried to keep my answer short and sweet as she had told me that she would only need 20 minutes of my time.

 

 

She then spent several minutes telling me about her company, the employees, and the open positions. I was so nervous that I really wasn't listening.

 

Then the questions got more pointed.

 

Do you hold a quota? (they must have a quota system)

 

Tell me about cold calling? (they must want me to cold call)

 

Do you like to travel? (they will want me to travel some)

 

Have you established a territory before? (they want me to establish a territory)

 

Have you done any transactional selling before? (they will want me to do some of this)

After I thought about the above 5 questions, it was clear to me that they will have sales quotas, will want me to cold call, travel, and establish a territory while doing some transactional selling. That was fine. That was what I was expecting from this job but now I was wondering what type of response she was really looking for. My answers were mostly positive and honest. I told her that I have worked with quotas, I know that cold calling is essential, don't mind some travel, have established territories before and had done some transactional selling at a previous position. I was beginning to calm down some and gain some confidence with some questions that I was prepared for.

 

What sort of metrics do you measure yourself by now? I told her about how I am measured at my current position. I'm not sure what sort of answer she was looking for.

 

How many salesmen are at your company now? I answered truthfully and was not sure why she asked this question.

She then asked me if I had any questions. I asked her a few specific questions about my potential market, leads, and company performance and she could not really answer them. She deferred and said that those would be better questions to be asked at the next interview, if invited. She made no mention of compensation and nor did I.

 

I assume that I must have done OK as she is to send a survey. I am to complete the survey, return it, and wait.