The Job Interview

Here is a list of skills you will learn and develop with the Job Interview skillset:

• Opening the interview with your prepared Verbal Resume, or 90-Second Capsule, as your answer to the question: “Tell me about yourself,” which usually kicks off the job interview
• Distinguishing yourself with accomplishments, which is the best way to impress the hiring manager
• Showing up prepared; demonstrating your understanding of the job in question, having researched the industry, the company, and its mission
• Showing the relationship or connection between the job responsibilities listed in the ad and your experience
• Demonstrating your three key strengths, as they apply to the job

All your preparation, and the development of all the skillsets needed in your job hunting plan come down to this critical skillset: the Job Interview.

You have sorted through your career options and perhaps considered new ones that were not known to you when you began your quest.  You have prepared the most effective written and verbal resumes, researched the company, industry, competition, and their strategy for growth and sustainability, and you have now been called to take part in a job interview.

At this point you have been selected as a qualified candidate among a group of 3-5 other highly qualified people.  The challenge is to distinguish yourself as the best person to fill the open position.  This is where practice pays off!  Practice presenting your experience, your flexibility, and your accomplishments, along with examples of your character.

Remember: Using your three key strengths in the written and verbal resumes has helped set you apart from the other candidates.  Expressing them during the interview plays a major role in landing the job.

Your first key strength is your ability to demonstrate an understanding of the big picture – how the work you do enhances and supports the goals of the work group and the company.  This includes your ability to connect the dots and see what is beyond your plate – how you view and understand the work processes, as well as the work groups and their relationship to the new or open position.

Your second key strength is your experience and ability to create effective working relationships.  Describe where you have succeeded in collaborating and adjusting to change, or took part in team projects, or individual assignments that required working with others, including crossing functional lines.

Your third key strength, your work ethics, is focused on persistence and consistency in achieving and supporting results, improving processes, crossing the finish line, demonstrating flexibility, meeting your objectives, and embracing change.

The Job Interview represents the final test of your preparation.

Look for more tips and strategies regarding the Job Interview in my Source Blog and my upcoming book, Job Hunting – Launching to Landing