Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Page 459

Secret Job Interview Guidelines for Success

Like every other human endeavor, the act of interviewing for a job has job interview guidelines that will result in a more successful job interview process than just trying to "play it by ear." These guidelines have been developed over the decades that candidates have gone into interviewer's offices and attempted to sell themselves for specific jobs. As a general rule, the guideline to all guidelines is that the candidate should be what the interviewer is looking for. Though that may seem self-explanatory, you would be surprised how many interview candidates either do not know this guideline, do not accept it or do not do all the things that it suggests are necessary follow it.
For instance if the job interview guideline is to be what the candidate is looking for, then the first step of every job interview preparation should be to learn what the interviewer is looking for. How many job searchers truly follow this guideline? Sure, some may look over the job description, may research the company and my talk about the position with people who they believe have some good inside information, but how many truly make it their business to learn what the target job does on a daily basis, what results the target job should produce for the company, and what characteristics the interviewer is looking for? Very few. The second piece of the guideline is equally ignored by many job seekers.

More Amazing Job Interview Guidelines

If the number one job interview guideline is to portray yourself as what the interviewer is looking for and the first step is to find out what that is, then the second step is to formulate a way to portray yourself as that. What that requires is a conscious and strategic method for taking the preferences of the job and matching them with a convincing argument that you meet those preferences. An effective way to do this is to compile some stories, examples and narratives that support your candidacy and to have them prepared and in your mind ready to tell when the element or attribute comes up in the job interview.

The last piece of the job interview guideline is to become extremely practiced and proficient in telling your story to the interviewer. When the question is asked in the interview, you can't spend time and energy putting your answer together in your head right then. That shows the interviewer that you are actively trying to portray yourself as something, and that you possibly are not that something at all. All your developed and effective answers need to come naturally and organically from you in the interview itself. The only way to make that happen is to become completely comfortable and at ease through practice and review. Get together with a friend or job search partner and conduct a mock interview or two until answering questions with strategically developed stories comes naturally to you. If you have access to a video camera, record it for evaluation afterwards.

Keyword: job interview guidelines

No comments: