Tough Interviews in Tough Times
Is your interview game strong enough?
You did all the right things: showered, wore something nice, made sure nothing weird could appear in the background because you’re probably doing this interview over Zoom right now. Somehow, the interviewer just came out of left field with all these weird questions. You left wondering if you were dreaming. It was so horrible. You wonder if you’re ever going to find a job.
Interviewing is an imperfect process. In 2016, the Harvard Business Review published an article citing several examples of how ineffective unstructured interviews are for selecting skilled candidates because manager’s cannot separate their perception of a candidate from who the candidate actually is—even when they’re confronted with objective data like grades. I’m not sharing this with you to say all is lost because it’s not. All I’m saying is if you interviewed for a job that you’re qualified for and you weren’t selected, it doesn’t mean anything about you.
Thankfully, you can change some things about how you interview to improve your experience interviewing and improve your odds of getting the job.
Interview for Jobs That Aren’t Posted
If you’re the only candidate and catch a hiring manager at a vulnerable moment, guess what? No competition. You might not even need to interview for these jobs. I know a lot of people believe that the “hidden job market” is a mythical creature. It really isn’t. Treat your career like a constant hustle. Always have business cards at the ready. Update your LinkedIn profile. Post whatever presentations you can on there. Treat your achievements the way Mom treats your refrigerator art because you never know who’s looking. If you aren’t already familiar with how to trick out your LInkedIn profile, check-out this free resource from The New York Public Library and watch Career Coach John Crant’s terrific presentation.
Apply Early
So many of my clients wait to apply to jobs. Don’t wait. Many employers, especially during tough times, will only interview the first handful of applicants they receive unless they really miss the mark. Don’t count on that. As soon as you see something good pop up, send them a terrific cover letter and a resume that makes it clear that they need to interview you ASAP. You want to get in fast when you have the best chance of convincing them that they don’t need to look any further because they found someone terrific.
Take Control of That Interview
I know it sounds totally insane, but seriously, someone needs to control the discussion and it’s much more likely to work in your favor if you steer things the way you would like to rather than leaving it up to them. Talk about what you want to talk about.
Prepare Efficiently
Do a little research on the company. See what you can about projects they have in the works. Find out what you can about their leadership. Definitely read and make a note of their mission statement.
Reread your own resume because there’s always some weirdo who will ask you about the wording of something, and you don’t want to be caught off-guard.
Come up with about three stories about times that you improved something at a job or even a volunteer experience. Identify the problem, the action you too, and describe the results in the most tangible way possible. The common themes between these are your strengths.
Don’t Focus on the Questions
The questions are there to trip you up. Take every question as an opportunity to sell yourself. If you get the strengths and weaknesses question, make the strengths question about some great thing you just did for a previous employer (see above) and the weaknesses question about that awesome self-help book your reading about how to become an even better leader. Or, talk about a problem you used to have and how you dealt with it (Bonus points.)
If you are applying for a job where you’re relying heavily on transferrable skills and you haven’t done exactly what they’re asking you to do, remember that they’re interviewing you because you came close enough to what they want. So, you’re close enough. You can do this. They’re just trying to be tricky. Ask for some additional information about their concerns, and explain how you would meet the need and how these very similar wonderful things you’ve done in the past show exactly that.
Write Thank You Notes
Written notes are ideal, but be sure to send emails because who knows if people are getting mail right now. A lot of candidates forget to do this.
Be sure to get business cards from everyone you meet to help remember who was who.
Follow Up, Politely
If you don’t hear anything for a week, definitely call the primary contact and ask about the status of the search. Weekly follow-up calls in general are fine. Just don’t call every single day. That gets weird.
Practice!
One of the best investments you can make in your job search is a practice interview. I offer these via Zoom or VSee Messenger. We can record it and I’ll provide you with the recording so you can review it with my feedback. Contact me today or book a consultation and we’ll talk about setting that up for you.
