 |

THE
CAREER DOCTOR
TEACHING
YOURSELF VITAL LESSONS
IN
SELF-PROMOTION
|
 |
If
you've got the qualification and the right attitude but
it's all going wrong, there may be other reasons why you're
not succeeding at interviews, says ROWAN MANAHAN
I'M
well-qualified. I have great experience.
I'm
a hard worker. I'm even a nice person.
WHY
WON'T ANYONE HIRE ME?
|
I hear this kind of complaint
on a regular basis. Chances are, you are probably doing
one or two simple things wrong at interviews. The process
of hiring is called screening and selection. This
is a misnomer. It should be called screening and elimination.
Suppose there are one
hundred applicants for a single position, ninety of whom
are screened out at the CV stage. For the remaining ten,
do you suppose that the interviewer(s) is looking to find
out the absolute best points of each candidate or the
chinks in their armour? Which takes less time? Which is
easier? Which is cheaper?
The old cliché
tells us that if you've got the interview, you've got
the job. That should be true, but never lose sight of
the fact that the interview is all about identifying which
of these 'possibles' is the real thing. There's a world
of difference between the candidate who sounds good and
the candidate who is good and sound ....
Herewith, my all-time
list of things to do if you absolutely don't want the
job:
 |
Turn up late, sweating
and out of breath, because you didn't bother to
scout out the building and you couldn't find a parking
space. |
 |
Dress inappropriately,
because you don't care about the impression you
make on your own, or anyone else's behalf. |
 |
Dont
listen to the questions asked and prattle on nervously,
laughing at your own hilarious jokes and regaling
the interviewer with a stream of irrelevant anecdotes
and examples. |
 |
If that doesn't work,
try answering with monosyllabic grunts and hostile
stares. |
 |
Tell the interviewer
how he/she should be running the business and how
you're going to change everything when you
are in charge. |
 |
Admit to perfectionism
or overworking when asked about your weaknesses. |
 |
Contradict yourself
as the interview progresses, because you can't remember
which lie you told to whom and in response to which
question .... or better yet, claim credit for significant
achievements on your CV and then be completely unable
to supply any detail as to how you accomplished
these feats. |
 |
Reveal that you have
applied for loads of jobs in the last year,
because your current job is a bore and you can't
wait to get out of 'that rotten company.' |
 |
Ask trite, naïve,
self-serving questions at the end of the interview
because you havent researched the industry
or the job and youre only really applying
because you want a bit more drinking money. |
If you are not dropping
this sort of obvious clanger but you are not succeeding
at interview after interview, it's time to swallow some
humble pie and start learning from your mistakes. Under
the Freedom of Information Act, you are entitled to seek
feedback on your performance at interview.
In the private sector,
companies tend not to give particularly useful feedback,
typically responding with some statement to the effect
that there was a 'more suitable', 'better qualified' or
'more experienced' candidate. Fine. Ask them what YOU
could have done better. Harass them nicely. Send them
a check-list by e-mail and ask them to take a few moments
to HELP you! Wait a month and send a congratulation card
to the successful candidate. Then invite him/her to lunch
and pick his/her brains. Don't give up. DIG until you
learn something that allows you to improve your approach.
With the roll-out of
the Strategic Management Initiative in the public sector,
you are now entitled to fairly concrete feedback on your
performance at interview, specifically on areas in which
you were perceived as being weak. You are also entitled
to a transcript of the questions asked, the notes taken
and scores assigned to each of your answers. If psychometric
or other testing is used as part of the selection process,
you are entitled to see the results and receive an explanation
of what those results mean.
New
Vocabulary
You use an alien language in the selection
process, a vocabulary that you have no occasion to call
upon outside of a professional interview. This is called
'The Vocabulary of Self Promotion.' (It's the kind
of self-laudatory phrasing that would get you a clip on
the ear from your mother if you used it in her presence,
no matter what age you are).
An interview is an exercise
in public speaking and as such, it merits a great deal
of rehearsal. If you don't have good, honest answers to
these old chestnuts, then you are in trouble before you
begin:
Use a Dictaphone and
practise your answers to the stock interview questions
over and over. Better yet, use a video camera and watch
and listen to yourself. Get feedback from your friends
and family.
If you are consistently
failing at interviews, you are probably doing something
very basic very badly. A blind spot, by definition, is
something that you can't see in yourself. Your friends
and family may not notice it either. Or may be too polite
to tell you. Or you might not be listening to what they
are telling you. The information is there. Have the courage
to look for it.
"No
one can make you feel inferior without your
consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt
|
Rowan Manahan is Managing
Director of Fortify
Services, a Dublin-based outplacement and career management
firm.
Original article here.