« Key 2: Diagnose declines. (Or, Why You Didn’t Get the Job.) — Part 1
Key 3: Give in to Desperation—But for Five Seconds Only. »

Diagnose declines. (Or, Why You Didn’t Get the Job.) — Part 2

May 25, 2010 | Author: Allyn Horne | Filed under: The Networking Habit

Last time, we shared four common reasons why people lose out on jobs. In this post, we’ll cover five more potential offenses—as well as how you can avoid them in your next interview.

  1. You didn’t transfer your past skills to the opportunity at hand. Whereas trap number four above refers to speaking about yourself in terms of numbers, results and quantifiable achievements, this common interview and resume error refers more to soft skills, such as your customer-centric focus, writing skills, leadership skills, project management know-how. It also refers to the personal qualities that define you: independent, can-do attitude, flexible, big-picture thinker. Your resume and cover letter may already illustrate how your skills and attributes will transfer to the new opportunity, but be sure to bring the matches to the attention of the interviewer as well. If you haven’t yet done the work of culling your skills and matching them to job opportunities, then do so before your next interview. Create a chart with two columns: 1) qualities required by the job and 2) how you exhibited those qualities in earlier positions. While it makes the most sense to do this work in advance of applying for a job—and to illustrate the match clearly in your cover letter and resume—at the very least you should be able to speak to the match during your interview.
  2. You tried to show that you’re good at everything, but instead left the impression that you excel at nothing. It’s surprisingly easy to fall into this trap in an interview, particularly if you allow an interviewer to do all the talking or to ask all the questions. What happens is that the interviewer says, “This position requires that you do x. What do you feel about that?” You reply, “Oh yes, I’m very good at x!” Eventually, the conversation becomes nothing more than a “yes” session, with you enthusiastically agreeing to everything the interviewer says. Be sure to turn the focus to what you do really well, your uniqueness, what makes you different, and, more important, how those differences will help to deliver the results the company wants.

  3. You tried to wing it. Forgive the cliché, but practice really does make perfect for any performance; and a job interview is just that—a performance. If you found yourself nervous, stuttering, and unsure of how to answer questions, give yourself the benefit of a few practice runs before your next interview arrives. First, locate and print out one or two lists of potential interview questions. Then, ask a trusted colleague or mentor to help you by posing as the interviewer. If you own ore or can borrow a video recorder, record the session so you can review your posture and correct fidgeting problems you might not know about. Rinse and repeat, practicing the interview until you feel comfortable and fast-enough on your feet to give comprehensible, smart answers that display your skills, talents, and attributes.

  4. You dressed inappropriately or neglected your personal hygiene. If you’re unsure about how to dress for the interview, don’t be afraid to ask while you’re making the appointment. Many companies follow more casual dress codes these days, so nice slacks, dress shoes and a jacket might suffice over the full-blown suit, which may, despite its traditional nature, turn some interviewers off. If you forget to ask, then it’s best to follow the traditional route and overdress rather than to under-dress and risk offending. Other advice: men, come with a neat, professional haircut. Be freshly shaven, using no more than a light spritz of aftershave, if any at all. Limit jewelry to a few tasteful pieces. Women: the same—go light on the perfume, if you wear it at all; limit your jewelry to a few conservative pieces; neatly prep your hair and trim your nails. One study shows that you’ve only got 1/10 of a second to make a first impression—so make yours count.

  5. You didn’t follow-up appropriately and persuasively. Another recent post on the UpMo blog speaks exclusively to the strategy and tactics of executing an interview follow-up plan. The decision process is LONG today, which makes ongoing follow-up a necessity. Your goal is not to bug the hiring manager, but to follow-up consistently and frequently. You might, after your first follow-up, reply with a message or letter that says, “Thank you for your reply. I’ll check back with you in another week [or whatever is an appropriate timeline based on the situation] to see if there’s been any change or if you need further information.” Use these repeat follow-ups to again express interest and desire. If you’re not already, follow the company or your potential new department in the news so you can interject comments into your follow-up messages that show your sincere interest.

Share/Save/Bookmark

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 and is filed under The Networking Habit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

xygoxen

No comments yet.

feel free to leave a comment

Comment Guidelines: Basic XHTML is allowed (a href, strong, em, code). All line breaks and paragraphs are automatically generated. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Email addresses will never be published. Keep it PG-13 people!

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

All fields marked with " * " are required.