Carl Bradford

Posts Tagged ‘Interviewing Preparation’

There are several indicators that point to the fact the worst of the economic recession we’ve been in is over.

This will eventually lead to more jobs, but there is also an interesting phenomenon that will be a part of the improving job market.

Something Unexpected

When most people discuss the job market, they usually focus on the unemployed being able to secure one of the new job opportunities.  However, there is another dynamic that will impact the filling of new jobs.

That is the competition for these new jobs the unemployed will have with the currently employed.  Recent surveys show that a “pent up demand” to make a job change exists within the employed ranks.  That is a natural occurrence when employees, who are dissatisfied with their job, are unable to make a job change.

This reluctance is a factor of not only the limited number of job opportunities the employed have to choose from, but also the fear created by the weak job market.  The weak job market causes the employed to remain in “a safe harbor” or continue remain in their “port during the storm”.

That means of course that when an employed person leaves, their job will also become available, perhaps to a currently unemployed person.

But, that also means there will be excessive “market churn” in the short term until the job market settles down to a more normal rhythm.

Recruiting Staff Complications

Employers are also short on the number of recruiters because many of them have been laid off or have left the profession altogether.  Expect the turmoil of getting through the job application and interviewing process to be complicated because of that.

A sign of all of this is the number of available recruiting related jobs now vacant and the efforts underway to fill them.  Yesterday, August 27, I saw a report that indicated over 108,000 recruiting department jobs at all levels are open by employers who need to shore up their recruiting staff.

This will be interesting to watch, but most of all a welcome relief to many as this process begins unfolding.

This might be your story.

You’ve sent out dozens of resumes in pursuit of that next job.  The phone call or email you’ve been waiting for suddenly comes.  You’re being invited to interview.

This might be an initial phone call or it might be an invitation to come and meet with the employer in person.  Now what about interview preparation?  How will you prepare for this interview?

What do they want?

You’re at least “in the game now”, but “what do they want – really, really want? What keeps them up at night?”  The answers to these two key questions will form the foundation for how to prepare for the the interview and get the job offer!

Every perspective sales professional knows that getting prospective buyers to meet with you is just the first step and in this case you’re the sales professional.

Want to stack the cards in your favor?

The biggest mistake made at this stage of the job search process is lack of preparation. This happens all to often and especially with more senior job candidates who have some experience as the interviewer.  In other words, those individuals who rely on their own experience and biases to get them through the interview.  Big, big mistake!

Here’s a brief summary of a true story about Rob Sparno discussed in the April 13, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine.

Rob emailed a former colleague who now worked at Salesforce.com letting him know he was looking for a new opportunity. Within minutes he received an email response, “call me.”

First, he read every story he could find on Salesforce.com and watched You-Tube videos of CEO Marc Beinoff being interviewed by reports – and took careful notes.

Next he organized his thoughts using five PowerPoint slides and built a presentation of exactly how he would approach the job and what he would accomplish in the first 30, 60 and 90 days.

By the time he went in for his final interview – which by-the-way was his seventh – he had his pitch down perfectly.  Halfway through that meeting, Sparno and the hiring manager started discussing how to target a client that Sparno had worked with previously.

The Manager went up to the whiteboard to throw out some ideas and Sparno leaped to his feet to join him until the two were both standing shoulder to shoulder, markers in hand, batting strategies back and forth.

Sparno got the job – his competition never had much of a chance – because on-one prepared like he did.  He wanted the job, developed his strategy and executed it extremely well.

The Lesson to be learned

There’s a lesson to be learned here and it’s an obvious one – the job most often goes to the candidate who is best prepared!  When in a close race to win the job offer, preparation is the deciding factor.