Assessments: Most of us at one point in our life take an assessment tool such as Myers-Briggs or the Strong Interview Inventory. As an accredited Myers-Briggs instructor I take my teaching one step further by showing clients how to use their increased self-awareness in their job search. The interview is one of these areas and a great opportunity for you to demonstrate emotional intelligence. For example, at your next interview say this: “I recently took a career assessment and it identified me as being very practical when making decisions. This highlights that I am strong at acquiring the input I need to make informed and timely decisions. An example of where I demonstrated this strengths is…”. Caution: use this only once in the interview-if you do it more it comes across as corny.
Hair: I am referring to any hair on your body. Whether it be the bangs that cover your eyes (which comes across as hiding something), that long facial hair you forgot or missed when shaving or plucking (which looks like you don’t care) , or the hair sticking out of your nose (that is just plain disgusting). You have got to get that under control. Cut, pluck, and shave all hairs that stand out.
Handshake: I shake the hand of about 1500 students or clients a year and over 60% cannot shake professionally. Actually, the hand is not bad it’s the lack of eye contact that does not come with the handshake. The next time you introduce yourself at the beginning of the interview make sure to consciously and with focus look at the interviewers eyes as if you are trying to tell what color they are. This comes across as being present and very relatable.
Theoretical vs. Practical: If I were interviewing you and asked you what type of manager you work well with, you would most likely tell me that you like a boss that supports you, shares their ideas, lets you take ownership of tasks and challenges you to grow. At that point you may not realize that you have answered only 25% of the question. The balance must be an example from your past where you had this type of boss and how they demonstrated these qualities. 95% of all questions must be answered with a concrete example.
Memorize the job posting: I recently coached a woman on a position she was applying for and after the practice session I asked her if she had read the job posting. She had not, as she was very busy. We all lead busy lives, but I would like to stress that if you want to land the position I heavily encourage you to use words from the job posting in the interview. More specifically, I ask that you plagiarize by stating the very exact words and sentences.
Philippe Desrochers, aka Dr. Career, offers interview coaching to maximize your chances of receiving the job offer. For more details email philippe@dr-career.com.
drcareer
Posted on March 10, 2011
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