Elinor Stutz

Your resume was posted among thousands of competing resumes, and to your surprise, you were chosen for an in-person interview. Congratulations! But wait, what are those voices in your head saying? Are you Really going to be able to compete against the top candidates?

The interview process begins with your mindset. You must believe you can succeed in order to succeed. In my experience, it isn’t necessarily the best and the brightest who are chosen for employment, but rather the “best fit” for the organization. The questions become, “How can I appear credible in portraying I am the best fit” and “How can I work on believing I will get the job?”

The first step is to review your past accomplishments. What made you different from your counterparts? Which unique skills do you possess to succeed in your work? Once you realize how you are different, be able to put the message in one or two succinct sentences. Pass your messaging by your friends, family or associates and ask them how it sounds. When your message is in its final form and you have practiced saying it with conviction, you will begin believing your stated strengths.

In addition to developing the short message playing to your strengths, in the event you are asked, you will want to create a short two minute explanation in story-form of how you use(d) your strengths to accomplish solutions for your manager, client etc. Learn to become a friendly story-teller when describing your accomplishments.

People buy from people they like. The story-telling will make you far more likeable as long as it is appropriate and concise. Statistics show that people buy based upon 7% what you say, 35% how you say it, and 58% how you look. Understand you are selling yourself and undoubtedly the same is true for getting hired.

You must concentrate on building the relationship with the people who interview you. Here are 3 tips for doing just that:

1. Throw the script away. Be prepared to listen, ask questions, clarify and answer coherently.

2. Begin every communication (voice, voice mail, email, mail, appointments) from the other person’s point of view.

3. Follow-up. 95% of people fall down on the follow-up.

Referrals are the best method for securing interviews and ultimately jobs. Pre-screening has already taken place by word of the referring party. When you are the beneficiary of a referral, ask the referring party to share as much as possible about the recommended person who is to interview you.
Find out as much as you can about the person behind the title as well as the corporate person and the company.

Next you will need to research the company website thoroughly. Read the pages while thinking about what you may bring to the table, what you have in common, how you may offer improvement to their services, and note their messaging that specifically catches your attention. These will be your talking points on the interview.

While still reading the website, also note if there is a company mission statement, the officers and where they went to school, if the company is publicly traded and if so, where their stock is trading. You may have the same alma mater as the CEO – let it be known. Everyone shares the dream of one day getting rich. So whether the stock is up or down, it is also a very good talking point toward the end of the conversation.

Web pages are built upon key words and these relay what is of most importance to the company. So if you detect a repetitive vocabulary, you will know this is the subject matter on which you should focus. For example, years ago, I represented a Fortune 100 company and was calling on a credit union. Every page on their website spoke of “financial soundness”. I asked my contact if my company, Fortune 100, held enough financial soundness to warrant doing business. My contact laughed and said, of course. She then added, I have no idea how you know that is of great importance to us. The detective work upfront furthered the process.

The next step is to read who the company’s clients are, what they say about the company and how their problems were solved. Perform an internet search on the company’s competitors and on the industry. In general, consider what all of these companies have in common such as mission statement, clients, services and challenges they face. Newcomers to sales or in a new company will use this vertical marketing strategy to quickly become an expert in one industry in order to jumpstart their sales activity. Then they expand to other industries once confidence has been built.

Let’s put this concept into terms of securing a new job. If you have a very important interview and high income at stake, you will do well to practice interviewing with their main competitor. Ask for an informational interview. Learn who the competitor’s clients are, in which areas the competing company excels and what their challenges are. Two things will happen when you do this:

1) You may unexpectedly develop a second job possibility

2) You will become highly informed about the industry and will give a superior interview at the original company of interest.

Becoming knowledgeable about the intended company’s industry and having a succinct message as to why you are different, will contribute to increased confidence on your interview. Practice speaking in front of a mirror. Observe if you are smiling as you speak. Smiling makes you more likeable. Watch your body language – do you look very stiff and not approachable or are you open and appear friendly? Do you use exaggerated gestures, none at all or gestures simply to emphasize the point you are trying to make?

The next time you are out with friends or associates, determine if you try too hard to get your point across, play one-up-man-ship, or do you listen to understand the other’s point of view? On interviews, it is mandatory to listen more than you speak and to ask enough questions both open-ended and specific to determine if in fact you will enjoy working at the company.

Dress for success has been a long-time motto. The rule of thumb is to dress a notch or two above the company policy. So if employees are known to wear jeans, the suggestion is to wear nice slacks; or if they wear high end sportswear then consider a sporty suit. Dress includes a leather binder and a good-looking pen for taking notes.

When you have the name of the party who is to interview you, try an internet search on the person’s name. You might find names of associations to which the person belongs and hobbies in which he or she partakes. These are ice-breakers for conversation.
It is a very good idea to arrive at your appointment ten minutes early to play “detective”. Do not arrive more than ten minutes early or people will think you have nothing better to do with your time. Upon arriving, greet the receptionist with a big smile. Introduce yourself and ask his/her name. Make note of their name on your notepad so that you may address that person correctly in the future and thank them for their help.

If the receptionist appears to have a few minutes, ask how they like working at the company. Perhaps they can shed some light on the process and the benefits. In smaller companies, most people do not realize the receptionist at times is actually the CEO or the CEO’s spouse because the real receptionist is out ill. People routinely treat the receptionist rudely thus diminishing their chances for success. Remember, once you set foot on a company’s premises, there are no totem poles for decision-making. By treating everyone equally you will be putting your best foot forward in every instance.

Medium to large-sized companies will display their awards, laudatory letters from clients, and their financial information. By quickly reviewing the materials you will get a sense of the company and have more talking points for your interview. One time I discovered the intended company had won the Baldridge award. This winning of this award was my opening remark upon meeting my client. It turned out to be my lucky day – she was the one responsible for getting the entire corporation on the same page to qualify for the prestigious award.

Suppose the person with whom you are to interview is running late - don’t just stare into space. Instead, begin reading an interesting magazine lying nearby. For instance, if you are meeting with a CFO and there happens to be a CFO Magazine on a table near you, pick it up and read it. This magazine will tell you the challenges people in this position face on a daily basis. Upon my doing just this, the CFO with whom I was to meet greeted me with a huge smile. Our appointment went extremely well.

If you are interviewing at a smaller company, scan the posters hung on the wall. Many such posters have captions such as “teamwork” or “goal setting”. These captions are the perfect starting point for small talk when you first greet your contact.

When someone escorts you down the hallway to your contact’s office, ask them how they like working at the company, what their duties are and if they can lend any insight. Be gracious by thanking everyone who shares information and/or helps you along the way.
Upon entering the contact’s office, find something nice to say. The office or cubicle is their home away from home. It is rude to say nothing. If the cubicle is dreary, look for pictures of family, a pet, hobbies, or travel – and state something nice about what you see. It puts the conversation on a friendly note. Show proper respect for the person interviewing you by thanking them for their time when you first meet. This will be greatly appreciated and serve to put you on a better path.

Once you are about to begin the business portion of your conversation, convey you are aware that they must have received so many resumes, you are curious as to why they picked you to interview. This is a sure-fire method for beginning an excellent interview. Be quiet, listen carefully and ask permission to take notes. You cannot sell yourself as the best person for the job until you know why you are sitting in the chair!

It is very important to remember you cannot sell yourself until you know what the interviewer needs. Therefore the interviewer speaks first. The smart strategy is to listen well and then match their needs. Take an active interest in the conversation. It is okay to say you do not understand something that is being said. The person will appreciate your keen interest to understand and your honesty. It will be far worse to pretend you are knowledgeable and have the deception backfire. We are a global society so often people will use a word in a different manner than which we are accustomed. Always clarify and recap where required.

Just as you observed in the mirror how you speak, watch the body language and facial expressions of the person interviewing you. Observe how they communicate and how they take in your information. If you see an eyebrow raised or arms crossed while you are speaking, stop speaking immediately to ask if there is a question. If you do not stop, the other person will concentrate on the sentence that was not clear to them for the remainder of the conversation and deem you not credible. You must strive to be certain they are with you on the same page at all times.

Vocabulary is another form of DNA. People will recognize their words. So when you do take notes, take them in the other person’s vocabulary. When you ask a question about what was said, use the phrase they used pertaining to the subject matter. This will again lead them to feeling comfortable with you and believing that you are on the same page.
Some people will ask difficult questions on interviews such as “I need someone who has the experience of doing XYZ but it’s not evident on your resume you have done this, how can I be sure you’re the right candidate?” You can answer by saying, “Yes it’s true I have not done precisely XYZ. However, in the past I was asked to meet a particular challenge of which I also did not have the experience. Since I am a quick learner and fast on my feet, not only did I figure out how to solve the problem but received accolades for the solution”. Only say something to this effect if it’s true. You must always be truthful.

Long ago, it was said that people “buy” when 3-5 needs are found; just one need will not make a sale. You are selling your expertise so you must dig deep in conversation to find why you are there, what has transpired leading up to your being there, what the ramifications are for not having someone in the position to date including the cost of not moving forward.

The open-ended questions may include, “What are your goals for the department? Where do you see this position headed? Will you describe a typical day for this position? Can you describe interactions with other departments (as appropriate)? What qualities are you look for in your leading candidate?”

When it is your turn to describe yourself and why you are best suited to the position above all of the other candidates, you must match the information shared with you. For example you might reply, “You said this is your major challenge, here is my past experience and how I can help you move forward.”
As you finish a topic of discussion, ask if they have any questions about what you said. You can also ask if they agree with you on some of your points. “Would you agree that… Do you believe this would help…”

At the end of your interview, recap the high points of why they asked you in, the type of person being sought and how you can help them achieve their goals. If you wish to pursue employment with the company, you must ask. “Am I the type of candidate you are seeking?”

Get the answer out in the open so you will know if you have a true shot for the position.

With an affirmative “Yes, you are the type of person we are seeking”, ask what the next steps are. Is it another face-to-face meeting with someone else, a board of directors, or a follow-up phone call to Human Resources. In order to proceed, you must know what is expected. Typically, the follow-up is with the person interviewing you.

Whatever the answer may be, write down the date and time to follow-up. Ask their preferred method of communication, whether to follow up by phone or email. Be certain to mark the appointed date and time on both a manual and electronic calendar so there will be no forgetting! This is the point, as stated earlier, where most people fail.

The very next step as you leave the office is to ask for the person’s business card. Shake hands and thank them with a big smile for their time and restate that you are very excited about the position for which you are interviewing. As soon as you return to your office, handwrite a note thanking them for their time. State one more time you are very excited about the opportunity. Enthusiasm is contagious. Keep the note short and legible, and assure them you will be contacting them at the appointed date and time. Hand written notes are a lost art, and will put you ahead of the crowded employment-seeking field.

Be certain to follow-up at the designated date and time. You must be precisely punctual to further build credibility and your eligibility as the leading candidate. If the follow-up is by phone, remind the person they asked you to call at this particular time and then announce your name. Remind them you enjoyed the conversation in their office and are following-up about the position as recommended. Be quiet.
Once again, it is the prospective employer’s turn to talk. He or she will let you know what is now required. Ask questions as appropriate and reconfirm instructions told to you.

Negotiation for some, in particular women, is a difficult concept. They haven’t been schooled in business or in the art of negotiation and to date they are greatly underpaid compared to the men. For this reason I offer the following suggestion:
For every interview you partake, ask for $2,000 more than the previous interview. Generally speaking, you will interview better and better as time goes on. At the same time your salary requirement will simultaneously increase. Ultimately, you will most likely wind up securing a position with a higher pay scale. It’s the non-negotiated negotiation! This tactic will also help to increase your self-confidence.

Reviewing the strategies shared in this article, you will see that the three tips shared upfront were followed throughout the interview process. The script was tossed. Every step was initiated from the interviewer’s point of view, and you followed-up exactly as requested.

You have just greatly increased your chances for success in gaining employment of your choosing.

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale and Author, has transformed her highly successful sales career into training entrepreneurs, network marketers and beginning salespeople. “We help you turn stormy sales cycles into a Smooth Sale”.

Community service is of great importance to Ms. Stutz. Periodically she counsels job-seekers on how to gain employment. Several people have written that her tips helped them to secure job offers.
Smooth Sale Delivers:
Original work in the form of Professional Sales Training, Licensing of Programs, Speaking Engagements and the “Sales Tips e-zine”.

“Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, published by Sourcebooks, “The Sales Toolkit”, “Smooth Selling 4-CD training seminar” and Entrepreneur kit – “How to GROW Your Business: mindset, strategy and implementation.
Elinor has been a guest on many radio shows, “Nice Girls’ was highlighted in the November 6, 2006 TIME Magazine business supplement, and she mentors entrepreneurs at the Learning-Café.

For more information call 800-704-1499 or visit www.smoothsale.net