If you've done even an ounce of reading on the subject of interviewing, you've probably come across a frequently recommended approach called the STAR method which encourages job hunters to break down their interview "example" stories into a series of four logical parts: 1) The Situation you faced; 2) the Task you had to complete; 3) the Actions you took; and 4) the Results you achieved. On the whole, this formula makes a lot of [...]
Call me crazy, but when I think back to how job searches were conducted in the prior millennium, the common wisdom was that applicants would really need to step up and "sell themselves" effectively in order to get hired. What does this mean? It means that they'd have to fight for the job they wanted. They'd have to boldly trumpet their strengths and be ready to neutralize their weaknesses. They'd need to radiate hope, and [...]
As anybody who has been in the professional world can attest, companies make some awfully weird hiring decisions at times. Why this person, not that person? What explains hiring one candidate over many qualified others -- or in some cases, giving the nod to a candidate with far less experience than a competitor?In many cases, it comes down to two magic words: which candidate "gets it". In other words, out of all the individuals a [...]
From what I've witnessed in conducting role-play interviews with hundreds of clients over the years, the vast majority of professionals today seem to believe that the purpose of an employment interview is to "show the employer that I can do the job." With all due respect, I disagree. I think this is a dangerous oversimplification of what really goes on during the hiring process. And I maintain that if the average job hunter stops and [...]
In what could be interpreted as a positive sign regarding the current marketplace, I've seen a big pickup lately in people coming in to get help with their interviewing skills. Things seem to be hopping out there and in recent weeks, I've had the chance to coach dozens of folks on how best to prepare for upcoming hiring discussions, answer common questions that come up, and ensure they put their best foot forward. When I [...]
Recently, I've had the good fortune to become acquainted with communications coach Keith Ferrin, of True Success Coaching, who was kind enough to come in and share some thoughts with a group of my clients on how to supercharge their effectiveness as communicators. The #1 point Keith emphasized to the audience? It was that when you communicate without purpose, and fail to clarify the specific reason/purpose/agenda of your message ahead of time, you're merely engaging [...]
Apologies for the somewhat sensationalized headline, but it actually wasn't written completely in jest. I think there's an important point to be made about improving one's interviewing skills that isn't talked about a lot -- and that many job hunters tend to overlook. The point in question? It's that if you really want to get better at interviewing, and decide to get some coaching in this regard, odds are you're going to get a bit [...]
When coaching people on the interviewing process, I usually start by asking them a riddle: “If I were waiting for you out on the curb, after your next interview, what one question do you think I would ask you to determine how well things went?” Over the years, people have offered many different responses to this query. One common guess is “did they offer you the job?” Alas, the puzzle is not quite that easy [...]
As I look back on 2015, and some of the ongoing discussions I had with recruiters and hiring managers, some definite "themes" seemed to emerge in terms of what companies today said they were looking for in the people they wanted to hire -- and interestingly, many of the desired qualities they listed went beyond mere skills and qualifications alone. Now don't get me wrong, the reality is that one still has to be a [...]
For many job hunters today, the process of applying for work and trying to get hired can feel like the proverbial "black box" experiment. You send a bunch of resumes out there -- including for roles you feel eminently qualified for -- but frequently get little to no response, leading you to wonder "What's going on beyond the curtain? What am I possibly doing wrong? What mysterious factors seem to be getting other peoples' applications [...]