Strategies to Interviewing

It’s important to be confident in interviews. Knowing who you are and believing in your abilities is crucial towards success. But is that enough? Some might say yes, others may disagree. I recommend taking a strategic approach to interviewing. The word strategy can be defined as: A plan, method, or series of maneuvers used to obtain a specific goal. Why just show up to interview? Why not have a plan or method that you can apply towards becoming a more desirable candidate? I’ve spoken to professionals within my network that I consider business mentors. Here are some of the strategies they proposed to me.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: a very common piece of advice is to do your homework on the company that you’re applying for. Understanding the company’s situation and position in their industry is a definite plus. In fact, if you have no clue about anything that is going on with the company you are applying for, it might hurt your chances of becoming a desirable candidate. Knowing as much as you can about the company will also increase your confidence and make you feel like a more qualified applicant.

CONTROL THE CONVERSATION: If you have ever acquired strategic advice regarding interviews before, you’ve probably heard that it is good to have a few questions for the employer. But what about 15-20 good questions? It was recommended to me to have this many significant questions that display my interest and attentiveness to the company and industry in which I’m applying for. Having such a large amount of questions prepared allows you to control the conversation. I think of it like playing football. Do you want to be the guy getting tackled, or the one laying hits? Asking questions shifts the defensive posture away from you in an interview and allows less room for possible mental errors or awkward “I don’t knows.” Asking a lot of good questions also lets the employer know that you’ve done your homework on their company and that you are genuinely interested.

PRACTICE & TALK: Practicing and talking to people is a great way to increase confidence levels and acquire tips and strategies for interviewing. Reach out to people you know that are in professional positions. Ask them for information, and even practice interviewing you. The more you practice and talk, the more the interview process becomes second nature. The idea is to be as comfortable and sure a possible when the real thing goes down. Try to imagine the types of questions that relate to the specific job titles and industries that you are applying for. Being prepared is an essential part of successfully becoming a desirable candidate. 

Below are some links to websites that are dedicated to strategies towards job interviewing:

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviews/tp/jobinterviewtips.htm

http://www.fastcompany.com/1839723/10-job-interview-tips-ceo-headhunter

http://www.apapracticecentral.org/ce/tools/interview.aspx 

Becoming a Desirable Candidate

I’ve identified existing types of anxiety that create stressful job interviews. I’ve also discovered the factors that drive them, and methods to cope. I consider this process pivotal to not only interviewing well, but also understanding one’s self. If you don’t know who you are, how will an employer? Don’t leave room for assumptions or false interpretation. Find out who you are, be confident, and be yourself. 

  With that being said, now its time to shift gears and center focus on performing well in job interviews. Overcoming stress levels and anxiety is just the first step to successfully interviewing. Now that we’re cool, calm, and collected, lets begin exploring strategies that will help us achieve our goal of being a desirable candidate.  

The first thing I would recommend is talk to someone in a professional position. Talking to people creates ideas and incorporates outside perspectives that one might not consider on their own. I began by talking to a few people within my network that I consider business mentors. I asked them, how do I perform better in interviews for jobs that I feel “unqualified” for? At first I got the standard response, just be yourself, or you’ll be fine, you’re ready. But I demanded more, I want strategies, I need advice! That’s when the truth began to come out.

NEVER SETTLE: My first piece of advice was from a mid-level manager at a software design company and this is what he had to say. Nate, that fact that you feel “unqualified” is good. It means you’re not settling for the easy job that you probably could have gotten without your degree. Never settle he said. He continued with a hilarious metaphoric example. Interviewing for jobs is like trying to get a girlfriend. Never settle, you should always go for the hottest one that you like the most even though 9 out of 10 times you’re most likely going to be rejected or maybe even slapped in the face. Don’t be afraid of rejection, because eventually you will land the perfect dream job, or girlfriend, and it will all be worth it.

SMART PEOPLE & STUPID PEOPLE: The next guy that I talked to I really admire. He is a successful CEO that has almost made a hobby out of getting software start ups off the ground. The first thing he said was, Nate, there are two types of people that will interview you: smart people & stupid people. He said, and I quote word for word “some of these people couldn’t poor piss out of a boot if the directions were on the heel”. His advice corresponds with the first guy in the sense that, if a girl can’t see what a great guy you are and rejects you off the bat, then she doesn’t deserve you. Essentially his message was, if someone can’t see your worth and the value that you would bring to their company then they aren’t smart enough to make decisions like that in the first place.

Overall the message that I got from these two was that you can’t control the personality or thought process of others. The most important thing is that you don’t doubt yourself, and that you make sure the “real you” shows up to each interview.

Within both of those conversations strategies to successfully interviewing and being a desirable candidate were discussed. That will be the topic of my next blog post.

Quick Stress Relief

You may suffer from job interview anxiety, social anxiety disorder, lack of confidence, or some other reason that stresses you out and makes you hate job interviews. Regardless to what the driving factor is, you need help. There are always solutions to ones problems, but sometimes they are buried deeper than one expects to look. Albert Einstein said, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” Find out what affects your stress levels and causes you to hate job interviews. Have the courage to challenge your self and go the opposite direction. Regardless to what the driving factor is, the end result is stress. There are a number of techniques and strategies to prevent stress, but what about relieving it quickly in certain situations? Here are some tips.

Recognizing stress is the first step in lessening its impact. Many of us spend so much time in a stressed state, we have forgotten what it feels like to be fully relaxed and alert. Being stressed out feels normal.

There are countless techniques for preventing stress. Yoga and meditation are great techniques to coping with stress. But who can take a moment to chant or meditate during a job interview? You need to be able to handle the stress of the pressure during certain circumstances that are pivotal. This is where quick stress relief can be helpful. Although it is merely a temporary coping method, it may be the X-factor to whether you nail or fail an interview.

The key to practicing quick stress relief is learning which one of your senses helps your particular nervous system find calm and focus quickly. Everyone responds differently to certain sensory inputs. For example, one may listen to music, or look at an inspiring picture. Experiment and figure out whether sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch calms your nervous system. After you have discovered what sensory system works best for you, you can start researching the many suggested techniques and strategies that are developed to quickly relieve stress. Below are a few links to sites that are dedicated to quick stress relief.

http://www.phoenix.va.gov/features/Basics_of_quick_stress_relief.asp

http://goodrelaxation.com/2011/12/quick-stress-relief-tips/

http://getitdone.quickanddirtytips.com/quick-stress-relief.aspx