How to Crush Your Next Job Interview

By Uloop Guest Writer on December 15, 2017

Imagine that you are about to interview for your first job after college. Excited and nervous, you are about to enter the room. Now, ask yourself these questions:

• What is your mindset about the interview?
• How do you intend to behave?
• What points do you want to emphasize?
• What choices will you make?

I’d like to help you CRUSH your next interview by providing a different way of looking at your mindset, choices, and behaviors.

Take a moment to think about this reality. When you walk into your next job interview, you are one in a line of people interviewing for the same job. Only one person will get the offer.

There is a good chance that when they are going through their notes and deciding who to hire, someone will refer to you be asking, “Now, which person is this?”

If you want to CRUSH your next job interview, you need to consider your mindset, behaviors, and choices. Here’s a rundown of what each it looks like to meet, exceed, anticipate, and establish expectations for your next interview.

via Pexels.com

1.  Meet expectations:

• Enter the room.
• Adequately answer their questions.
• Provide a decent looking resume.
• Thank them for their time.

You met their expectations. You likely won’t receive an offer.

2. Exceed expectations:

• Enter the room with a quality handshake.
• Effectively answer their questions.
• Provide an impressive resume.
• Thank them while clearly conveying you want the job.
• Off you go and you follow-up with a thank you note.

You exceeded their expectations. You will likely get an offer, especially if everyone else simply met expectations.

3. Anticipate expectations:

• Enter the room with a quality handshake and a clear understanding of who you are meeting.
• Impressively answer their questions and ask good ones yourself based on a firm understanding of the company and the job.
• Provide a resume tailored to the open position, showing that your experience maps to the role.
• Thank them, let them know you want the job, and send a well written and thoughtful thank you note.

You anticipated their expectations. You should get an offer!

4. Establish expectations:

• Own the room, without being egotistical.
• Teach them something they didn’t know, without lecturing.
• Demonstrate that you have already done what they are looking for, without being arrogant.
• Make them forget that anyone else interviewed, without saying a negative word.
• Let them know that you appreciate their time and want the job, without being patronizing.

You established their expectations. Now, here’s the twist… You may or may not get an offer. That’s okay.

If they offer you a job – take it. They value you and your approach. You will likely thrive in the culture. If they don’t offer you a job – be good with it. Move on…it wasn’t a good fit. In the long-run, you would’ve likely been disappointed.

Final thought: In most situations, meeting, exceeding, anticipating, or establishing expectations is a choice! It starts with you choosing how much you are willing to prepare, practice, perform and put it out there.

Now go and CRUSH it!

———-

Patrick Leddin, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Managerial Studies at Vanderbilt University and a senior consultant at FranklinCovey. He is an expert in the areas of strategy creation and execution, leadership development, and organizational culture. He has worked with private and public sector clients in the United States, Canada, Asia, the Caribbean, and throughout Europe. Patrick has more than 25-years of leadership and project management experience. He began his career as an officer in the United States Army, where he completed a number of the military’s most challenging leadership-development courses including airborne, ranger, and infantry officer schools, and he held leadership positions such as infantry platoon leader and company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division. While working for a Big Five consulting firm, he led project teams to design, develop, and implement project deliverables that exactly met client needs. He is the author of Oliver’s Spot: The Five Ps Leading Teams to Top Results and Oliver’s Spot for the Public Sector: A Leadership Story.

Over the years, he’s had the chance to interview and hire a lot of people. His first hiring experience occurred at KPMG Consulting when he was looking to expand his team. More recently, as the owner of a consulting firm with offices in three states and an ever growing staff, he has made hiring decisions for 11 years as they experienced tremendous growth.

If you enjoyed this post, please visit his blog at www.patrickleddin.com. The site contains articles, videos and tools to help you get the most out of your career.

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