Merely obtaining a job interviews is a challenge, so maximizing its impact is critical. Whether you want the job or not, additional offers equals additional options which maximizes your negotiating position.
There are five actions that will immediately increase the probability of impressing your prospective employer and gaining an offer.
1. Interview the Company prior to your interview. Researching the company and knowing something about your prospective employer puts you in a position to speak intelligently during an interview. You can take this one step further in your preparation. Find out who is in your prospective position. Chat with three people (perhaps in different locations in the U.S. or Internationally) who do your job and ask them to talk about the expectations, a typical day, and the company. Then, when your employer asks the money question: "What have you learned about our company in your research?" You will impress them with: "I spoke with John Chandler in San Francisco, he told me that the expectations would be a, b, and c. He also said that the company is getting into the ____ product line in the future which is certainly exciting." You just took initiative that will differentiate yourself from a large percentage of the interviewing population.
2. Dress a level higher than you would imagine that someone in your position would be expected. General rule of thumb: You can never overdress for an interview. Even if the environment is casual dress, being well put together is expected. If you are still unsure, ask someone in the company prior to the big date. For example, you could ask: "I know that this is a casual environment, but I would typically wear a suit for my interview. Will that be perceived as threatening in this environment?" Usually, you will get solid advice here, but most of the time, the answer will be professional dress, regardless of what is typical.
3. Make sure that you have PROOF that you can deliver: I have interviewed thousands of candidates for sales and sales leadership positions. The biggest mistake that I experience is that the candidate tries too hard to persuade me that they can perform a skill. Unfortunately, the interviewee lacks PROOF which does not help overcome my skepticism. This proposes the following challenge: If the interviewer has not worked with you, how do they know that you can perform. Prepared testimonials from professionals who you have worked with in the past proves your knowledge or ability to perform a skill. Finding old bosses and colleagues through linked in, a tremendous networking site that over 14 million professionals use is an effective ways to obtain the PROOF. It is important that the testimonial reflect specific impact and not be general. The recommendation should not say "Joe is a really nice guy and did a great job for us. We would hire him again." Instead, you want, "Joe led a group of 11 account executives and when he was brought into the Southwest Division, our production increased by 43%". Ask in the following manner: "John, would you please do me a favor that will tremendously help my career (Human nature says that everyone wants to help)? Would you please write a brief testimonial letter about the time I spent as sales manager in the Southwest Division. You can write whatever you feel comfortable with, but what is most important is one or two sentences reflecting the SPECIFIC IMPACT that my leadership had on the division. For example, "As a result of Joe's leadership, I estimate that our sales increased by ___% after he was hired." If you truly had impact, the person writing the recommendation will be the first in line to help. It is their way of paying it forward. You can go to my linked in profile for real-life examples of SPECIFIC IMPACT testimonials in action. Also, you can take this to the next level by printing them out and putting them in a professional folio with plastic sleeves. This is your professional portfolio, similar to a model applying for a modeling job. Many professionals refer to this form of proof as a BRAG Book.
4. Be specific: A big error I see from candidates is that they are too general with their response to a difficult interview question. For example, the interviewer asks: "Tell me about a time you had to overcome a difficult objection." The interviewee will answer with: "I like to ask a lot of questions when I get hit with an objection." This statement doesn't give the employer any comfort that the potential candidate can actually perform the skill. A more effective way to do this is in the form of a Situation, Action, Result (SAR) Story. "Just last week, we had a customer who was upset because of a prior bad service experience with my company two years ago (Situation). I let her vent, apologized, showed her what's different now, and showed her some references from my current customer base. She gave me a try on a couple of orders and I made sure that they were delivered in half the time (Action). She received the orders and is now as happy as a toad in tall grass. Since this date, she has placed four other orders with me and I believe that she will become one of my elite business partners (Result)." This shows specifically what you can do and how you can deliver.
5. Write a thank-you-note after the interview and include a call-to-action. It is hard to believe that a small percentage of people actually take the courtesy to write a brief note to their potential employer. Merely taking this action makes you different. Also, your objective is to be the prospective employer's partner at the end of the day. For example: "I will be following up with you next Tuesday to discuss the next step. I am excited about becoming a member of the team." This is very subtle, but it assumes that things went well and projects confidence.
If you implement these five steps, your offering rate will improve. Further, this will put you in a more favorable negotiating position with respect to salary. See a future blog on how to make the negotiation a win-win.
Jim "The Noodle" Nudelman is a master of building relationships. He teaches sales professionals how to build and grow their business. Sales professionals who have attended his workshops say that they have increased their business, in many cases, by as much as 50%.
The Noodle can be contacted by e-mail at jimnudelman@usethenoodle.com.
His public profile on linked in is http://www.linkedin.com/in/thenoodle.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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