How you perceive interviews determines your chances of success. In order to become an expert interviewee, you must look at interviews in a different way.
If you’re like most people, interviews are a dreaded and nerve-wracking experience. Your strengths as well as your weaknesses are placed under a microscope and pitted up against dozens of other potential candidates. The fate of your financial future lies in the hands of one or more people based on their “professional interrogation” of your skills and abilities. But what if interviews don’t have to be that way? What if (dare I say) you could derive enjoyment, , fulfillment and passion from interviews and at the same time dramatically increase your chances of getting hired? This article will explain 3 tactics revealing exactly how you can make that idea a reality, and as a result, land you the job!
Tactic #1: Consider the Interview From the Interviewer’s Perspective
Before the interview, research the company’s values via their website and ask yourself these questions based on your findings:
- What skills would this specific employer be looking for in a candidate for the position?
- What unique qualities in a candidate would *wow* this specific employer?
- What disqualifying characteristics might this specific employer be on the lookout for?
- What challenging questions might this specific employer ask in order to “weed out the weak”?
Taking time before the interview to put yourself in the employer’s shoes by doing research on the company and asking questions like the ones above will give you a leg up on the competition because you will be prepared to answer any question they throw at you with confidence. Use this strategy to your advantage because very few competing candidates are willing to go the distance and implement this tactic before their interview for the same position.
Tactic #2: Treat Each Interview as an opportunity for personal growth
The traditional understanding of interviews tells you to “do your best” and pray that the employer likes you enough to hire you. The problem in thinking this way is that it causes tremendous anxiety by placing your hopes in the interviewer’s evaluation of you. An employer’s opinion of you is not exactly a “safe bet” no matter how qualified you might be for the position. In the words of model Dita Von Tess, “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” Sometimes employers just won’t like you. Instead of betting all your money on the employer’s opinion of you, use the interview as an opportunity for personal growth. Walk into each interview with the mindset that you are there to work on your interviewing and communication skills. By thinking like this, you will not be disappointed no matter the outcome of the interview. If you happen to bomb the interview, then it simply becomes a learning experience so that you can do better next time. Coincidentally, maintaining this mindset throughout each interview will not only make you better at interviews, but it will also cause you to appear much more confident and attractive to the employers, thus boosting your chances of being hired.
Tactic #3: Picture yourself as a salesman and the product is you
Imagine you were a salesman responsible for selling a sports car. Selling this car would mean putting food on the table and providing for your family. Because so much was at stake, you would do your best to convince the potential buyers to purchase this sports car. You’d begin by listing out all of its most seductive features. How fast it can go from 0-60 mph, the leather seats, the high-tech touchscreen dashboard, and so on. Once all the amazing features were listed, you would then go about explaining why the buyer needs this car. You would explain how amazing he would feel driving it, how fun it is to drive, and how comfortable it is. A salesman would make the car appear as a necessity to their customers. Sell yourself as if you were a car salesman selling a car.
If you think this way, you will do your best to convince the employer to make the “purchase” of your product (you). Sell yourself to the employer by listing all the qualities, traits, and accomplishments that will make you attractive to them, then proceed by telling the employer all the reasons why they need you. Salesmen use this tactic to create scarcity and to inflict FOMO (fear of missing out) on their consumers. If you implement the same psychological strategies of a salesman, you will become irresistible to employers.
In Conclusion…
What you say and do in an interview is only half the battle. In order to ace an interview, you must change your mindset and perception the interviewing process before you even apply for the job. By adhering to the principals laid out in this article, you will be well equipped and on your way to mastering the art of interviews.
The Social Anxiety Lab 