What's the real reason some employers and applicants stink at interviewing? We’ll tackle both of these groups in this article in a moment, but first, let’s think about your career history.
Have you ever bombed an interview?
Or, have you had an experience where the people on the other side of the table made you want to run away from the job, based on their behavior/dynamics?
What about this gem:
Ever walked into an interview only to see the interviewers obviously scrambling at the last minute trying to skim your resume… giving the impression they haven’t even looked at it until you sat down?
Chances are, you have.
Let me be clear: professional HR departments, recruiters, and head hunters aside, the rest of hiring interviews are conducted by people who think they have a clue about hiring…but really don’t. Most of these people are small to medium business owners and managers who have never had any formal training in how to hire someone.
And it shows.
There are tons of online articles about interviews gone wrong, both from a company and applicant perspective.
On the employer side, usually the root problem is that the interviewer quite frankly doesn’t know what they are doing and ends up blundering around. Spectacularly, even.
Inappropriate or illegal questions, poor preparation in advance of the interview, lack of internal communication about prospective candidates, internal problems that come boiling to the surface, or just plain wacky behavior all count as interview fails in the employer column.
Or it could seem fairly normal until the interview gets underway. Suddenly, the dynamics change and the situation becomes a power struggle – who has the job vs. who wants the job, or who has the skill assets vs. the company which desperately needs them.
Applicants, on the other hand, fail horrendously for the most part because of one major factor: They don’t have a sense of their own value. Throughout all of my client interviews, I always throw out the question: Why should someone hire you, and guess what?
Most people fumble on this question.
If you can't tell someone why they should hire you (and therefore know your value), how do you expect them to buy what you are selling as a potential employee?
Prospective employees also fail on other fronts including failing to prepare / do due diligence prior to the interview, exuding self-entitlement, lack of an ability to answer questions concisely and clearly, and not connecting their experience to the job opening.
But the real reason why many of these job interviews end up stinking so much beyond all the points mentioned above (and more) is for one reason:
Employers and applicants fail to think of an interview as a CONVERSATION.
There is so much pressure put on people to perform and keep what’s at stake a top-of-mind that the conversation simply doesn’t take place. It becomes an ugly battleground where some of the worst things come out.
To make the interview experience a conversation, think about how you might meet someone and develop a friendship. Obviously, what’s at stake in a workplace is greatly different than a friendship, but the concepts are the same:
What do you have in common?
How can you help / benefit each other?
Do you like each other?
How will you interact and keep a solid, mutually beneficial connection going?
What would you like to do together in terms of goal achievement?
What kind of team and tools will help you achieve the goals?
When an employer and applicant come to consensus an interview is really a conversation or business meeting, the pressure is off and a real connection can begin. Now you know why employers and applicants stink at interviewing.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.