Tag Archives: Interview

“People buy from people they like.” We hear it time and time again. Sometimes it’s more important than what you’re actually selling. If you are able to find a potential client and build a strong rapport – that make the sales process all the more easier. Your client likes you, they trust you, they find value in your services and they feel comfortable in giving you their business. Building rapport and that certain level of trust will help you be more successful at sales.

At Treeline Inc, we talk a lot about the parallels between a sales cycle and the job search – there are a lot of similarities, but this one is hugely translatable: “People buy from people they like and people will HIRE people they like.” In the interview process, there is a lot to cover – dress the part, bring hard copies of the resume, polish your shoes, know your story, sing to your successes. But before you get to sit down in that conference room there is the simple act of introducing yourself to your interviewer. This is a crucial and often overlooked part of the interview process. Think about it, put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer – you are meeting a candidate who you are potentially going to bring into your office to be part of the team, he/she is going to work side by side for 8-12 hours/day, and become an integral part of the office culture. Whether you are meeting an HR Director or the VP of Sales, it is a pretty substantial part of the equation that they must like you.

When you are involved in an interview process you must successfully build rapport with every person you meet. You are charged with the responsibility to quickly connect and build a relationship based upon something that is not business related and it all starts with the 1st contact. Good energy, eye contact, smile, firm handshake and start asking questions, “How are you? Did you have a good weekend? Did you enjoy the sunshine yesterday?” I know these seem like pretty broad questions and they are “cookie cutter” but it is just the initial question(s) that will get you started. What you want to do is to get them talking about themselves – people enjoy talking about themselves which means that they will enjoy talking to you.

The main objective here is to have a conversation before the interview begins – this will establish the building blocks of the relationship. Take the time to build this rapport and you will find that you are no longer “Joseph Smith: Candidate”, but now you are Joe Smith who shares some of the same interests as the interviewer and someone who they like…and you have increased your chances to become someone they will hire.

By Hank Stringer

A dad asked me to talk to his son, a recent engineering grad, to give him a few pointers on an upcoming interview. I took him through the typical questions and as we approached the end of the conversation, I asked if he was excited about the opportunity.
“Sure” he said, “but I’d really like to work for company XYZ, one of their competitors.”
“Okay,” I responded. “Have you contacted them?”
“Well my favorite professor introduced me to one of their managers and he asked me to give them a call,” he explained.
“Did you?” I asked.

He stammered for a few moments and confessed he had not.

I know those of you reading this would not allow this to happen, you would have been all over the invitation to call and you may be thinking this college grad must be an idiot. That’s a good question and as I thought about how I should react to his response, I simply asked, “Are you an idiot?”

We talked through the situation and I tasked the young man to call the manager, tell him he would be in the area in a few days to interview with another company and would appreciate the opportunity to meet. Guess what, the manager invited him in, he interviewed and is expecting an offer.

So while he’s young and he may have time to make some mistakes, there are some important takeaways we can all learn from no matter how many years of experience you hold:
1. Please, react when invited to respond. I know it sounds simple and makes sense but we are human and we find plenty of reasons to procrastinate – don’t, you will regret it.
2. The second you line up an interview, get on the phone with other companies you are interested in working for to set up your next interview. If you don’t have any contacts, start networking to find them. You just got an interview, you feel good about yourself, it actually comes across in your voice and I promise you will be amazed at how one interview leads to another. DO NOT rest on the laurels of one interview with the classic, “this is the job I’ve been waiting for,” only to be disappointed later when it didn’t come through or meet your expectations.

And last reason to set up another interview once you have one scheduled, it makes negotiating offers much easier when you know there either is or even could be something else out there.

By Vickie Elmer

“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, “The Waiting”
That stretch between the first interview and the second one can be a killer.

So too is the waiting if the hiring manager is so busy to finish interviews or reach a decision.

The hiring cycle is stretching longer as employers are more selective. Jobs that used to take two months to fill may take four times as long, as managers wait for better candidates, according to a WSJ.com article last month.

So after the interview, you wait and wonder. Or you work on ways to land to a second interview, or even create a consulting project for yourself, said Pennell Locey, a senior consultant with career management firm Keystone Associates.

Candidates who are smart also are creative in staying connected to decision-makers and others, she said. Check in too often and you’re seen as a pest. But if you lay low you could be forgotten in the crush of other candidates and daily tasks.  She recommends a follow up every seven to 10 days, and not burn your chances by following up every two or three.

“Time runs exponentially longer for the job seeker than the hiring manager,” said Locey, who used to manage a university career department and retraining programs for displaced workers in Massachusetts.  ”It’s such a fine line between attentive and needy.”

Here are a half dozen ways Locey recommends to be attentive and stay connected until you get called for the second interview:

• Send thank you notes aplenty. You know you must send one to the hiring manager. But you’ll really be a standout if you thank the administrative assistant, especially if she helped you with travel arrangements or other details. Then maybe you met with a few other people in your department. Send them a gratitude note too. Locey said such appreciation really demonstrates your people skills and can go a long way toward advancing your candidacy. It’s important though to be gracious, and not sound like a suck-up.
• Give a thoughtful expansion on the interview. If there’s a subject that got short shrift or a question that you didn’t answer well, come back around and address it better. Send this follow up within a week or so of the interview, otherwise it looks contrived, Locey said.
• Check in with your internal recommender. Whether this is your ex-wife or a former colleague, they may be able to give you some inside information on the hiring plans. They also may be able to help you understand any delays in filling the job.
• Offer some information. Send the hiring manager some blog post, conference information, white paper or other valuable information. “Make it useful or light,” she said. You want something that connects you two. If you don’t have a great link to share, you could comment on corporate news or changes.  If there’s a new senior vice president, see how that may affect the department where you want to work. The message: “I’m staying informed. I’m watching.”
• Seek to give new details about yourself. When you think all the interviewing is almost done, you could write the hiring manager again, and note that time and conversations may have reshaped the job’s details or the company’s expectations. Then ask: “Is there anything we didn’t cover that would be useful?”  This is an opening for another conversation.
• Offer to take on a pressing problem or piece of work. During the interview you’ve found out that the company has a tight timetable for its new project. Yet the job you want was just reposted with some different qualifications. So you write to the hiring manager and offer to help with an urgent need. Be clear you know you’re coming in for a short-term quick-fix and you understand the organization is continuing its search to fill the opening. Focus in on one piece where you know you could be helpful and that you know needs addressing.

One way to identify those needs: During the interview ask about the most important things you would need to accomplish in the first 30, 60 and 90 days after being hired. Or try “What are some quick wins you want me to produce for you?” Locey suggests. Use those needs to propose a project and the project could lead to more projects or possibly the job you interviewed for so long ago.