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Many clients come to me frustrated because, after months and months of interviews, they still have not received an offer. I tell them that in my experience, most individuals do not interview well and that they are not alone. Whether you are freshly out of graduate school or have been working in the workforce for a while, developing strong interviewing skills is difficult for many reasons. One is, the focus in school is on your studies not interviewing. Another reason is, once you land a job, the focus is on your skills that helped you get the job, not preparing for the next interview.
Interviewing presents a unique skill set that requires a coach to groom you for the uncomfortable position of being in the hot seat that can often feel like you are being interrogated or cross-examined. At school, the equivalent of being cross-examined is taking an exam on material presented, or one’s oral defense of their dissertation, all geared toward a specific knowledge of in-depth study. An interview is more personal and therein lies the culprit. Many of those I coach let this personal issue undermine their self-confidence. You are in unfamiliar territory because your skills and grades landed you the interview so what more does the organization want to glean about YOU?
One grad came to me because, after 8 months of interviews, he still had not received any job offers. Freshly out of law school and passing the bar exam, his hopes were high but over the course of 8 months, all confidence left him. He couldn’t fathom what he was doing wrong. Within the first 15 – 20 minutes of our first coaching session, I discovered three areas that needed strengthening, often the same three for most I coach. One is, when answering a question, the interviewee talks too much losing the interest of the interviewer. In our coaching sessions, we performed mock interviews, breaking ingrained patterns and developing new skills geared toward having a great interview. Like any coach, I push my clients past their comfort zone and hone in on those new skills required to receiving a job offer.
This particular grad was a quick study and after a few sessions, his confidence was back. He received not one but two job offers within two weeks of us beginning our work together. No one I coach wants the journey from interview to job offer to last long. My job is to teach the skills needed to interview well and land the job. Everyone who has come to me needing to learn the interview skillset has a similar experience and story to this young man. They do not interview well and do not receive an offer. After coaching with me, they land a job offer if not multiple offers.
You do not have to be freshly out of school to take advantage of the techniques I have developed. One seasoned and accomplished career woman wanted to change organizations and move into the C-Suite level. Not only did we improve her interviewing savvy, we worked on the one area that always was pointed out to her in her performance reviews. Her goal was to eradicate this behavior when she went to work for a new organization. She accomplished her goal and the old behavior did not accompany her into her new role as CIO. We accomplished both!
Ready to land that job? Contact me and let’s get you on your way. Meanwhile, click on the link below to learn more of my interview strategies that are explored during our coaching sessions. Remember, Success Starts With You!