Selling Yourself In A Highly Competitive and Demanding Market

"Think About This............."

"Intellectual Brilliance in and of itself has a questionable net benefit to organizations when it is unaccompanied by strong interpersonal skills. Sometimes an organization becomes enamored by pure brilliance and hires a candidate on that strength alone. But the brilliant person who lacks basic interpersonal skills can quickly become isolated and therefore ineffective." Millington F. McCoy, Gould, McCoy & Chadick

"And This............."

"Hiring Managers, while evaluating job candidates will not typically settle for a person who is qualified for job A; You must also convince them that you can grow, learn and be developed to succeed in job B. Otherwise the successful manager will not be able to grow themselves." Stephen Nelson, Leadership Manager

No matter how good you are, or how great the demand for your experience may be, you must sell yourself to the prospective employer. You must do this on your own during the interview. You must approach the interview and the entire process with a positive attitude. Never undersell yourself. Always speak and think in positive terms. Remember, the most qualified candidate doesn't always get the job offer. Offers of employment are extended to candidates for many reasons. The decision is based on how the candidate interviews. The quiet candidate for whom every word must be tediously extracted, the over-confident braggart who exaggerates their experience, or the candidate who has established a minimum salary objective which represents an outrageous increase are all examples of the type of candidate who will receive more negative replies than offers. The entire concept of job hunting revolves around the ability to sell yourself. You need to recognize that in job hunting and interviewing, you must be a "salesperson". You must approach each interview with one thought in mind: get the offer! Since offers are extended to those candidates who appear to be the most qualified, you must emphasize your positive attributes and eliminate or avoid discussion of negatives. Without misrepresenting yourself, you must answer all questions with whatever positive comments you can make. Every time you answer a question with the word, "no" you reduce your chances of getting an offer. Therefore, even if your experience is quite limited in a particular area, it would be better to respond with a comment about what it is you know, rather than any reference to what you don't know.

Preparation for the Interview

Prepare Several Interview Questions
Your dual role on an interview is to market or sell your skills and interview the company. Appropriate questions will provide you with valuable information about the Company and will also help create a positive conversational atmosphere between you and the company representative.
Sample questions:

What are the common denominators of successful people in this Company?

What characteristics are unique about this Company?
What outside influences affect the Company's growth?
What are the short and long range Company objectives?
In what areas does this Company excel?
How can I contribute to the department and contribute to overall Company goals?
What is the organizational structure of: a) this department? b) the Company?
How long was the last person in this position? What attributes made this person successful? Are there additional skills needed for this position now?
What would you add to or subtract from the incumbents' performance?
What would you expect me to achieve during my first six months to a year on the job?
What obstacles do you foresee that I would have to overcome?
Why do you enjoy working here?
Tell me about yourself?
Who are your competitors?
What distinguishes you from your competitors?
What do you see as the primary focus of the department?
What are the long term goals/appropriate for the person in this slot?
Who are the key people I will interface with and how can I help them?
What attracted you to this company?
What areas does the company need developing or polishing in?
Where do you think I could contribute most effectively now that you've seen my skills (2nd interview)?


Fielding Questions
Frequently Asked Questions by Employers
Tell me about yourself. (Ask - Where do you want me to start?)

Why do you want to leave your present position?
What do you do best in your present position?
What are your career goals? Long-term/Short-term?
Why are you interested in this position?
Do you think this position offers you the challenges you need?
What are you looking for in a job?
What can you do for our company?
What distinguishes you from others in your field?
What are your greatest strengths as a person?
What are your greatest weaknesses or areas you want to improve?
How would your boss or coworkers describe you?
How do you: a) Set priorities? b) Organize your time? c) Solve problems?
How do you feel about relocation - now/in the future.
How do you feel about the commute?
What do you know about our company?
Why should I hire you?