Breaking News
Unlock Your Potential
Adopts Exciting Interviewing Technology!
I am thrilled to
announce that Unlock your Potential has partnered with web-based
technology company InterviewSTREAM to add a video interviewing
technology to UYP’s list of services. InterviewTRUE is available to
 individual
job seekers as well as colleges, universities, corporate staffing
and outplacement companies that are looking to improve their
interviewing practice offering for their candidates.
InterviewTRUE
(www.interviewtrue.com)
is a web-based system that allows
job seekers to practice interviewing using interactive
video. Users can select from a library of 1,200 questions in 50
categories. They can also supplement the library by creating their
own customized questions. After practicing, they perform a recorded
self-evaluation that can be reviewed and critiqued later by a career
coach or interview counselor.
InterviewTRUE’s
collegiate counterpart, InterviewSTREAM (www.interviewstream.com),
is currently available to students at over 200 Colleges and
Universities, including 22 of the country’s 26 major MBA programs. Ross Business School at the
University of Michigan, The Wharton School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University in New Jersey are
just three of the programs that have integrated InterviewSTREAM into
their career placement resources available to students.
For more
information about using InterviewTRUE technology as a complement or
alternative to your organization’s in-house interviewing process,
please contact me at (248) 661-2174 or
Jane@unlockyourpotential.com.
The
Press Release
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Interviewing Secrets
Your
Interviewing Tip Sheet
Your
resume has been reviewed and you have been asked to come in for an
interview. Now what? How do you present yourself in the best light?
How will you differentiate yourself from your competition? What is
going to make that recruiter believe that you are the best
candidate? Here are some tips to knock your interviewer’s socks off!
Before the interview
·
Research the company:
Google the company and the person interviewing you. Show the
interviewer that you did your homework and understand the
company’s vision, goals, values, challenges.
·
Research salary: Know what you are worth in the marketplace. Try to
avoid salary discussions if it is your first interview, but be
armed with the information in case the interviewer brings it up.
·
Review your elevator speech:
Use your elevator speech when asked to “tell about yourself.”
It will provide structure and focus early on in the interview
·
Review and analyze the job description:
Build a bridge between your skills and abilities and the
company’s requirements. It may be helpful to prepare a T Chart.
On one side of the chart put the heading “This is What The
Company
Wants,” and on the other side put “This is What I Offer.” Be sure
to include accomplishments with the skills you cite to back up
your claims.
·
Craft the questions you want answered and bring them to
the interview: An
interview can be a stressful situation, and this strategy will
ensure that you don’t forget to ask the questions that are
important to you. Remember, it’s your interview, too.
·
Practice Practice Practice:
Use
www.interviewtrue.com, a friend or, at the very least, a
mirror. These will provide you with valuable feedback on your
body language, tone and content. Furthermore, it will reduce the
jitters on the day of the interview
·
Find out who you will be interviewing with:
Discuss with the recruiter what your day will be like. Will you
seeing more than one interviewer? If yes, know who they are so
you can google them in advance.
·
Dress for success:
Image matters. Always dress conservatively in a suit
no matter the dress code of the company. Even if your
interviewer shows up in jeans, you will come across as a
professional. Women can wear earrings but, for men and women, no
other piercings or visible tattoos, please (Sorry…).
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At
the interview
·
Arrive 15 minutes early: You want some time to
get settled, relax and breathe.
·
First impressions count: Make sure your
handshake is firm and your eyes are alert. Show passion. Chemistry with
the interviewer is important.
·
Pick up cues about the culture: Notice how the cubes
are laid out, the noise level, the interaction among the
employees, the pictures on the wall, etc.
·
Control the interview: Be concise and
relevant. No rambling. Keep the interview positive. If
interviewer goes off randomly, always bring it back to your
accomplishments.
·
Ask your questions: If your questions have not been
answered during the interview, make sure you advise interviewer
that you
 have some questions to ask. Then, take your questions
out, ask them and write down the answers. Shows that you are
prepared and are taking this seriously.
·
Closing the interview: Ask how you did? What are the next steps? Is there
anything else the interviewer needs to make the decision to hire
you? When will you hear from them? What is the timetable for
making the hiring decision? You will sleep better knowing the
answers to these questions and you won’t need to sit by the
phone waiting.
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After the interview
·
Debrief the interview right away: How did you do?
How did you and the interviewer(s) get on? Where did you shine?
Where could you have done better? Write it down somewhere so you
have a record.
·
Send thank you notes: If there is urgency
in your getting back to the interviewer(s), email a thank you to
each interviewer; if not, personally hand- write your thank you
note(s) and send via snail mail.
·
Follow up as appropriate: This all depends upon
what you and the interviewer had decided upon as as next steps.
Follow the “rules” established.
So there you have it—the common elements of interviewing. But what
about the not so common elements? Each interview is as unique as
the people involved. To boost your chances of success, have Coach
Jane give you her “secret sauce" in a FREE one session boot camp on
interviewing. Contact her right away for this limited time offer.
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Podcast Alert
“Secrets of the Job Hunt’s” C.M. Russell Interviews Coach Jane
C.M.
Russell, publisher of the web site “Secrets of the Job Hunt” (www.secretsofthejobhunt.com
- a must read for all of you job seekers), asked me to talk about
UYP and mistakes often made by candidates at interviews. The
result was a 17 minute podcast.
Click here to Listen:
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Success Story
How One Client Used
Coach Jane’s Interviewing Technique to Land His Dream Job
Barry called me in
a panic; he had an interview in three days with a company he really
wanted to work for and felt completely
 unprepared!
We immediately got to work. First we reviewed the key pieces of
his marketing package - his elevator speech to answer the dreaded
question “Tell me about yourself” and his resume to isolate his key
attributes. We then created a T-Chart that would match up Barry’s
skills and accomplishments to what the company was asking for in the
job description so that when asked for documented proof of his
qualifications, he was well prepared. Then I laid the big one on
Barry: “Remember,” I cautioned, “it is not about you; it’s about the
value you bring to solving whatever problem a company is faced with.
What you are really selling is a solution.”
Barry went back to
the drawing board to research the company in detail and understand
their challenges. I advised him to go to
www.interviewTRUE.com and practice to minimize the jitters
and observe his body language in action. He then sent me his best
practice session so I could review and critique it. Finally, Barry put
together a list of questions he wanted answered before he left the
interview.
By day three,
Barry was ready for his interview. As a result of his preparation,
Barry landed the job! He said,
Jane, thank you for a rewarding
experience. Working with you helped me
achieve the goal - "Enhancing My
Interview Experience". You rolled up
your sleeves and worked to
address my specific concerns. Your
guidance, experience, and unique
job search process was critical to my success.
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Fast Facts
Did You Know?
Others
listen to you and judge the emotional content of your message
based on the following input:
·
Visual / Body Language 55%
·
Voice / Tone / Inflection 38%
·
Contents / Words 7%
(1971 study by
Albert Mehrabian of UCLA, "Silent Messages")
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