First thing you need to do for your job interview is prepare a well defined job interview strategy. Whether you are looking for an entry level position or looking for a new job, the competition out there is very steep and unless you are prepared for the job interview, you might be wasting your time. There are a lot of FREE interview tips you can read on the internet but that information may not get you the job so you have to move your job interview strategy up one notch. Just because you want a job doesn’t mean as much as demonstrating to the interviewer your behavior once you get the job. This means that you will have to make an EXTRA effort with a tremendous amount of intensity to get the nod that you are the right person to for the job. You need to demonstrate your perseverance and stand out from the crowd of resumes.

A job interview is exactly like a sales process. During the job interview process, you need to take advantage of every opportunity to make positive and meaningful contact with the company and demonstrate your talents and desire for the position. People do not get hired solely on their work experience because if that were true, the only thing a hiring manager would have to do is look for the person with the most experience and make an offer. Hiring managers look for successful behavioral traits and team spirit that translates to a successful employee.

So why do some people seem to get the job interview and others don’t? You need to careful review all the steps you went through on last interview. Did you follow the correct steps of selling yourself? Selling is an art of closing a deal. In a job interview, you are involved in a transaction of selling your product (YOU) and demonstrating how it will benefit the employer. Unless the manager is convince that the company will experience a significant benefit of hiring you, there is a high chance that you won’t get hired.

To get hired quickly, you need to have a well defined “sales” strategy”. Here are just a few things to do.

THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW IS TO KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE COMPANY AND ITS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

This is a vital part of your strategy. This is called PRE-INTERVIEW PLANNING. If you are not performing PRE-INTERVIEW PLANNING, you’ll rarely succeed in a job interview. Pre-Interview planning involves complete research on the company. Research the company’s current stock price, back ground of the top executives, details on their products and even go as far as making informative contact with an employee from the company before your interview. Now what you do with this information and how you present to the interviewer is your strategy! Demonstrating that you are very knowledgeable about the company, its products, and who is running the organization will show the company your behavioral skills of teamwork, involvement, understanding details and a desire to positively impact their business.

MAKE PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL CONTACT WITH THE COMPANY

Contacting the company at strategic times in the interview cycle is very important. How you act before, during and after an interview is an opportunity to demonstrate your communications skills. This is vital to your strategy.

RAPPORT BUILDING IS VITAL

Rapport building is all about making the other person comfortable with your communications skills and demonstrating a high level of competency. Your response during rapport building is your strategy! Your conversation needs to be relevant to your personal work behavior. As an example, if the interviewer casually discusses the traffic going to work this morning, your comment should be that you like to go to work early to avoid the traffic. This demonstrates your commitment to your job and a behavior that adds value to the company.

ENGAGE IN FACT FINDING FIRST AND THEN PRESENT YOUR SKILLS

During fact finding, share your knowledge about the company in an interview and ask what they are looking for in a new employee for the position. Then, present your skills in a way to shed light on the company’s needs. Your strategy must demonstrate how the direction of the company, their products and the company goals relate to your specific skills and experiences. Your strategy needs to articulate your personal behaviors parallel what the company is looking for and where your career is going.

UNDERSTANDING THEIR NEEDS BEFORE YOU START OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS

Don’t take objections personally. In sales, there are certain fundamental ways to overcome objections. The person interviewing you wants to see how you overcome objections whether you are interviewing for a sales job or not. Most objections appear because you have failed to show how your experience meets their needs, your ability to resolve work issues, solve their problems and accomplishes their objectives. It is imperative that you learn how to eloquently overcoming objections in a non-argumentative way. In most situations when a decision maker presents you with an objection, it is merely a statement that they want to know more about your experience or personality traits. When you hear an objection, understand that they are saying, “I am not sold on the information you have presented so far. Please give me more information about your qualities.”

CLOSE THE SALE BY ASKING FOR THE JOB

Like a good sales person, you need to know when to ask for the job. Be direct and to the point. First, tell them why they should hire you and then ask for the job. This is not a time to be passive, be direct and specific as to why you want the position.

Source: ezinearticles

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