What Color Is Your Parachute? Part 5

Tip #6

During the interview, determine to observe "the 50-50 Rule." Studies have revealed that, in general, the people who get hired are those who mix speaking and listening fifty-fifty in the interview. That is, half the time they let the employer do the talking, half the time in the interview they do the talking. People who didn't follow that mix, were the ones who didn't get hired, according to the study.4 My hunch as to the reason why this is so, is that if you talk too much about yourself, you come across as one who would ignore the needs of the organization; if you talk too little, you come across as trying to hide something about your background.

Tip #7

In answering the employer's questions, observe "the twenty-second to two-minute rule." Studies have revealed that when it is your turn to speak or answer a question, you should plan not to speak any longer than two minutes at a time, if you want to make the best impression.5 In fact, a good answer to an employer's question sometimes only takes twenty seconds to give. (But not less than that, else you will be a.s.sumed to be "a grunter," lacking any communication skills.)

Tip #8

The employer is primarily concerned about risk. Employers hate risks. Because if they don't pan out, they will cost the employer a lot of money. Put the search term "cost of a bad hire" into your favorite Internet search engine (Google?), and see what it turns up. As you can see, the cost of hiring the wrong person can cost the employer one to five times the bad hire's annual salary, or more.

So, you may think you are sitting there, scared to death, while the employer (individual or team) is sitting there, blase and confident. But in actual fact you and they may both be quite anxious.

The employer's anxieties include any or all of the following: a. That if hired, you won't be able to do the job: that you lack the necessary skills or experience, and the hiring-interview didn't uncover this.

b. That if hired, you won't put in a full working day, more often than not.

c. That if hired, you'll take frequent sick days, on one pretext or another.

d. That if hired, you'll only stay around for a few weeks or at most a few months, until you find a better job.

e. That if hired, it may take you too long to master the job, and thus it will be too long before you turn a profit for that organization.

f. That you won't get along with the other workers there, or that you will develop a personality conflict with the boss.

g. That you will only do the minimum that you can get away with, rather than the maximum that the boss was hoping for. Since every boss these days is trying to keep their workforce smaller than it was before 2008, they are hoping for the maximum productivity from each new hire post-2008.

h. That you will always have to be told what to do next, rather than displaying initiative.

i. That you will turn out to have a disastrous character flaw not evident in the interview, and ultimately reveal yourself to be either dishonest, or irresponsible, a spreader of dissension at work, lazy, an embezzler, a gossip, a s.e.xual hara.s.ser, a drunk, a drug-user or substance abuser, a liar, incompetent, or to put it bluntly, an employer's worst nightmare.

j. (If this is a large organization, and your would-be boss is not the top person there) that you will bring discredit upon them, and upon their department/section/division, etc., for ever hiring you in the first place-making them lose face, possibly also costing them a raise or a promotion, from the boss upstairs.

In the end, what employers want to hire are people who can bring in more money than they are paid. Every organization has two main preoccupations for its day-by-day work: the problems-they generally prefer "challenges"-they are facing, and what solutions to those challenges their employees and management are coming up with. Therefore, the main thing the employer is trying to figure out during the hiring-interview with you, is: will you be part of the solution there, or just another part of the problem.

In trying to allay their worries here, you should figure out prior to the interview how a bad employee would "screw up," in the position you are discussing with the employer, individual or team-such things as come in late, take too much time off, follow his or her own agenda instead of the employer's, etc. Then plan to emphasize to the employer during the interview how much you are the very opposite: your sole goal "is to increase the organization's effectiveness, service, and bottom line."

Tip #9

It's the small things that are the killers, in a job interview. Okay, you're in the interview. You're ready with your carefully rehea.r.s.ed summary of your experience, skills, and knowledges. But the employer isn't listening. Because, sitting across from you, they are noticing things about you, that will kill the interview. And the job offer.

I think of this as losing to mosquitoes when you were prepared to fight dragons. And losing in the first two minutes (ouch).

So what's going on? Simply this.

The best of interviewers operate intuitively on the principle of microcosm reveals macrocosm. They believe that what you do in some small "universe" reveals how you would and will act in a larger "universe."

They watch you carefully, during the small universe of the interview, because they a.s.sume that each of your behaviors there reveals how you would act in a larger "universe"-like: the job!

They scrutinize your past, as in your resume, for the same reason: microcosm (your behavior in the past) reveals macrocosm (your likely behavior in the future).

So let us look at what mosquitoes (as it were) can fly in, during the first thirty seconds to two minutes of your interview so that the person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you starts muttering to themselves, "I sure hope we have some other candidates besides this one": 1. Your appearance and personal habits. Survey after survey has revealed that you are much more likely to get the job if: you have obviously freshly bathed; if a male that you have your face freshly shaved or your hair and beard freshly trimmed, have clean fingernails, and are using a deodorant; if a female that you have not got tons of makeup on your face, have had your hair newly cut or styled, have clean or nicely manicured fingernails that don't stick out ten inches from your fingers, are using deodorant, and are not wearing clothes so daring that they call a lot of attention to themselves; and that you have on freshly laundered clothes, pants, or pantsuits with a sharp crease, and shoes, not flip-flops, freshly polished; and you do not have bad breath, do not dispense the odor of garlic, onion, stale tobacco, or strong drink, into the enclosed office air, but have brushed and flossed your teeth; and equally you are not wafting tons of aftershave cologne or overwhelming perfume fifteen feet ahead of you, as you enter the room. Employers are super-sensitive these days to the fact that many of their employees are allergic.

2. Nervous mannerisms. It is a turnoff for many employers if: you continually avoid eye contact with the employer (in fact, this is a big, big no-no), or you give a limp handshake, or you slouch in your chair, or endlessly fidget with your hands, or crack your knuckles, or constantly play with your hair during the interview.

3. Lack of self-confidence. It is a turnoff for many employers if: you are speaking so softly you cannot be heard, or so loudly you can be heard two rooms away, or you are giving answers in an extremely hesitant fashion, or you are giving only one-word answers (no, yes, maybe, not yet, I think so) to all the employer's questions, or you are constantly interrupting the employer, or you are downplaying your achievements or abilities, or are continuously being self-critical in comments you make about yourself during the interview.

4. The consideration you show to other people. It is a turnoff for many employers if: you show a lack of courtesy to the receptionist, secretary, and (if at lunch) to the waiter or waitress, or you display extreme criticalness toward your previous employers and places of work, or you drink strong stuff during the interview process. Ordering a drink if the employer takes you to lunch is always a no-no, as it raises the question in the employer's mind, "Do they normally stop with one, or do they normally keep on going?" Don't ... do ... it! ... even if they do; or you forget to thank the interviewer as you're leaving, or forget to send a thank-you note afterward. Says one human resources expert: "A prompt, brief ... letter thanking me for my time along with a (brief!) synopsis of his/her unique qualities communicates to me that this person is an a.s.sertive, motivated, customer-service-oriented salesperson who utilizes technology and knows the rules of the game.' These are qualities I am looking for.... At the moment I receive approximately one such letter ... for every fifteen candidates interviewed."

5. Your values. It is a complete turnoff for many employers, if they see in you: any sign of arrogance or excessive aggressiveness; any sign of tardiness or failure to keep appointments and commitments on time, including this interview; or any sign of laziness or lack of motivation; or any sign of constant complaining or blaming things on others; or any signs of dishonesty or lying-especially on your resume or during the interview; or any signs of irresponsibility or tendency to goof off; or any sign of not following instructions or obeying rules; or any sign of a lack of enthusiasm for this organization and what it is trying to do; or any sign of instability, inappropriate response, and the like; or the other ways in which you evidence your values, such as: what things impress you or don't impress you in their office; or what you are willing to sacrifice in order to get this job and what you are not willing to sacrifice in order to get this job; or your enthusiasm for work; or the carefulness with which you did or didn't research this company before you came in; and blah, blah, blah.

Incidentally, many an employer will watch to see if you smoke, either in the office or at lunch. In a race between two equally qualified people, the nonsmoker will win out over the smoker 94% of the time, according to a study done by a professor of business at Seattle University. Sorry to report this, but there it is!

So, there you have it: these are the metaphorical mosquitoes that can kill you, when you're on the watch for dragons, during the hiring-interview.

One favor I ask of you: do not write me, telling me how picayune or asinine some of this is. I know that. I'm not reporting the world as it should be, and certainly not as I would like it to be. I'm only reporting what study after study has revealed about the world as it is. And how it affects your chances of getting hired.

But here's the good news, when all is said and done: you can kill all these mosquitoes. Yes, you control and can change every one of these factors. Go back and read the list and see!

Tip #10

Be aware of the skills most employers are looking for, these days, regardless of the position you are seeking.

They are looking for employees: who are punctual, arriving at work on time or better yet, early; who stay until quitting time, or even leave late; who are dependable; who have a good att.i.tude; who have drive, energy, and enthusiasm; who want more than a paycheck; who are self-disciplined, well-organized, highly motivated, and good at managing their time; who can handle people well; who can use language effectively; who can work on a computer; who are committed to teamwork; who are flexible, and can respond to novel situations, or adapt when circ.u.mstances at work change; who are trainable, and love to learn; who are project-oriented, and goal-oriented; who have creativity and are good at problem solving; who have integrity; who are loyal to the organization; and who are able to identify opportunities, markets, and coming trends.

So, plan on claiming all of these that you legitimately can, and prior to the interview, sit down, make a list, and jot down some experience you have had, for each, that proves you have that skill.

Tip #11

Try to think of some way to bring evidence of your skills, to the hiring-interview. For example, if you are an artist, a craftsperson, or anyone who produces a product, try to bring a sample of what you have made or produced-in sc.r.a.pbook or portfolio form, on a flashdrive, on YouTube, in photos, or if you are a programmer, examples of your code. And so on.

Tip #12

Do not bad-mouth your previous employer(s) during the interview, even if they were terrible people. Employers sometimes feel as though they are a fraternity or sorority. During the interview you want to come across as one who displays courtesy toward all members of that fraternity or sorority. Bad-mouthing a previous employer only makes this employer who is interviewing you, worry about what you would say about them, after they hire you.

(I learned this in my own experience. I once spoke graciously about a previous employer during a job-interview. Unbeknownst to me, the interviewer already knew that my previous employer had badly mistreated me. He therefore thought very highly of me because I didn't bad-mouth the guy. In fact, he never forgot this incident; talked about it for years afterward.) Plan on saying something nice about any previous employer, or if you are pretty sure that the fact you and they didn't get along will surely come out, then try to nullify this ahead of time, by saying something simple like, "I usually get along with everybody; but for some reason, my past employer and I just didn't get along. Don't know why. It's never happened to me before. Hope it never happens again."

Tip #13

Throughout the interview, keep in mind: employers don't really care about your past; they only ask about it, in order to try to predict your future (behavior) with them, if they decide to hire you. They have fears, of course; don't we all?

Legally, U.S. employers may only ask you questions that are related to the requirements and expectations of the job. They cannot ask about such things as your creed, religion, race, age, s.e.xual orientation, or marital status. But, any other questions about your past are fair game. And they will ask them, if they know what they're doing.

Therefore, during the hiring-interview, before you answer any question the employer asks you about your past, you should pause to think, "What fear about the future caused them to ask this question about my past?" and then address that fear, obliquely or directly.

Here are some examples: Employer's Question: "Tell me about yourself."

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid he/she isn't going to conduct a very good interview, by failing to ask the right questions. Or is afraid there is something wrong with you, and is hoping you will blurt it out.

The Point You Try to Get Across: You are a good employee, as you have proved in the past at your other jobs. (Give the briefest history of who you are, where born and raised, interests, hobbies, and kind of work you have enjoyed the most to date.)

Keep it to two minutes, max.

Phrases You Might Use to Get This Across: In describing your work history, use any honest phrases you can about your work history, that are self-complimentary: "Hard worker." "Came in early, left late."

"Always did more than was expected of me." Etc.

Employer's Question: "What kind of work are you looking for?"

The Fear Behind the Question: The employer is afraid that you are looking for a different job than that which the employer is trying to fill.

E.g., he/she wants an a.s.sistant, but you want to be an office supervisor, etc.