The Interview That'll Bag a Job

by Sarah E. Needleman
Tuesday, April !, "##$
provided by
In re%ent wee&s, re%ruiters 'or (onsolidated (ontainer (o. have seen )ob %andidates arrive up to
an hour early 'or interviews. *ther %andidates have alluded to 'inan%ial hardships while in the hot
seat, and one person even distributed bound %opies o'
do%uments des%ribing pro)e%ts he %ompleted 'or past
employers.
These sorts o' ta%ti%s aren't e+a%tly winners.
In today's ultra%ompetitive )ob mar&et, even getting an
interview is a 'eat. ,et re%ruiters and hiring managers
say many unemployed %andidates blow the
opportunity by appearing desperate or bitter about
their situations - o'ten without reali.ing it.
/0eople are be%oming a lot more aggressive,/ says Julie 1oubaton, dire%tor o' re%ruiting and
talent management 'or Atlanta2based (onsolidated (ontainer. /They o'ten wind up hurting
themselves./
At an interview, you want to stand out 'or the right reasons. To do so, you'll need to leave your
baggage and an+iety at the door. 3or starters, wait until # minutes be'ore your s%heduled
interview time to announ%e yoursel'. Arriving any sooner /shows that you're not respe%t'ul o' the
time the hiring manager put aside 'or you,/ says 4s. 1oubaton, adding that a %andidate who
arrived an hour early made wor&ers un%om'ortable. /(ompanies really don't want someone
%amped out in their lobby./
Signal %on'iden%e by o''ering a 'irm handsha&e, adds
5endy Al'us 6othman, president o' 5enroth (onsulting
In%., an e+e%utive %oa%hing 'irm in New ,or&. 3o%us
your attention on the interviewer. Avoid loo&ing around
the room, tapping your 'ingers, or other nervous
movements.
No matter how you're 'eeling, &eep your personal woes
out o' the interview pro%ess, asserts 4s. Al'us 6othman.
Instead, always e+ude an upbeat attitude. 3or e+ample,
i' you were laid o'', instead o' lamenting the situation,
you might say the e+perien%e prompted you to reassess
your s&ills, and that's what led you here. /,ou want to
demonstrate resilien%e in the 'a%e o' unpredi%table obsta%les,/ she says.
4eanwhile, show you've done your homewor& on the %ompany by e+plaining how your
ba%&ground and tra%& re%ord relates to its %urrent needs, adds 7eborah 4ar&us, 'ounder o'
(olumbus Advisors 11(, an e+e%utive2sear%h 'irm in New ,or&. This is parti%ularly important i' the
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:etting
'irm is in a di''erent industry than the one you wor&ed in be'ore. To stand out, you'll need to loo&
up more than )ust basi%s on %ompany leadership and %ore businesses. ,ou'll also need to 'ind out
- and understand - how re%ent %hanges in the mar&etpla%e have a''e%ted the 'irm, its
%ompetitors and industry overall. 6ead re%ent %ompany press releases, annual reports, media
%overage and industry blogs, and %onsult with trusted members o' your networ&. /(ompanies that
may have been per'orming well )ust a 'ew months ago might be in survival mode now,/ says 4s.
4ar&us. /,ou want to understand how <they're= positioned today./
Also, be sure to show you're a strong 'it 'or the parti%ular position you're see&ing, adds >athy
4arsi%o, senior vi%e president o' human resour%es at 07I In%., a Saddle 6iver, N.J., provider o'
sales and mar&eting servi%es 'or pharma%euti%al %ompanies. *''er e+amples o' past
a%%omplishments - not )ust responsibilities you've held - and des%ribe how they're relevant to
the opportunity. /,ou must di''erentiate yoursel' li&e never be'ore,/ she says. /,ou need to
%ustomi.e yoursel' and ma&e yoursel' memorable./
Sherry 6. Bri%&man, a partner at e+e%utive2sear%h 'irm 4artin 0artners 11(, says a %andidate
re%ently impressed her with this sort o' preparation. /9e &new the %ompany's produ%t line and
what mar&ets it was already in,/ she says o' the man, who was interviewing 'or an e+e%utive post
at a midsi.e industrial manu'a%turer. /9e %learly and e''e%tively e+plained how he %ould %ut %osts,
in%rease sales and e+pand mar&et share based on what he'd done in his %urrent )ob./ The
%andidate was hired.
Be %are'ul not to go too 'ar, though, in your ?uest to stand out. 3or e+ample, it may be tempting to
o''er to wor& temporarily 'or 'ree or to ta&e a lesser salary than what a )ob pays. But e+perts say
su%h bold moves o'ten ba%&'ire on %andidates. /Employers want value,/ says 1ee 4iller, author o'
Get More Money on Your Next Job ... In Any Economy. /They don't want %heap./
,our best bet is to wait until you're e+tended a )ob o''er be'ore tal&ing pay. /In a re%ession,
employers are going to be very pri%e sensitive,/ says 4r. 4iller. /The salary you as& 'or may
impa%t their de%ision to move 'orward./ (ome prepared having resear%hed the average pay range
'or a position in %ase you're pressured to name your pri%e, he adds. ,ou might say, 'or e+ample,
that money isn't a primary %on%ern 'or you and that you're )ust loo&ing 'or something 'air,
suggests 4r. 4iller. ,ou %an try turning the tables by as&ing interviewers what the %ompany has
budgeted 'or the position.
In some %ases, you may be loo&ing )ust 'or a )ob to get you through so you might %onsider a less2
than2per'e%t 'it. But i' you aren't really e+%ited about an opportunity, &eep it to yoursel', warns
7avid :aspin, dire%tor o' human resour%es at @5 0ubli% 6elations in New ,or&. /I've had times
where people %ome in and it's %lear that i' they really had their pre'eren%e, they'd be doing
something di''erent,/ he says. /,ou don't want to put that out on the table. Nobody wants to hire
someone who's going to run 'or the door when times get better./
A'ter an interview, ta&e %aution with your 'ollow2up. I' you're in the running 'or multiple )obs at
on%e, ma&e sure to address than&2yous to the right people, %areer e+perts advise. Also loo&
%losely 'or spelling and grammati%al errors. In a %ompetitive )ob mar&et, employers have the
lu+ury o' %hoi%e, and even a minor 'au+ pas %an hurt your %han%es.
I' all has gone well, don't stal& the interviewer. 5ait at least a wee& be'ore %he%&ing on your
%andida%y, adds Jose Tame., managing partner at Austin24i%hael 10, an e+e%utive2sear%h 'irm in
:olden, (olo. (all re%ruiters only at their o''i%e, even i' their business %ard lists a home or %ell
number. 1eave a message i' you get voi%email. These days, re%ruiters typi%ally have %aller I7 and
%an tell i' you've tried rea%hing them multiple times without leaving a voi%email. /There's a 'ine
line between enthusiasm and overenthusiasm,/ he says.