Job Interview: Value yourself to get valued by others

[Re:Kay]

Hey there folks,

It's been a while but I thought I could give back what I learned during my interview process with several companies since I just finished studies and am now working.

Why would I post something about a job on the fastlane forum ?

1.) I believe that one can gather great industry knowledge (+ in my case sales training ) in a job while securing the basic needs.

2.) A lot of you guys advised me on first stating a job and then trying to go for a side hussle - and that makes perfectly sense because of 1)

Back to topic: what I discovered applying the fastlane mindset on the interview process by focusing "what was in there for them working with me" I got several job offers way over my market value as a fresh grad student. It was the knowledge (and conviction ) that I have the right skills and if not skills the willingness to learn that gave me an edge in my opinion

What I want to point out with this post are two things if you want to get a job

1.) Think about what you can do for them - and also think about what you can learn - not what you can earn there

2.) Never forget you are the asses for the company not only the other way round - I declined one job offer simply because I did not feel perfectly treated in the process - even though they were offering more money.

Hope it helps one or the other grad student - feels like the first time I can really put something out there that might help you guys

Best
Re:Kay

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[Kevin88660]

I had many interviews experience.

1) Numbers games first. You could to apply a lot to have things working for you

2) Every interview your goal is only this: Securing the offer from them. Doesn't matter if you realised that you hate them. Get as many offers you can and pick the best later.

 

[Entre Eyes]

Do a little research on being the interviewer and the little tricks they have at their disposal. Also yes it's a numbers game but you have to tailor each one to that company, region, etc.

When I moved from East Coast to West Coast I remember being in an interview and they did not have positive response when I said I volunteered to help homeless.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I had many interviews experience.

1) Numbers games first. You could to apply a lot to have things working for you

2) Every interview your goal is only this: Securing the offer from them. Doesn't matter if you realised that you hate them. Get as many offers you can and pick the best later.

It's not a numbers game and it's also not a value game. Interviews are a social game. It's mostly a game of "liking." If the interviewer(s) like you, then you get the job. Alternately, if the interviewer thinks you will benefit them personally, then you will get the job.

The interviewer is not the company, nor the owner (usually). They do not have a vested interest in your value to the company. Their interest is personal. Will hiring you add more of the kind of people they want to be around? Will it mean more eye-candy in the workplace? Will it make them look good in the eyes of their boss?

Unless the interviewer has a vested interest in the company or has very specific instructions about the exact right candidate, (usually they don't) then we're dealing in social games. So the best bet for most people is to apply fundamentals of influence and persuasion. Smile, good posture, handshake, mirroring, talk about them, ask questions about them or the position, speak slowly and with confidence.

 

[Kevin88660]

It's not a numbers game and it's also not a value game. Interviews are a social game. It's mostly a game of "liking." If the interviewer(s) like you, then you get the job. Alternately, if the interviewer thinks you will benefit them personally, then you will get the job.

The interviewer is not the company, nor the owner (usually). They do not have a vested interest in your value to the company. Their interest is personal. Will hiring you add more of the kind of people they want to be around? Will it mean more eye-candy in the workplace? Will it make them look good in the eyes of their boss?

Unless the interviewer has a vested interest in the company or has very specific instructions about the exact right candidate, (usually they don't) then we're dealing in social games. So the best bet for most people is to apply fundamentals of influence and persuasion. Smile, good posture, handshake, mirroring, talk about them, ask questions about them or the position, speak slowly and with confidence.

My experience is that you should act as if the company you interview is your first choice. Prepare well and tell the story well.

No body likes to feel that you are looking for greener pastures and this is a back up. But in reality everyone has only one favorite choice, one second choice, one third choice.... This is the reality that no company/interviewer likes to hear.

 

[Lex DeVille]

My experience is that you should act as if the company you interview is your first choice. Prepare well and tell the story well.

No body likes to feel that you are looking for greener pastures and this is a back up. But in reality everyone has only one favorite choice, one second choice, one third choice.... This is the reality that no company/interviewer likes to hear.

I disagree that anyone really cares if the job is your first choice, but I agree that acting plays a role. Acting like the job is your first choice will help you perform better. You will come across more positive, outgoing, engaged, expressive and interested, all of which involve social dynamics. It's not numbers. Just how you are perceived in the first three seconds. And the time it takes to compare you to others and pick who they like most.

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[Kevin88660]

I disagree that anyone really cares if the job is your first choice, but I agree that acting plays a role. Acting like the job is your first choice will help you perform better. You will come across more positive, outgoing, engaged, expressive and interested, all of which involve social dynamics. It's not numbers. Just how you are perceived in the first three seconds. And the time it takes to compare you to others and pick who they like most.

It does matter for young people who have no experience and who is open to a lot of jobs in different industries. I actually talked to recruitment consultant that fresh grads often made the mistake of having the attitude that “ I am okay with this job and I do not mind doing this.”

Being interested, positive, outgoing...helps but the killer questions will be “why do you choose this industry and who do you choose this company.”

And most likely the truth cannot be told is “actually I waiting for an offer from another company and if I didnt that I don’t mind working here.” Or “Come on how do I know what I want to do out of school? I will try this to see if it works.”

A good textbook answer is “I have a deep interest in your company and in this industry because of ....and in 3 years time I see myself as xxx in this field”. There is a good chance that an experienced interviewer will know this is BS but this is the BS they want to hear because it shows 1) mental maturity and 2) Respect towards them since you bothered to act, and once given the job you will more likely take it seriously

 

[Ing]

I didn t have many interviews in my life.
To be honest, exactly the number of Interviews as I got jobs.
It was normal to me, that I got the jobs I wanted.


27 years ago I had my last interviw. It got me my dream job I still have.

When I went to this interview, I was already sure to have that job. So I didnt spend anything for propper clothing. Jeans and tshirt and sneakers. For an interview for a studied ingenieer!
There were 8 men in the last circle for the job. 2 of them were psychiatrists of the company. . I didn t know that at this time.

10 years later I heared about that interview: in the first seconds they decided to sack me as the first one.
But than I had my mouth open all the time and grabbed the conversation steadyly.
I quarreled about technical details with the interviewers.
And some days later I had the job.

Must say, it was a hobby of myself to read books about psychology in my youth.
For example "How to get friends and influence people " helped a lot at school and later.

What I want to tell you? Just a story. Maybe it helps a bit

 

[Andy Black]

I loved interviews. I had loads, especially as an IT contractor. I must do a braindump video sometime to go along with my CV thread in here somewhere.

 

[Re:Kay]

Wow lovely to get that much input on the subject from you guys aswell!

@Kevin88660 I really think you are right about the numbers game part when it comes to the intial application - for me linkedin worked as a charm here - just get a decent CV upload and with a good search profile you can basically pretty much apply to most companies within seconds

@Entre Eyes also it is true to have a tailored solution - however I only did it once the interview came - since even big companies offer a direct application via linkedin and I was mostly interested in startups

@Lex DeVille First of all so cool to see you in my thread! have been snooping around your post for a while and really appreciate the content that you are providing already!
I relly like your social game approach and its definately the decision factor in the end! From my personal experience I had to walk trough 2-4 Interviews (even in startups) to get to talk to the founder who made the final decision - so while the first people have an interest in my personalities, Heads are mostly interested in a mixture and ceos just care about the personality - at least thats what my impression was.

What I meant by value game is that one should realize his or her own value and act according to that - I really had good experiences by asking pretty inconvinient questions for the interviewers (which may demonstrate that we are equal partners in the process)- for example I took one main competitor of XY Company and asked why I should consider working for with XY instead of the other (2 software companies and basically asked for differences in their softwares) - When you ask those kind of questions the technical CIO instead of the sales CEO you can be sure he will remember you

Also the Qustions why XY company worked greatly in favour for me. I always talked about the big picture what market trends may be and why I think this may influence xy company. Founders especially liked this approach.

Hope it helps

Keep on Rocking!

 

[James Klymus]

Back to topic: what I discovered applying the fastlane mindset on the interview process by focusing "what was in there for them working with me" I got several job offers way over my market value as a fresh grad student. It was the knowledge (and conviction ) that I have the right skills and if not skills the willingness to learn that gave me an edge in my opinion

Were they larger companies or smaller companies that you got the offers from?

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)