A job interview is a minefield for the unprepared. Jim Keefe wants to keep you from blowing yourself up by making a bad first impression.
It may not be as disastrous as the applicant who asked if the personnel manager was qualified to conduct the interview, or the one who challenged his interviewer to an arm wrestling match. But in Keefe’s experience as owner of an employment agency and headhunter for Fortune 500 companies, he has seen every aspect of the employment process. He knows that the weakest part of any job search is the interview.
“Most people don’t know how to develop the chemistry with the interviewer, which is all important,” Keefe said. “If the chemistry is not there, it doesn’t matter how qualified you are, you are not going to get past the interviewer.” Keefe has seen cases where the most highly-qualified candidate did not get it the job, just because they lacked chemistry.
So what is this “chemistry” and can it be conjured?
According to Keefe, the secret is empathy. That comprises listening skills, interaction, definitely manners and politeness, cleanliness and hygiene.
“The first way to make a great impression, is you have to be clean,” he said, stating something that should be obvious. Next, you have to be dressed for the position. “If you are applying for a janitorial position, you do not need to wear a Brooks Brothers suit. But you need to be clean. You can’t have an interviewer recoil because of body odor or holes in your clothes.”
Beyond those basics, interviewees must put some advance effort into any interview. That means knowing something about the company and position you are applying for.
“You have to examine the company so you can form questions and show interest,” he said. “If you show interest, the interviewer is going to show interest in you.”
An interview is a two-way street. “Don’t make him do all the work. He has to ask questions to see if you are what he wants. But you are interviewing the company, too.”
There are also a few “don’ts” that many applicants stumble on.
Don’t ask about salary or benefits. Don’t ask about vacations. Instead, ask about what you can do for the company, and if you get the job, what lies ahead.
And what, I wondered, do you do with the question that has always been asked in every interview I have been in: “What is your greatest weakness?”
Keefe has an answer for that “loaded question.”
But you’ll have to take his class to hear it, along with dozens of other secrets and tips such as why you should look for a job that is not posted, who to select for references, how to follow up the interview, how to quit your current job, and how to research a company.
“This class is a two-hour investment of time that will make a huge difference in your life. I’m looking for people who have a worthwhile attitude, but no one has ever told them how to do this.”
And it just might land you your next job.
XXX
“Secrets of Successful Interviewing” will be held on Feb. 9, with another session set for April 14. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.
Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.
No comments:
Post a Comment