Thea Kelley
Preparing Your Core Messages – you’ll build confidence and clarity by identifying your key selling points and learning how to proactively emphasize those throughout the interview. Your answers will become more relevant, compelling and convincing. (Location 153)
Answering and Asking – you’ll gain strategies for handling any question that may come your way, plus specific tips on dozens of the most common questions. You’ll also learn to ask insightful and well-targeted questions that help you assess the job and impress the interviewer. (Location 156)
You won’t get the job just by being qualified – you need to stand out, and you need to be remembered. (Location 181)
Less Is More: The Importance of Focus (Location 188)
People learn better when the presentation is organized around a few core concepts. Interviewing (Location 190)
In sales, these are often called “key selling points.” In an interview, the “product” you’re selling is you. If that sounds awful, let’s remember that you’re not selling your soul – just clearly communicating the skills, expertise and personal strengths that will make you valuable to an employer. (Location 193)
Listing Possible REV Points Right now, take a few minutes and jot down the top 10 reasons why an employer should choose you over the competition. (Later I’ll ask you to narrow it down to no more than five.) (Location 199)
Narrowing It Down Now, let’s pick the three to five points on your list that will be most impressive and convincing to an employer – the ones that will really sell you. (Location 211)
Study several job postings for the type of job you want, and underline the important skills, qualifications and qualities the employer is looking for. Which seem to be the top priorities? Think about the likely pain points of your target companies – the problems that are eating into their profits or making them look bad. Skills that can help solve these problems are powerfully relevant. (Location 214)
An exceptional quality or qualification is one that stands out. Probably all of your competitors have experience in multi-tasking. (Location 217)
By this I mean that the item is not just a claim or opinion. It’s something you can prove or give evidence for. Facts are naturally verifiable. Let’s say you believe your graduate degree is a key selling point. No problem, this is a fact and it can be verified with a background check. (Location 224)
Examples: Three Interviewees and their REV Points (Location 240)
Now start memorizing these points. Put this list in a place where you’ll see it every day. Look at it often. Do whatever you have to do to get it etched into your mind. (Location 257)
Will Your REV Points Be the Same for Every Job? No, your REV Points may vary as you apply to different jobs. (Location 261)
How Will You Use These REV Points? (Location 266)
There is such a technique: storytelling. (Location 288)
Stories are a powerful way to communicate your skills in an interview, including those REV Points you developed in Chapter 1. (Location 292)
He identified interview questions that his stories could answer, practiced telling his stories, and got feedback from others on how the stories worked. (Location 307)
This chapter will guide you to overcome the difficulties that initially held Dan back and transform your interviews and their results. You will learn: (Location 311)
SOAR: Anatomy of an Effective Story A good interview story tells about a challenge you faced, the actions you took to solve it, and the results you achieved. (Location 317)
Example: Rob’s Story “Implementing SuccessSuite” (Location 322)
Your Stories List Start a new document in your computer called Stories List. Save it someplace you can easily find it, because you’ll be referring to it often. For each story in your list, I suggest you fill in the following: (Location 331)
Let’s look at some tips for succeeding with each part of your story. (Location 343)
And throughout your story, remember that you’re telling the story in order to sell yourself as the best person for the job. (Location 368)
Connecting Your Stories to the Interviewer’s Questions (Location 370)
Now go back to your own story list. Under your first story, list all the skills and strengths the story demonstrates. (Location 379)
Here’s how you can come up with more SOARs than you think you can: (Location 400)
A 15-second story can also be very convincing as part of your answer to “Tell me about yourself.” I’ll say more about that in the next chapter. (Location 413)
One of your first chances to use a very-briefly told story will come in the very first interview question: “Would you please tell me a little bit about yourself?” (Location 425)
This question is a carte blanche invitation, an opportunity to focus the interviewer’s attention exactly where you want it, on the reasons they should hire you – in other words, the REV Points (key selling points that are Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiable) that we discussed in Chapter 1. (Location 439)
Your REV Intro will be a brief, mile-high overview of what you bring to the table and what’s special about you. It’s an introduction, not a book! Keep it down to a minute or two. (Location 445)
No matter how they ask this question, what they’re really saying is: “Why should we hire you (instead of one of our other qualified candidates)?” What do you have that the other candidates don’t? (Location 449)
So her answer to “Tell me about yourself” – her REV Intro – sounds like this: (Location 460)
Those points became this REV Intro: (Location 475)
The examples above work because they have the following elements: (Location 487)
Planning your answer word-for-word and memorizing it – in other words, reciting from a script – does not make a good impression. (Location 493)
Instead of a script, create a bare-bones outline of your “talking points” to practice with, so that the ideas are planned, but the words are fresh every time. (Location 499)
Here’s how his REV Intro sounded: (Location 522)
10 Steps to Your Great REV Intro (Location 531)
Humor is a plus, as long as it’s absolutely inoffensive. (Location 549)
Plan a good ending. Otherwise, you may find yourself trailing off with something like “So yeah, that’s about it.” Clunk! (Location 551)
“So that’s a little about me. May I ask a question? How do you plan to respond to the challenge created by (industry trend about which you have strong expertise to offer)?” (Location 556)
For example, if you tend to say “um” or “uh” too much, start focusing on pausing silently instead. (Location 587)
Do multiple sessions, not marathons. (Location 592)
Being strategic means asking yourself “How is this question an opportunity to sell my abilities?” (Location 619)
How to Plan Your Answers If you want to be very organized about preparing your answers, follow these steps. (Location 641)
The three Cs are Competence, Compatibility with the company culture, and Chemistry. (Location 659)
Answering too quickly can also lead to the embarrassing experience of realizing, in the middle of your answer, that you’ve forgotten the question. So pause for a moment – usually two to five seconds is about right – and repeat the question silently to yourself. (Location 674)
Be Specific and Concrete (Location 686)
Memorize them – they are quotes, after all – and sprinkle them into your interviews. (Location 697)
Handle Negatives Skillfully Sometimes you have to address a negative, as when you’re asked a question about your weaknesses, (Location 704)
Here are four ways to end your statements: (Location 753)
Common but Not Easy: Questions You’ll Need to Answer (Location 774)
They make a point of growing their abilities. (Location 806)
“Over the next few years I see myself building my skills, taking on more responsibility and moving up, if it’s appropriate. Can you tell me about how others have advanced from this role?” (Location 813)
“What is your greatest weakness?” (Location 874)
Realize that certain answers – especially “I’m a perfectionist” and “I work too hard” – have been used so often they’ve become clichés and should be avoided, unless you can put a fresh spin on them. (Location 888)
“Tell me about a major mistake you made.” (Location 904)
“What would you look to accomplish in the first 30/60/90 days?” (Location 912)
When the question is asked, respond with “Can you tell me what range you have budgeted for the position?” If they tell you a range, say something like, “That seems like a reasonable ballpark. I’m sure once we agree I’m the right person for the job, we’ll be able to agree on a salary that’s fair.” (Location 955)
“I’ve done some research and I’m seeing salaries anywhere from X to Y. I’m sure once we agree I’m the right person for the job we’ll be able to agree on a salary that’s fair.” (Location 958)
“I’ve been meeting with other people and discussing various opportunities, but nothing is concrete yet.” (Location 970)
Instead refer to them generically, for example as “a few Tier One tech companies” or “several small design firms.” (Location 974)
But do show passion for the specific challenges and rewards of the work itself – solving problems (such as?), collaborating and learning from team members (say more!), achieving goals (Location 990)
“It’s important to me to understand my team – what motivates them, what they know and don’t know, and what their concerns are. So mind-reading might be useful. But I think I’d rather just talk to them!” (Location 1048)
Do your homework before asking questions. (Location 1134)
Always prepare at least 10, in case some of your questions are answered during the interview. (Location 1152)
Mentioning facts you’ve seen in their LinkedIn profile should be okay – but be careful. Some people may feel self-conscious about the fact that you looked them up online. (Location 1158)
About the company and the department: (Location 1170)
About the manager (for clues about how you’ll like working with him/her): (Location 1184)
About the next steps: (Location 1229)
What about your voice? Another reason to video yourself is to check for these common vocal mannerisms. (Location 1274)
About cell phones: It’s not enough to turn the phone off. It must be out of sight to eliminate even the appearance that you might take a call during the interview. (Location 1329)
As a general rule, interview attire should be a step up from the way you would dress on the job. (Location 1354)
Tell me and I forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. — paraphrase of ancient Chinese proverb (Location 1381)
Introduce the presentation as a way of answering a question that has been asked. “To answer that question, I’d like to show you a one-minute presentation I’ve prepared on my tablet. All right?” (Location 1415)
Varying the stories you tell is important. Interviewers may compare notes later, and you don’t want them to discover you told the exact same stories every time, as if that’s all you have to say. (Location 1595)
How you look is very important, and lighting is the key. Check yourself through your computer’s Photo Booth or Crazy Cam application, or through a camera or even in a mirror. Look into the camera often to create the effect of eye contact. (Location 1612)
wrong. Help ensure successful outcomes by working with your reference people as follows: (Location 1690)
Here’s what you want to accomplish: 1) Convey appreciation for the interview. 2) Leave your REV points clearly fixed in the interviewer’s mind. 3) Express enthusiastic interest in the job. (Location 1722)
“Michael, thank you so much for meeting with me today. I’ve really enjoyed talking with you. And thanks for taking the time to show me around. I’m very glad I was able to meet Raj and Irene. I’ve gotten a great impression of the whole team.” (Location 1731)
“I know I can deliver what you’re looking for, and the role is ideal for me. I’d really like to work with you and your team.” (Location 1750)
In IT or software, on the other hand, an email would better fit the culture. (Location 1806)