August 20th, 2007
Try Not, It is Do or Do Not There is No Try!
I learned a valuable lesson about business early in my medical sales career. My boss had a theme for the year, the theme is the name of this post; “Try not, it’s do or do not there is no try!” He had the theme in bold letters at the top of all of his correspondence. We sold capital equipment. Often times the buying cycle could last 12 months. Sometimes you could go a few months with no business. My boss did not want to hear, how hard I worked or tried. Only what were the results.
If you go on a job interview and want the job, this theme applies. You can be well qualified, smooth as silk with an excellent track record. All of that is for nil if you do not get the job. In my business as an executive recruiter and owner, I received a painful lesson last week of that fact.
My canidate was at the top of his field, in the salary range and was willing to relocate for the job. The people that had conducted several interviews with him were ready to make him an offer. My revenue from this was to be 40K.This intelligent man chose to answer a question about his leadership style, by commenting to the VP of HR, about women on their menstrual period and how they have to be managed differently. She was not pleased and my 40K is delayed and possibly gone. I have seen other qualified candidates be unable to sound exciting when interviewing.
Here are some tips
Dress professional, you are better to be over dressed than underdressed
Sell the product. You are the product, sell your self, this is no time to be shy. It is a good Idea to practice describing salient points about your self prior.
Get to the point. Do not ramble, concise and to the point
Do your research. Know the company, their values, their mission and recent performance
Stay cool. Some interviewers will try to challenge you in an aggressive manner to see how you react
Listen well. You have something to say but make sure you listen very closely to the interviewer
Ask questions. Make sure you have some good questions about the company position and strategy
Be confident. You have to be convinced you are a great find for the company
Smile. You want these guys to like you, use your people skills to build rapport. Break the Ice
Ask for feedback. Did I answer your question, how does my experience fit your profile, do I get the job
As you know a book could be written on this but keep in mind, there is no try
August 21st, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Years ago I was on a hiring spree at work; what we called a “meat wave”. Hire, Hire , Hire!!! This was , perhaps the silliest campaign I’d ever driven as a team leader. Amidst this hire at all costs initiative, one candidate stays with me to this day. A confident young man ( too young, and inexperienced to be hired, even in the meat wave) who got the job anyway. Here’s what he did:
1. Researched my industry by reading 2 months worth of trade journals so that he knew as well as I did what the major issues were in my industry. When I asked him if he had any questions, he replied, “Which is more important, X or Y?” citing two challenges that faced the industry. 2. Then he asked about 2 footnotes in my company’s annual report wondering which of the two was a higher priority. 3. He called my office several times prior to his interview, learned our office issues and asked specifically about those. 4. He also in those calls to my office, asked what my favorite sport was, and who did I root for, then mentioned a player on one of my teams and what did I think of him. I hired him at his stated salary requirement and started him the next day. When Jim suggests to you to do your homework, he’s right. This alone can often land you the job. Colin
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:29 pm
wow. I hate to hear that what he said was the problem. I probably would have passed up on him also. But this brings me to my question. What do you do from here? Do you keep him? He’s well qaulified and someone is bound to need his services. Or do you stop job searching for him? I don’t know if you want to answer this publicly, but I thought it would be an interesting question to ask.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Colin, wow!! That young man wanted to work. With that type of detailed research I bet he became a huge success.Colin, your business experience is something of value. Have you ever considered a business blog?
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Theo, I will keep him and coach him on the interview. he can be of value to someone. I do not often come across positions in his skill area.