Interview Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

5 Tips on Interview Prep From Thea Kelley

When it comes to landing a job, interview prep is just as important as your resume. Hiring managers interview hundreds of candidates throughout their careers; they can spot your lack of preparation from a mile away.

Thea Kelley is an experienced career coach and the author of Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview. Recently, she was kind enough to speak with me and offer her advice on interview prep:

1. Be Real

Many job candidates prepare for interviews as if they’re bracing for the impact of a car crash instead of getting ready for a conversation. Hiring managers can sense how guarded you are when you walk into the room, and it doesn’t make you look good.

Kelley says it’s important the interviewer “feels like they’re connecting with [you] as a human being.” In addition to letting your guard down, avoid talking as if you’re some kind of job-seeking machine.

“Phrases such as ‘I possess the ability’ – who talks like that?” Kelley ponders.

2. Keep Your Language Simple

It’s okay to use a little industry jargon to demonstrate your knowledge, but don’t deliver memorized soliloquies or use large words that are unnatural to you. If you can answer a question using smaller, simpler, more direct language, do so.

I like using a recorder with coaching clients so they can hear their tone, vocabulary, and grammar and take corrective action if necessary. Every aspect of your delivery will face scrutiny in an interview, so pay attention to it all when practicing.

3. Display Your Emotional Intelligence

“Emotions can be beneficial for job interviews,” Kelley says.

Telling stories rather than dryly answering questions allows you to showcase your passion, enthusiasm, and even a little appropriate humor. This makes it easier for the interviewer to envision sitting next to you for eight hours a day.

4. Relax

Kelley points out world-class athletes who earn millions of dollars take the time to learn relaxation techniques. You, too, can benefit from practicing relaxation techniques before an interview. Kelley suggests using visualization to “imagine yourself in an interview and being authentic.”

5. Be Memorable; Tell Vivid Stories

Stories connect candidates to interviewers in ways that data can’t. They foster relationships and conversation, rather than inquisition. Storytelling is also a valuable way to work your own questions for the interviewer into the conversation.

Kelley says a list of attributes is not enough to demonstrate your fit or expertise. You must be able to show how your experience is relevant. Offering the interviewer vivid and specific examples makes your qualifications real and convincing.

Don’t just interview to pass a test. Interview to make it real, capture the interviewer’s imagination, and connect with them.

The article came from excerpts from my interview with Thea below:

This article was originally published on Recruiter.com!

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers," career consultant, job seeker advocate, career writer, and founder of this award-winning blog. I help the employed, unemployed, underemployed, and under-appreciated find jobs using job search strategies to navigate the new job market. I aim to give a safe place online to those with different needs, cultures, and ethnicities to find their voice in the job market. Thousands have read my career advice throughout the web as I write about everything from job search strategies to the mobile job search. I have published more than 400 articles on this blog and some of the largest career sites such as Recruiter.com, YouTern, and Come Recommended. I've been quoted in major online publications such as Monster, TIME/Money, Fortune, Business Insider and MSN. FlexJobs, JobMonkey, Aerotek, Career Pivot, and CareerSherpa listed my podcast as one of the top podcasts to help your job search. Love for you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. I share the latest articles I've written, new podcast episodes, and answer any questions you may have. The new job search is scary and if you need help, I am here for it!

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5 Transferable Skills: From Raising Kids to The Job Interview

If You’ve Raised Kids, You Can Manage Anything by Ann Crittenden was written some years ago to show that parenting skills translate to job skills.

In her book, Crittenden expounds in detail on transferable skills such as:

–call for multitasking and the ability to function amidst constant distractions

–enhance interpersonal skills, from effective negotiation to dealing with difficult people

–develop skills in motivating and encouraging others to excel

–teach a keen sense of fair play and integrity, and much more

image credit

Each person should self-evaluate his or her own parenting to glean the job lessons from teaching, discipline, and feeding their child. I wholeheartedly subscribe to this not only in theory, but also as a participant and a witness.

Each job seeker who is raising his or her children, should apply this thinking as part of an interviewing strategy and to show transferable skills:

Managing and handling difficult situations

Parents that take the high road here benefit the most because employers do not need to glean that you speak to subordinates or anyone like a child. A demonstration of a diplomatic approach always works without screaming, or yelling comes across better.

Multi-tasking and coordinating

Cooking, cleaning, and helping with arithmetic is no joke. Display your tenacity by sharing how you toggle between home applications (as they were software applications). Show employers how planning is a skill in coordinating your children’s events, activities, and academics.

Networking

Concentrate on how these relationships produced invaluable projects and processes in the Parent-Teacher world. To show that you can establish partnerships with others translates in building partnerships.

Adept to various kinds of learning

Since technology is constantly changing personal communication, and the way you conduct business, and demonstrate the way you monitor your child’s use of online tools on the Internet.

Microsoft Office and Budget

Have you used Excel and Access for budgeting? How about writing school letters and business correspondence. Have you balanced your bank and household accounts using Excel? These are hard skills that have project management elements.

Don’t expect any of these to land you an office of your own, but you can position these as relevant skills in most cases.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

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Craft Stories to Get the Job

Zanie (not her real name) was 19 years old when I interviewed her for a customer service position. The most refreshing thing about Zanie was how measured and tactical she appeared during the interview. My boss and I were immediately impressed by her readiness, eye contact, and directness.

Honestly, we were wowed before the interview even began because of how well Zanie communicated over the phone. Her phone manners convinced HR to send her over to us immediately.

“She is everything described in the job post,” the HR rep told us.

Zanie’s performance became, to me, a benchmark for how candidates should perform during the interview process – especially when it came to her use of narratives to answer our questions, provide proof of her abilities, and temper out doubts.

Stories are how we prove our value to those we don’t know. People personally connect with us through the stories we tell about ourselves. If you capture the imagination of the interviewers with a good yarn, you can capture their heart, their interest, and hopefully, a job offer.

Mac Prichard, founder of Mac’s List and author of Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, knows how important it is for job seekers to connect with employers through stories.

“Having a great story that appeals to the people you want to motivate and take action can make an enormous difference,” he says.

For job seekers who want to create narratives like Zanie did, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. The Connection Is Critical

People remember what makes them laugh, cry, and empathize. One thing Zanie did so effectively was weave emotion in her examples – e.g., “I was afraid at first to speak up. I decided it was better if I did.” Not only did this humanize Zanie, but it drew me into her stories.

2. Investigate Challenges

“Job seekers need to understand the employer’s challenges and problems, and through effective communication, they need to show how they can help solve those problems,” Prichard says.

Each of Zanie’s questions and answers during our interview proved well thought out and strategic. For example, she asked us about how difficult callers were handled, and she shared an experience of hers where escalation procedures had broken down. We put Zanie’s concern to rest by explaining our processes and our success with complaints.

3. Replace the Data With a Tale

“Once you reach the interview, the facts matter,” Prichard says. “Your application, resume, and cover letter made the data case by showing your qualifications for the job.”

Although Zanie came prepared with call report performance reviews, she opted to focus on describing situations where her numbers made an impact rather than on the numbers themselves. These examples were more valuable than any data she could have shared.

4. The Power of the Plot Places You

You can only persuade an employer to imagine you in their open position if you share stories that help them envision you in the role.

“The interview is to find out what the employer’s needs are and to show them you’re the right person [to meet those needs,” Prichard says. “Nothing beats storytelling to accomplish those goals.”

–

During the time Zanie worked on my team, she was often more bashful than she was in the interview, but she always smiled and stepped up when the moment presented itself.

Seizing the moment – isn’t that what a successful interview requires? You have to take your chance to show your value to the organization. Your thoughtful and relevant stories can place you in the open seat.

This article was originally published on Recruiter.com!

Start 2018 right! Join more than 2,000 weekly subscribers and receive the FREE eGuide, "118 Job Search Tips for the Modern Job Seekers in 2018!"

1. Be Real

2. Keep Your Language Simple

3. Display Your Emotional Intelligence

4. Relax

5. Be Memorable; Tell Vivid Stories

About Mark Anthony Dyson

Managing and handling difficult situations

Multi-tasking and coordinating

Networking

Adept to various kinds of learning

Microsoft Office and Budget

About Mark Anthony Dyson

1. The Connection Is Critical

2. Investigate Challenges

3. Replace the Data With a Tale

4. The Power of the Plot Places You

About Mark Anthony Dyson