Choking in an interview, no way!!!

I heard a story on the news a couple of weeks ago and then found an article that further detailed the story. As I read the article I realized that this would work for people who get nervous before an interview.   In the article, the author cites “Students who are the biggest worrywarts before taking a test might calm their nerves -- and improve their results -- by writing about their fears for 10 minutes before the exam.”

I thought, I wonder if that will work for my clients who are having anxiety about an upcoming interview. I can see a hopeful job candidate sitting in his or her car ten minutes before going into the company’s building. Just writing down how they are feeling and putting the note paper away and walking into the interview with their head held high, smile on their face with a bounce in their step.  

If you are willing to give it a try and would like to comment on how it works for you, I’d be happy to hear about your experience and thoughts.

One of the things I advise my clients to do to relieve stress and anxiety before an interview is to review their success stories. I like how the brain works... our mind’s eye doesn’t distinguish between new experiences and remembered/relived events. If you are thinking about and reliving an event, positive or negative, you body chemistry will react the same way as it did when the event first occurred. Namely, your brain will release those same endorphins as it did when you actually experienced the events of your success the first time.

How does it work? I don’t know, I only know it does... think about a dream where you’re being chased by a monster of some kind. It’s a dream right? But when you wake up,  you’re sweating, your heart is pounding and you’re flush full of adrenaline. Your mind/body is responding as if you had just been chased by a real live monster. So, we can use this phenomenon in a more beneficial role, for example, calming ourselves before an interview.

Review, remember and relive the success story. Remember the people who were around you, remember the temperature of the room, remember the smell in the air and remember the feelings you had when your were recognised, praised or congratulated. You’re brain will release endorphins, your anxiety will lessen and you’ll be smiling, feeling confident, and you’ll be ready for the interview.

Relationship + Success Story = Job Offer

A month or so ago I met with a fellow who asked me for some coaching regarding his job search.  This past week Jim sent me an email saying that he landed a job. I asked him what made the difference in getting the job offer. He said that he was very relaxed and built rapport during the interview . He also said that he and the interviewer talked at great length about one of his professional success stories . I asked Jim if I could share his email. He said that I could as long as I fixed his typos. Here's Jim's email with minor editing.

Hello Thomas…

   My knowledge of the job, combined with a degree, is what got me the interview, but I believe it was my rapport with the people interviewing me that actually got me the offer. I can definitely say, your advice helped a lot…

   First thing, as you mentioned, they offered me something to drink, and as you suggested, I accepted. From there we discussed the companies origins and how the people interviewing me helped to get the company where it was today. We then discussed where they were trying to go and what part the position I was interviewing for played in the company plans. During that time I talked about what I could do to assist the company with reaching their goals and targets making sure I kept the conversation more in the atmosphere that I was already part of their team. They really seemed to like the fact that I used the We/team concept rather than the I/me concept. 

   I must say the one thing the interviewers were really impressed by, was a quality award I had received from a company I did not work at….   We probably talked for 20 or 30 minutes about how, when, and why I won the award, the customer and team focus it represented.  Anyway, Michael, the owner, got back to my old boss and told him he really enjoyed our meeting and he was looking forward to seeing me again. 

   The only other comment I think I have is that…  for some reason I was extremely comfortable when we sat down to talk and I think that comfort might show as confidence. Like myself, the owner was a Southsider, and as you know, when I get excited about an issue I tend to develop somewhat of a Chicago accent. Well Michael, caught on to that pretty early in the interview and talked with me about where I grew up and how the neighborhoods had changed since we were kids…  Thinking about my childhood got me to think about my own kids and it just made me feel comfortable…

Jim

What Jim's letter reminds us is that being qualified gets you the interview. What gets you the job offer is how well they like you and believe that you can help them succeed. I imagine that the more Jim relaxed, the more confident he appeared and the more relaxed the interviewers were. That made it easier for them to envision Jim working for them. Additionally, when Jim cited the success story about the quality award he won from a customer he hit on an important value to the interviewer. Jim went into the interview prepared and he didn't try to be something he wasn't... and that won him the job offer. Now you know that it's not magic, anyone can do it, so "Do it, Make it Happen!" 

Congratulations, Jim. Thanks for sharing your story.

If you have a story about an interview that went well, send me an email or post a comment here.  It really is important to realize that interviewing is all about establishing a relationship with the interviewer(s) and building on that with relevant success stories. 

Later this week I'll be speaking at Harper College at the Career Stimulus Program. My topic is, "Would you hire yourself?" I'll be discussing what interviewers are looking for in candidates. Interviewing is an ability that everyone can build into a skill.

Success Stories: Part 2 -- Building the Stories

In a 45 minutes to one hour interview you'll have three to five opportunities to share a success story with the interviewer. If that is the case you're going to need more than one or two stories. Additionally you may be called back for one or two more follow-up interviews. I know of people who have had five interviews with a company before the process came to an end. Keeping this in mind you really need a pool of 15 to 20 success stories in your pocket.

How do you build your story? Where do you get the ideas for the stories? Remember to use the S-A-R format for the stories. Start with your resume and elevator speech and look at all the points and accomplishments listed. Every point and accomplishment is an avenue to convey your potential to the interviewer. Another source of successes are past co-workers of bosses and ask them if they remember a time when you helped them out of a tight spot. And if you still have them, look over past performance evaluations for stories ideas. 

Now you have the story idea. Remember to keep the listener's attention! You cannot overwhelm them with details, you need to present the situation in a compelling way. For example one client shared a story with me: 

On a wastewater treatment plant the equipment vendor could not provide the large anchor bolts until 6 weeks after our first planned concrete placement, severely messing up our schedule. I needed to get the bolts from somewhere else. The specifications were very distinctive due to the stresses the bolts would be required to hold once the plant was in full operation. I knew that even a small variance in the quality or strength of the bolt could result in more problems down the road.

The client made a few mistakes in his first attempt. The story is too specific and would only appeal to a very specific interview. Notice the personalization of the problem. The situation should describe the problem you fixed not direct the interviewer to a problem you were associated with. With a little editing we came up with: 

The company had a problem where an equipment vendor could not provide an essential part thus putting a project at risk of failure.

Short, sweet and to the point; plus it has the added benefit to fit a number of different business scenarios. Lets move into the action the client took in order to save the project: 

I needed a local fabricator who could make the Anchor Bolts to the required specifications and deliver them to the job in 2 weeks – just in time for our first foundation concrete placement.  With a great deal of research I contacted the original vendor's manufacture and negotiated a deal to deliver directly to our company.

The only real change here is in the specifics of the narrative. Every business has had a vendor drop the ball on them, but not every business needed Anchor Bolts in their concrete. We came up with: 

I researched and found a local vendor that could provide the part allowing us to meet the project's deadline.

This example allows the storyteller to utilize the listener's experience and frame of mind to set up the story in a quick and engaging way. Moving into the  result or the story's conclusion we need to expand its length by adding specifics... numbers, percentages and savings that the interviewer will appreciate: 

By doing this I preserved our schedule and saved $5,800.00 per part. This equated to a $1.5 million savings to the entire project. In addition to the materials savings there was an additional savings of 23% in labor costs due to the timely delivery of the parts.

The first draft of the story may be too wordy, but that is okay. The goal is to get the success story down to a length that creates dialogue between you and the interviewer where you can share the details that resonate within their environment. Once this story is done, the next stories will come easier and so on, until you have a collection of stories.