[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQdxboc5ynM[/svp]
3 mistakes people make at final interviews that will send their candidacy down the drain.
[spp-transcript]
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves life coaching, as well as executive job search coaching and leadership coaching.
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Very interesting take on the issue, Jeff.
Having dealt with a host of recruiters and prospective employers/clients, I have noticed some shades of each to a degree. It’s been my experience that the universal unwritten rule is to not drink your own Kool-Aid. Being self-aware is great and empowering, and knowing what you have to offer is never a bad thing…but trumpeting it before you walk into the room, or resting on it like a crutch in meetings is a death knell that too many overlook. They still don’t see the line of demarcation between confidence and arrogance. That is a costly thing to be ignorant of.
I would like to say that I haven’t seen the “too casual/too friendly” aspect though. Not personally at least. In fact, quite the opposite. Of those meetings that were hit out of the park, they were the ones where the most unrestricted dialogue happened. If you treat it like a deposition or interrogation, it’ll come off as one. It needs to feel organic. You’re interviewing them as much as they are you. People all too often neglect to remember that. Probably not a good idea to play “pull my finger” or tell vastly off color jokes in a meeting…but in my experience, they prefer the more direct folks over the meek/hide-in-my-own-shadow folks.
Though that could be broken down to, “What does Company XYZ want from an employee? Leadership or another bobble-head?”
Answer that in your first 2 minutes of the meeting and that should help you determine what mannerisms to adopt. And yes, you as the prospective employee NEED to suss out your recruiter in those first 2 minutes. You need to determine if they are placing a sheep or a wolf for Company XYZ and act accordingly.
Good vid though. Well done.
Very interesting take on the issue, Jeff.
Having dealt with a host of recruiters and prospective employers/clients, I have noticed some shades of each to a degree. It’s been my experience that the universal unwritten rule is to not drink your own Kool-Aid. Being self-aware is great and empowering, and knowing what you have to offer is never a bad thing…but trumpeting it before you walk into the room, or resting on it like a crutch in meetings is a death knell that too many overlook. They still don’t see the line of demarcation between confidence and arrogance. That is a costly thing to be ignorant of.
I would like to say that I haven’t seen the “too casual/too friendly” aspect though. Not personally at least. In fact, quite the opposite. Of those meetings that were hit out of the park, they were the ones where the most unrestricted dialogue happened. If you treat it like a deposition or interrogation, it’ll come off as one. It needs to feel organic. You’re interviewing them as much as they are you. People all too often neglect to remember that. Probably not a good idea to play “pull my finger” or tell vastly off color jokes in a meeting…but in my experience, they prefer the more direct folks over the meek/hide-in-my-own-shadow folks.
Though that could be broken down to, “What does Company XYZ want from an employee? Leadership or another bobble-head?”
Answer that in your first 2 minutes of the meeting and that should help you determine what mannerisms to adopt. And yes, you as the prospective employee NEED to suss out your recruiter in those first 2 minutes. You need to determine if they are placing a sheep or a wolf for Company XYZ and act accordingly.
Good vid though. Well done.
Thanks for the kind words. There is a lot to cover in a short video and I appreciate your take on the subject.
Thanks for the kind words. There is a lot to cover in a short video and I appreciate your take on the subject.
Lots of tip-toeing involved in the interview process. When the interviewer does things that temp us to “relax”, we shouldn’t fall for it.
Lots of tip-toeing involved in the interview process. When the interviewer does things that temp us to “relax”, we shouldn’t fall for it.
+SW Sweetie that is very true. Interviewers do that for a reason and it is not to help you relax. Is it is so that you to open up and reveal things that you might otherwise not reveal.
+SW Sweetie that is very true. Interviewers do that for a reason and it is not to help you relax. Is it is so that you to open up and reveal things that you might otherwise not reveal.