job interview tips

They Are Watching You | No BS Job Search Advice Radio

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter reminds you of all the people that are evaluating you when you interview for a job.

 

[spp-transcript]

Today, let’s talk about 1 of the most underappreciated, under reminded about tips I can give you about job hunting.  There was a song many years ago with the refrain, “I’ll be watching you.”  On an interview, it is not just the interviewer who is watching you.  Every person that you meet, even for a moment, is taking note of you and having an impression of you.

That can be the security guard in the visit in the building that you will be visiting.  That can be the receptionist on the floor that is buzzing you in.  Very truly and confidently speaking to her with a smile on your face, “Hi! My name is so-and-so.  I have a 2:30 appointment to meet such and such person.“

“Great. But you have a seat.“

“Terrific. Happy to do it.“

Then, sit facing the greatest number of entry points to the room so that you can see someone approaching you.

With the interviewer, as well, who may take you around the floor. Later, or introduce you to other people.

The tower seriously doesn’t serve you.  What will serve you, at least in the United States, is a friendly, affable smile, a great handshake, a confident demeanor about you – – these go a long way toward letting people like you.

People get hired for a number of reasons.  Hopefully, 1 of them is that you are  competent enough to do the job.  Then, there are the tiebreakers.  Among the tiebreakers are:

Do I think I can work with this person?

Do I like this person?  Often, this is the 1st question the hiring manager may ask subordinates.  Do you like them? What do you like about them?  Things along these lines can be the tiebreaker between you and another person.

Again, remember, everyone is watching you.  Everyone is noticing you.  Everyone is commenting about you if they meet you.

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Do you think employers are trying to help you?

You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com changes that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

 

The Two Magic Words to Use in an Interview & The Story Behind The Story | No BS Job Search Advice Radio

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I discuss how to prepare for your interviews, how to improve your resume, and the two magic words to use during your interviews.

 

[spp-transcript]

Let’s talk today about preparing for an interview.  This tactic can also be used for improving your resume dramatically. But, at a minimum. If you haven’t done this before and had just been sending out resumes, it is the gold that will help you excel on your interviews.

Here’s what you did.  You go back to your resume and go bullet point by bullet point and ask yourself the question, “What’s the story behind this statement?”  I made the statement that I did such and such.  What’s the story, what events occurred?  Put in you, talking to a friend or family member about what it is that she did and how you went about doing it as well as what you stepped into at the time.  Prepare yourself with the story behind those facts.

This is an approach that works extremely well and resumes and will help differentiate you from the competition in your resume.  After all, if you just lay out a resume as if it were job description (I do this. I do that.  I am part of a team that does this or that.),  Your resume becomes boring.  But if you put some life into it by giving some texture to it, by contextualizing what you did and giving a bigger impact at your organization, it has enormous results and you will get many more interviews.  When you tell the stories behind the story on your interview, you will stand out from the competition.

I also want to teach you the 2 magic words to use on your interviews to really differentiate yourself.

I’m sure you’ll be asked about what you did and how you went about doing it on your interviews.  You’re the 2 magic words to use on your interviews:

“For example.”

Then you talk about what you stepped into.  Those 2 words, for example, go a long way to allowing people to see you for what you did and what you accomplish at your previous organization.  It allows you to speak freely about what you’ve accomplished and doing it in the way that audiences love– stories. People love stories.

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Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com changes that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

The Music of Answering Questions – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains the music of answering interview questions and why it’s important to end on a down note.

 

[spp-transcript]

Let me talk with you today about one of those things that people do in interviews goes past the point of being annoying to being harmful to your candidacy.  Let me illustrate why.

I’m speaking with someone yesterday and asking them a question. Every time they answered the question for me, Instead of ending a sentence in a downtown,they would answer it with an up tone (Listen to the audio to understand what I mean). So I would ask them a question (up tone) and he would always answer in an up. If you listen to the audio.  You’ll hear me illustrated a few times.

The impact of this is that employers when they interview someone and they ended and up find it harder to be convinced by the person they are interviewing because you just sound more uncertain and unsure. This air of uncertainty that you create by ending your phrases and sentences with an up tone makes you sound like you are unsure.

So, always end with a down tone on the last word.  If you have the habit of ending with an up tone, it is something to work on.  After all, the impact of this can be very expensive for you in lost salary and in lost opportunities.  After all, you just don’t sound convincing as to what you believe when they ask you something.

Again, go for a down tone instead of an up.

[/spp-transcript]

 

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com changes that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

Stupid Interview Mistakes: Monologuing – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses the top job interview mistake that too many people make and how to avoid it.

[spp-transcript]

Today I want to talk with you about one of those tragic and completely avoidable job interview mistakes that too many people engage in. I was reminded of it when I asked the question of the job hunter and they went off on this three minute monologue that, maybe, for 10 or 15 seconds had something to do with my question and then they went way off into left field.

I listened for a while, letting them talk on, when he finally came up for air, you know, that pause in the conversation when they finally let someone else speak, I said, “By the way, do you remember my original question?” He thought for a while and eventually answered, “No. I don’t.” We can laugh about it now but how many of you have done that?

What ultimately happens is that you start to think you know the question before the interviewer has asked it because you have been on so many interviews. The problem with you getting a job be be that you don’t interview anywhere near as well as you think you do. This can be one of the big reasons.

You start anticipating the questions and start answering what you think is being asked, go often these long-winded explanations, instead of keeping your answers to 45 seconds, maybe one minute (By the way, if you think that is a short amount of time, try time yourself talking for 45 seconds and see how long that is). You will develop an appreciation for the fact that 45 seconds is a long time.

Your goal is to answer the question. If it is a phone interview, I want you to have your resume out in front of you and write the question down in front of you so that is a reminder that will help you stay on point. When you hear the question, you can even circle a few things on your resume term I do have some talking points you want to make sure to cover.

Answer the question, no more and no less. Don’t go off on long-winded tangents. 45 seconds. Maybe a minute tops. Keep your answer to the point. Otherwise what starts to happen is something that is happened to me – – the interviewer starts to mentally channel surf (thinking about what they would rather be doing; what else they can be doing other than sitting and listening to you; what the next appointment is; who the next call is with). They are no longer listening to you. This could be the very reason why you are failing on your interviews.

You stop listening because you thought you knew what the question was and go off on tangents.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com changes that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Stupid Interview Mistakes: Crossing The Line – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter warned you about crossing the line on your next interview and how that can become so costly.

[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 business life coaching.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

START YOUR 7 DAY FREE TRIAL

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

 

 

Are you interested in executive job search coaching, leadership coaching or life coaching from me?  Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

3 Questions to Ask at the End of a Job Interview

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter offers three questions you should ask at the end of every single job interview.

[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 business life coaching. He is the host of “Job Search Radio,” “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice.”

Are you interested in 1:1 coaching from me?  Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

Do you have a quick question you would like me to answer? Pay $50 via PayPal to TheBigGameHunter@gmail.com  

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Mojo. Swagger. Attitude. Whatever You Call It, Show It!

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Whether you call it mojo, swagger, or attitude, make sure you show it on your next interview.

[spp-transcript]

This is a show about Mojo… Swagger… Attitude… Whatever you want to call it.. Whether you are a leader, executive or a staff person, firms buy into it. Often when you’re out looking for work, and on your turf and don’t feel completely confident, you feel like you want to feel about the other person… Mistake.

What you need to do is deal with the other person as you presuppose them today. After all, 95 times out of 100 when you meet people in the social situation your instincts about them right. Don’t waste time feeling out of the people; just go right into trusting your instincts about the other person.

As you walk into the interview, shake hands assertively with someone. I’m not talking about one of those ridiculous handshakes that almost seem like someone is pumping water from a well.

I’m talking about a firm confident handshake. An assertive manner about yourself (Being assertive is not rude or obnoxious. It’s just confident, certain and decisive).

We think about certain actors or actresses and how they carry themselves in front of the , a have “IT.” You want to have “IT” and show it. You want to have that great handshake, a great smile in your face, as you talk you don’t want to seem concerned or worried or like you are wondering. What you want to be doing is speaking confidently and with certainty about the subject.

At the end of the day if they choose someone else, it makes no difference because someone is going to hire you. You have to conduct yourself with that belief. Someone is going to hire you. It’s just a question the right firm finding you and you demonstrating your skills in a way that makes sense to them.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Using a Proper Handshake or Bow

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains the importance of using correct body language at the beginning of your interview.

[spp-transcript]

I want to talk with you about body language today and a very simple piece of body language that some people in the US get tripped up on.

I’ve spoken about the smile; I’ve spoken about the positioning of yourself in a chair during an interview but they were but, today I want to about the handshake. If you are born in the US, you understand that in the US a handshake is firm that you and maintain eye contact while you are shaking hands. If you’re from other cultures, that would be considered rude; but if you are interviewing in the US that is the appropriate thing to do.

So I want to encourage you to practice the proper handshake if you are not US born and if you are US born and interviewing outside the country, remember, culturally, it may be different. You may not be interviewing with an ex-pat working abroad. You may be interviewing with someone local who is used to, we say, a milder handshake.

In some cultures, the appropriate thing is not a handshake. It’s a bow. if you’re US-born, you have no experience with this. It’s the equivalent of someone being foreign-born and shaking hands in the US. You have to learn to bow. I can’t do that because different cultures do it differently but wherever you are, if you are interviewing with someone who’s expecting a bow, because you are interviewing in and other country (that is a non-US country), you have to come to someone to practice with.

This is an example of one of those “practice ahead of the interview” kind of things I talk about with regularity and being rude and not bowing, being rude and not shaking hands properly, will hurt you in the interview because it will temporarily distract the interviewer from paying attention to who you are or what you can give them.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Ask This Question on Your Next Job Interview

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter suggest that you ask this question on your next job interview in order to get a clear idea of your future manager’s priorities.

[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 business life coaching. He is the host of “Job Search Radio” and “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” both available through iTunes and Stitcher.

Are you interested in 1:1 coaching from me?  Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

Do you have a quick question you would like me to answer? Pay $50 via PayPal to TheBigGameHunter@gmail.com  

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn. Like me on Facebook.

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.

Ending the Interview Right!

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses the way to end a job interview and leave a great impression.

[spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn