Nailing that interview!
When working with passive candidates like I do. (these are people who are not looking for jobs), I am often able to convince them to take a meeting with a client because it makes sense for both parties.
Still though, some candidates are not planning on leaving their current company, so they might not do as much preparation for the meeting.
They sometimes regret this when they find out that they have become interested in the opportunity after their meeting.
These are the candidate boxes that interviewers check for them to consider the meeting a good use of their time.
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Prepare
- Find out all you can about the company and research online profiles of the people who you will be meeting.
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Walk into the room with good energy and smile
- All people are attracted to people with good energy.
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Be yourself
- Interviewers want to see the real person.
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Stay alert and interested.
- Don’t let your mind lose focus. Keep your listening skills in tune and continue to engage until the meeting is over.
Drink a coffee beforehand if you are concerned about your energy level.
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Keep eye contact with the person
asking the question while they are asking it. If there are others, as you answer, look at the questioner more often, but be sure to catch everyone else’s eyes too.
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Don’t ramble
– Keep nice tight executive summary style answers.
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Can you do the job? –
This is what most interviews are looking for you to answer in order to even tell if you are a candidate.
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Short on any essential skills?
Make sure you tell about your skills that you believe would assist you and the company in achieving the mandate.
This also shows your intellect and foresight in problem solving as though you were already in the position.
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Strong finish
- Leave the meeting with the same positive energy that you brought to the meeting.
You don’t want to be that person who under-delivers in a meeting, that ended up being a more important meeting than you had originally expected.
Farewell,
Mike