How do I recover from a job interview rejection?
So you interviewed for a job and you thought you aced it. But you didn’t. You are feeling rejected, depressed, and at loose ends. So what do you do now? 1. It’s not you. It’s them. If they don’t want you you are better off not working for them. Maybe they had a particular person in mind from the get go. Maybe your potential boss feels threatened by you. Don’t blame yourself. 2. Get feedback. Ask the interviewer how did you compare to the other candidates. What was missing from your background that made them choose someone else.There are other jobs out there that will be a better fit for your skills, interests and personality. 3. Mourn the loss. It’s okay to feel sorry for yourself, for a few days. Console yourself with a meal, with a friend’s shoulder to cry on, go to a movie. But then, you have to move on. 4. Take a deep breath and get moving with your job search. Keep writing for informational meetings, keep calling to get those meetings, keep meeting with people and expanding your network. You need to have six to ten things in the works at different stages, emails, letters, phone calls, interviews, second interviews. 5. The job search is a numbers game. Remember, you have to get 99 “nos” before you get to “yes”. The more time you spend on your job search, the sooner you will get to “yes”. -(c) Copyright 2017 Amy Geffen All rights Reserved- GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
How to handle the Interview
We’ve all seen the articles and books on 50 tips for interviews or 100 difficult interview questions. There are many different questions, but they all boil down to these questions, or some version of these. The best way to answer them is to have a couple of accomplishments you can talk about in detail that show what you can do for the company. Try to find out what their issues or problems are and give examples of how you solved those problems for other companies. 1. Why should we hire you? This really means, What are your best skills that you bring to the company?. How can you solve their problems with your skills? Tell a story illustrating your best skill by solving a problem on a prior job and the results. 2. Why do you want to work for us? It is all about the company, not about you. They have a reputation, a mission, a goal that you would like to be part of. Again. Tell a story that shows how you contributed to the mission of a prior organization. 3. What is your biggest weakness? Or biggest mistake? Ask yourself, can you sidestep the question. If not, be brief and then get back to giving information about how you can help solve their challenges.. 4. Why did you leave your last job? Or Why were you fired? Be prepared with a brief answer to these or any other difficult questions. Then move on to the important part – how you can help them. Illustrate with another story. 5. What is your greatest strength? My greatest strength is x. Why don’t I share a story with you of how I used that in a prior job. Then tell your story explaining the problem, what you did to solve it, and the results.. The interview is an opportunity for you to tell at least one story (or two or three) that illustrates your strengths and how you solved a problem in a former job. It is also the opportunity to ask the right questions of the interviewer(s) such as, what is their greatest challenge, how do you measure success, and who will you be working with. This was a great note from our friend Amy Geffen! GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
How do you differentiate yourself from your competition in the job space?
When you are going on a job interview or following up after the interview, what makes you special? How do you differentiate yourself from everyone else who has the same job title? You need to show that you are better, different, and more qualified than the next candidate who wants that job. 1. Talk about your accomplishments – It is not about the job description and the kind of things you do or did. It is about what results you obtained. So write about and talk about your accomplishments using the problem, action, result method. What was the problem facing the company/team? What action did you take and What result did you obtain? Use numbers, percents and metrics whenever you can. 2. Ask questions to find out the problems facing the company now and in the next 3 to 6 months. Probe to find out what keeps the hiring manager up at night. Ask questions to find out problems illustrate how you would solve the problem. Be a problem solver: you did this for someone else, therefore, you can do it here. Then illustrate how you would solve that problem. . Follow up with a full proposal to solve the problem 3. Your Experience is unique to you. The specific companies where you worked, the projects you worked on, the teams you led, the countries you visited are all unique to you. Make sure to highlight your specific experiences and not simply repeat the job description. 4. Your Knowledge and how it relates – Sure, if you have the same education or degrees as the next candidate you pretty much have the same basic knowledge. What sets you apart is what you have learned from your experiences on the job, during an internship, a residency, and through volunteering. What have you learned from your mistakes? What have you learned lately? How have you continued your learning? 5. Follow-Up – It is not enough to send a “thank you for your time and I am very interested in the position” letter. Your follow up must emphasize the skills and accomplishments that directly relate to the job. You must acknowledge what you learned during the interview about the challenges facing the company and reiterate how you would help solve them. And one follow-up email is not sufficient. Follow that up with a phone call. And continue to follow up with subsequent emails, adding more information. Don’t assume the person(s) who interviewed you remembers who you are, what you have done, or how you can contribute to the organization. Repeat your message so that the hiring manager gets the picture. You have to connect the dots between your past experiences and how they can relate to the current problems of this company. — (c) Copyright Amy Geffen All rights reserved This note provided from our friends from GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
How Do I Ace the Interview?
After you apply for a job, or write directly to a company,chances are if they are interested, they will call you for a phone screening, even before they call you for an in-person meeting. If the phone screening goes well, then they will call you in for the first interview. If that goes well, you will be called back for a second, or even a third interview. So, how do you prepare? 1. Research. Make sure you visit the company website and learn about the goals and challenges of the company. Visit the LinkedIn profile of the person(s) who will interview you. Find out as much as you can. See if you have anything in common – school, interests, work place. For non-profits, be sure to check out the 1099 tax return online which is free and open to the public. 2. Review the job description and make a list of all the requirements. Think about which ones you meet, sort of meet and don’t have a clue about. 3. Make a Check list ..on the left side of the page list the requirements. On the right side of the page write an accomplishment that illustrates how you have met that requirement from past experience. What is left? Are there any you cannot meet? What can you say about those? Are you a fast learner or are you taking a course in it? 4. Tell a Story and Check off the List – During the phone screening or in person, go down the list of responsibilities and relate an accomplishment from your past experience that proves you can do each of those tasks. For each of the tasks or requirements tell a short story (three sentences) of how you did that in the past. P.A.R. What was the problem? What action did you take? What was the result? 5. Rinse and Repeat – After the interview, write an email to the person who interviewed you repeating key accomplishments that relate to the job. Mention key tasks or problems and how you can solve them for this company. Then call the hiring manager to reiterate your interest and how you can contribute to solving the company’s problems. www.geffencareers.com