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Chapter 9

SELL YOURSELF

Knowing how to sell yourself is the key to successful interviewing. Understanding the psychology of interviewing and knowing what is motivating your interviewer will play a major role in selling yourself more effectively. Building credibility and projecting a winning personality are the first steps.

The Ultimate Question

The ultimate question in any interview is “Why should I hire you?” No matter what questions are asked (“What are your strengths?” “Do you work well as part of a team?” or “Can you supervise people well?”), they are all ultimately asking “Why should I hire you?” Every time you say something, it is to give the interviewer more reasons to hire you, adding so much weight to your side of the scale that there is no question who should get the job.

Ten Key Things Employers Look For

Tom Jackson points out in Interview Express that every employer wants to know ten basic things about you: 1. What results will you achieve? 2. How soon will you become productive? 3. How much supervision will you need? 4. Do you generate more value than cost? 5. Can you become a high performer? 6. Will you fit into the culture? 7. Will you be fun to work with? 8. Are you responsible? 9. Can you manage your own development? and 10. Will you stay? One could add to the list, but these are the key issues that every employer wants the answer to. Every supervisor who has hired five or more people has been disappointed by at least one of those choices. So there is anxiety on the part of the supervisor that perhaps another mistake will be made. Your challenge is to assure the interviewer that there is no risk in hiring you because you can do the job. Throughout the interview you should share examples and answer questions in such a way that the interviewer knows you have these qualities at a high level. While you may be lacking some of the technical or specialized skills which are desirable, you’ll have a good shot at landing the position if you can convince the person you have these qualities.

Let’s look at these points one by one.

1. What results will you achieve?

Employers want results-oriented people. Therefore, you must describe past results and demonstrate that the results you have achieved in the past are typical of the results you will have in the future. Granted, the challenges you will face in the future will be different, but the employer will be satisfied if you can demonstrate that you seek challenges and consistently obtain positive results.

2. How soon will you become productive?

Employers want quick learners who have a knack for understanding what is expected and are willing to do whatever is necessary to get up to speed as rapidly as possible.

3. How much supervision will you need?

Your supervisor will expect you to be cooperative and accept advice and direction. But your supervisor also wants to give you assignments and know that they will be done on time and at high quality. Your supervisor may want periodic updates from you and he will want you to bring any major problems to his attention, but primarily he just wants the assignment done at high quality, with little intervention from him. Describe how past supervisors have entrusted heavy responsibility to you.

4. Do you generate more value than you cost?

The supervisor is looking for evidence that you are cost conscious and that you perform at a high level. Some people utilize excellent time management and prioritize well; as a result their value exceeds their cost. Throughout the interview look for opportunities to show that you bring real value to any job and any organization.

5. Can you become a high performer?

The employer is assessing your potential throughout the interview. The supervisor certainly wants to determine if you can handle the immediate job tasks, but also wants to determine how far you may go in the organization. Potential is sold by demonstrating a willingness to go beyond the norm, to learn quickly, and to work effectively with others.

6. Will you fit into the culture?

Every organization has its own culture. People with certain personalities will flourish in it while others may die slow lingering deaths. The corporate culture in some organizations rewards workaholism, while in others a social consciousness is emphasized. Knowing what the corporate culture is, and knowing in what types of environments you flourish, will help you sell yourself more effectively.

7. Will you be fun to work with?

The employer is not looking for the life of the party, or the person with a thousand jokes. Instead, employers want people who work well with others, are cooperative, considerate, and friendly, and who are enjoyable to be around. The grouch, the negativist, and the cynic are not sought after.

8. Are you responsible?

People who constantly seek more responsibility and can be trusted with it are highly desired. They take responsibility for their actions and do not attempt to blame their mistakes on others. They often volunteer for assignments and are willing to take on some of the “dirt work” because it will help them grow professionally.

9. Can you manage your own development?

While there is a place for training and mentoring, managers seek staff who will take responsibility for their own professional development. Show that you seek out opportunities and make things happen.

10. Will you stay?

If you have a stable work history, emphasize that you seek out high-quality organizations (such as the one you are then interviewing with) so you can grow and develop with them for many years. If your work history is checkered, look for opportunities to emphasize that what you want is stability and that you feel this organization will offer it.

Employers will also be looking for two other qualities:

Communication skills: While interviewing you the employer will be visualizing you dealing with customers and key people from other departments. Without strong communication skills, the employer will not have confidence you can do the job.

Chemistry: The employer will be sensing whether the two of you can work well together. The employer will not be looking for a clone, but must have someone who is compatible. Demonstrate that you can get along with almost anyone. Sell your flexibility and adaptability. Throughout the interview, determine what qualities are most valued by the hiring manager, and demonstrate that you possess those qualities.

EXCITE AN EMPLOYER

Knowing the qualities employers look for (the above ten points plus communication skills and chemistry) is very helpful as you prepare your interviewing strategy. Determine which skills to sell, and decide which experiences you’ll share. But we can take this concept one step further. You can actually get an employer excited about you by demonstrating that you can do any or all of the following: 1) make money for the organization; 2) save money for the organization; 3) solve problems the employer is facing; and 4) reduce the level of stress and pressure the employer is under.

If you succeed, you will actually cause the employer to visualize you already on the job. Your potential will become more important than any particular technical skill that you possess or lack. You will be judged by a different standard from your competitors. For example, before you convinced the employer that you could make money for her company or department, she was judging you to a large extent by how many of the required technical skills you possessed and how many years of experience you had in the field. Now a new element has been introduced. In fact, the roles are reversed as your competitors begin to be judged by whether they can make money for the organization. Their problem is that they have not been consciously selling the fact they can make money, save money, solve problems, or reduce the stress and pressure on the boss.

If you have been a good employee in the past and have a good work ethic, you have in fact made money for your organization, saved money, solved problems, and reduced the stress and pressure of your boss. I want to help you see how and when that has happened. Your competitors have also done so, but if they don’t get the idea across, it won’t show up as weight on their side of the scale.

Let’s look at the specifics of how you can excite an employer.

Make Money For The Organization

When we think of making money for an organization, the emphasis is on increasing revenue. Ask yourself in what ways you have increased revenue for your past employers. An engineer who has personally designed successful products, or has consistently been part of teams that have developed successful products, has made money for an organization. People in marketing, advertising, and public relations will find obvious ways that they have made money for the organization.

There are several ways you can generate revenue for an organization.

Sales: If you were in sales and added new accounts, increased sales with existing accounts, or increased your market share, that is an obvious form of making money. If you are in inside sales and through solid product knowledge cause customers to purchase additional products that they might typically purchase elsewhere, you’ve made money for your organization.

Improve quality: If you can identify and implement ways to improve the products your organization sells, improve the service your organization delivers, or improve any internal processes, you will have generated more revenue. A shipping person who found a way to cut the average delivery time from three days to two days will have helped gain new customers and will have preserved existing customers.

Provide outstanding customer service: The 1990s were the decade of the customer. Good companies have always cared about their customers, but beginning in the late 1980s, it became a passion as organizations looked for every way to gain a competitive advantage. Organizations realized that providing great service to customers did not cost more money; it merely required hiring the type of people who were willing to deliver it. Companies that deliver great service hold on to existing customers even when they are not so competitive on price, and they gain new customers through referrals. Show that you truly care about your customers and you’ll have an employer who is willing to pay a premium to get you to join their firm. Look for opportunities to share how you provide great service to customers. It should be an example where you went above and beyond the call of duty. The result might be that a customer has remained loyal for many years despite strong efforts of competitors to gain a foothold, or it might be a person who has continued to use your organization’s services after moving to another company. If you know that your company has received referrals at least in part due to your efforts, mention that as well. If you have received verbal thanks from customers, quote them during an interview. If you have letters of thanks, either quote them or show them to the employer.

Save Money For The Organization

Saving money is just another form of making money. Employers love people who can save them money. Every dollar saved goes directly to improving the bottom line. If you came up with an idea that saved $10,000, that is equivalent to increasing sales $100,000 (assuming a 10% profit margin). Except for very large organizations, increasing sales $100,000 is not an easy thing to do. When it comes to saving money, nothing is insignificant. If you found a way to cut two hours a month on the production of a particular report, that’s 24 hours saved per year. If everyone sought ways to save money, American corporations would be more productive, would be more competitive internationally, and would be able to provide you and your coworkers with raises.