Active interviewing

ACTIVE

INTERVIEWING

BRANDING, SELLING, AND PRESENTING YOURSELF TO WIN YOUR NEXT JOB

Eric P. Kramer

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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and

Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job

Eric P. Kramer

Publisher and General Manager, Course

Technology PTR:

Stacy L. Hiquet

Associate Director of Marketing:

Sarah Panella

Manager of Editorial Services:

Heather Talbot

Marketing Manager:

Mark Hughes

Senior Acquisitions Editor:

Mitzi Koontz

Project Editor/Copy Editor:

Cathleen D. Small

Interior Layout Tech:

Bill Hartman

Cover Designer:

Luke Fletcher

Indexer:

Larry Sweazy

Proofreader:

Kate Shoup

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 12 11

eISBN-10: 1-4354-5974-x

This book is dedicated to Zachary and Jake, the future and hope of the

American workforce and terrific sons. Also to Susanne, an emerging

entrepreneur who is courageously blazing a new career direction that will

hopefully result in the interviewing and hiring of many employees.

I also dedicate this book to the thousands of job seekers whose wisdom,

experience, and insights coalesced to guide the content of this book. Job

searching and interviewing is one of life’s most challenging, frustrating, and

disheartening undertakings. All job seekers, as they persevere day to day,

searching for jobs to provide for their families and themselves, are

unrecognized heroes. I hope this book contributes to these heroes finding jobs

they love and earning the money they deserve.

Acknowledgments

I

would like to acknowledge Cathleen Small, for her firm but gentle and friendly editing of the book, and

Mitzi Koontz, for her recognition that interviewing needs a fresh, new approach and her quick action

to bring Active Interviewing to the public. I would also like to acknowledge Ford Myers, who introduced me

to the profession of career management and was instrumental in me landing my first career management

position.

About the Author

Eric Kramer is a “serial careerist,” having held ten jobs in six distinctly different careers. Eric knows

interviewing!

He started his professional career as a clinical psychologist, has managerial experience in both large and

small companies, has owned a software-development company, has worked as an IT project manager, and

has sold large-scale mental-health management software. Eric also worked as a career consultant and career

center manager with two of the country’s largest job-transition firms. In these positions, Eric worked with

hundreds of job seekers individually and in groups, helping them develop career visions, teaching them job￾search skills, and coaching them through interviews.

Through his company, Innovative Career Services, Eric develops and provides innovative career services by

integrating career strategies, emerging business practices, and online technology. Innovative Career Services’

cornerstone product is the iBest Interview Presentation, www.interviewbest.com/ibest.aspx, a core compo￾nent of Active Interviewing.

In addition to writing this book, Eric:

• Has authored other titles: 101 Successful Networking Strategies and 101 Successful Interviewing Strategies

• Writes the Interview Your Best blog: http://employmentinterview.wordpress.com

• Tweets as @InterviewBest

• Moderates the Career Professional Network group on LinkedIn

• Co-leads the Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group (www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Area-Great￾Careers-Group)

• Presents frequently at local and national conferences on the subjects of interview presentations, online

identity optimization, and career management

Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Hartford and a master’s degree in

counseling psychology from American University. He is certified in positive psychology coaching and is

licensed as a psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania.

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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Chapter 1

The Job Interview Is Broken. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Job Interviews Are Broken.............................................................................................................................3

Interviews Are Like a Coin Toss ..............................................................................................................3

Subjectivity Is Rampant...........................................................................................................................4

Job Descriptions Are Poor........................................................................................................................4

Interviewers Are Poorly Trained ..............................................................................................................4

Interviews Are Not Designed to Help Candidates Present Their Best ....................................................5

Job Interviews Are Not the “Real World”................................................................................................6

Job Interviews Are Only Verbal ...............................................................................................................6

Interviews Are Broken—Please Don’t Make Them Worse...........................................................................6

Candidates Don’t Think Like a Service Provider Competing in the Employment Marketplace ............6

Candidates Fail to Communicate a Brand...............................................................................................7

Candidates Sell Drills, Not Holes.............................................................................................................7

Candidates Focus Too Much on Interview Questions .............................................................................8

Candidates Ask Wimpy Questions...........................................................................................................8

Candidates Assume That Interviewers Know a Good Prospect When They Interview One .................9

Candidates Sell Features Rather Than Benefits.......................................................................................9

Candidates Follow the Herd...................................................................................................................10

Who Is in Control Here?.............................................................................................................................10

Interview Questions Are Not the Answer....................................................................................................11

Job Interviews Are Broken, but You Can Repair Yours! .............................................................................11

Important Takeaways That Will Fix Your Interviews .................................................................................12

vii

Contents

Chapter 2

The Job Search as a Sales Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Top Six Customer Questions...............................................................................................................15

Selling Your Services ...................................................................................................................................15

The Three-Step Job-Search Sales Process .............................................................................................15

Prospects versus Sales Targets................................................................................................................18

Sales Is a Numbers Game ......................................................................................................................18

A Job Search Is Not the Same as Door-to-Door Sales ................................................................................19

Fear of Selling Is the Fear of Rejection.......................................................................................................20

Overcoming the Fear of Selling ..................................................................................................................21

You’re a Salesperson Already, So What’s the Fear?................................................................................21

Believe in Your Service...........................................................................................................................21

Know Your Service’s Value in the Marketplace.....................................................................................22

Develop a Sales Attitude ........................................................................................................................23

Where Has Your Service Succeeded? ....................................................................................................23

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses ..................................................................................................23

It Only Takes One.......................................................................................................................................24

Approaching the Job Search as a Sales Process Will Fix Your Interviews...................................................24

Chapter 3

The Interview as a Sales Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Basic Interview Tension.......................................................................................................................26

The Interviewer Is an Informed Buyer .......................................................................................................27

There Is Only One Hiring Issue: Your Value to the Company ..................................................................27

There Are Only Three Questions ...............................................................................................................27

Can You Do the Job?..............................................................................................................................28

Are You Motivated to Do the Job?.........................................................................................................28

Do You Fit Their Culture?.....................................................................................................................28

A Sales Call Provides a Good Structure for Interviewing ...........................................................................29

Warming-Up Period...............................................................................................................................29

Fact Finding or Needs Analysis ..............................................................................................................29

Sales Presentation...................................................................................................................................30

The Close ...............................................................................................................................................31

Sales Techniques Enhance Your Interviews ................................................................................................32

Applying a Sales Process to an Interview Helps You Understand What Is Going On ...............................32

Successful Salespeople Choose Their Customers........................................................................................33

Selling in an Interview Will Fix Your Interviews.........................................................................................33

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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job

Chapter 4

Using Basic Sales Skills in Your Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

You Don’t Have to Be a Great Salesperson to Sell Yourself in Interviews .................................................36

Selling Is Mostly Listening...........................................................................................................................36

There Are Two Parts to Listening..........................................................................................................36

Most Candidates Are Hearing When They Should Be Listening..........................................................38

Listening to the Flip Side .......................................................................................................................38

Listening Begins at the First Contact .....................................................................................................39

Listening Pitfalls .....................................................................................................................................39

Asking Good Questions Supports Good Listening......................................................................................40

What You Know.....................................................................................................................................40

What You Don’t Know ..........................................................................................................................40

What You Don’t Know That You Don’t Know .....................................................................................40

Selling Is a Fancy Word for Persuading.......................................................................................................41

Persuasion Stands on Three Legs...........................................................................................................41

Discovering the “Pain” ................................................................................................................................42

Most Candidates Avoid Objections When They Should Embrace Them..................................................43

Handle Your Emotions................................................................................................................................44

Label Your Feelings Accurately..............................................................................................................45

Preparation Means Confidence .............................................................................................................45

Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome ................................................................................................45

Have a Full Pipeline ...............................................................................................................................45

Eliminate FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) ..........................................................................................46

Focus on the Buyer ......................................................................................................................................47

Keep It Simple.............................................................................................................................................47

Have a Successful Close ..............................................................................................................................48

Thank You, No Thanks—Follow Through, Yes Please!..............................................................................48

No Doesn’t Mean No Forever .....................................................................................................................50

Using Sales Skills Will Fix Your Interviews .................................................................................................50

Chapter 5

The Interview Presentation: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

A Presentation in an Interview—Now That’s Unusual!..............................................................................52

Would You Go to a Gunfight Armed Only with a Knife? ..........................................................................52

Isn’t “Interview Presentation” Just another Way of Saying PowerPoint?....................................................53

An Interview Presentation Is a Specialized Version of a Sales Presentation...............................................53

An Interview Presentation Goes Way beyond a Resume ............................................................................55

Preparation Is 90 Percent of the Value .......................................................................................................55

Presenting Is a Basic Professional Skill ........................................................................................................56

ix

Contents

The Eight Parts of a Powerful Interview Presentation................................................................................56

Presenting Your Personal Brand.............................................................................................................56

Matching Your Background and Experience with Critical Position Requirements...............................56

Highlighting Additional Areas of Expertise You Bring to the Job.........................................................57

Highlighting Career Accomplishments and Outstanding Experiences .................................................57

Illustrating Personal Qualities That Drive Your Job Success .................................................................57

Developing 30- and 60-Day Strategic Action Plans...............................................................................57

Presenting the Benefits the Company Gets from Hiring You ................................................................57

Presenting Important Questions ............................................................................................................57

A Presentation Will Fix Your Interviews .....................................................................................................58

Chapter 6

Creating Your Personal Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

You’ve Got One, So You Might as Well Manage It.....................................................................................60

Determine Your Professional Brand............................................................................................................61

Your Brand Is a Promise of Value...............................................................................................................62

Your Brand: The Flip Side ..........................................................................................................................62

Quality and Usability ..................................................................................................................................63

Brand Killers ...............................................................................................................................................63

You’ve Got It, Now Use It! ..........................................................................................................................64

Use Your Brand Statement Often ...............................................................................................................65

Your Brand Has to Stand Up to Scrutiny ...................................................................................................65

Brands Are Hard Won and Easily Lost .......................................................................................................66

Are You an Expert? Probably!.....................................................................................................................66

From Mid-Level Manager to the World’s Foremost Expert ........................................................................67

Your Vision and Mission .............................................................................................................................68

Create Brand Fans.......................................................................................................................................68

Address Negativity .................................................................................................................................68

Build a Solid and Positive Experience....................................................................................................69

Build Others’ Brands..............................................................................................................................69

Encourage Your Fans to Be Active.........................................................................................................69

Reward Your Fans ..................................................................................................................................69

Your Online Identity Communicates Your Brand ......................................................................................69

Six Effective Strategies for Building and Improving Your Brand Online....................................................70

Own Your Name....................................................................................................................................70

Refine and Expand Your Online Network.............................................................................................71

Upgrade Your Resume to the Online World .........................................................................................71

Write Your Way to the Top ....................................................................................................................71

Keep Your Online Identity Clean..........................................................................................................71

Track Your Online Brand ......................................................................................................................72

It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You! ..........................................................................................72

A Strong Brand Will Fix Your Interviews....................................................................................................72

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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job

Chapter 7

Critical Job Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

A Good Job Description ..............................................................................................................................74

Job Description.......................................................................................................................................74

Education and Specifications .................................................................................................................74

Duties and Responsibilities.....................................................................................................................75

Skills and Knowledge .............................................................................................................................75

You’re a Salesperson, So Go Get the Requirements ...................................................................................75

Job Requirements Often Are Broken ..........................................................................................................76

Ask Good Questions....................................................................................................................................77

Position Qualifications Questions ..........................................................................................................77

Position Task Questions .........................................................................................................................77

Organizational Questions ......................................................................................................................78

Many Job Descriptions Are Really Wish Lists.............................................................................................78

Be Aware of Fluffy Requirements...............................................................................................................79

Acknowledge What’s Missing ......................................................................................................................79

Knowing the Critical Job Requirements Will Fix Your Interviews .............................................................79

Chapter 8

Link Your Background to the Critical Job Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Differentiation Is Your Biggest Challenge ...................................................................................................82

Interviewers Like Similarities ......................................................................................................................82

Use the Same Language.........................................................................................................................82

You Have Exclusive Information, So Use It!..........................................................................................83

Tell Stories and Give Examples .............................................................................................................83

Numbers Tell a Story .............................................................................................................................84

Linking Your Background to the Critical Job Requirements Will Fix Your Interviews ..............................84

Chapter 9

Your Value-Adds and Significant Selling Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Value-Adds ..................................................................................................................................................86

Not Really a Value-Add .........................................................................................................................86

Not Aware of a Value-Add ....................................................................................................................87

Effectively Package a Value-Add .................................................................................................................87

Value-Adds Require Proof...........................................................................................................................88

For Maximum Impact, Attach a Story and a Benefit to Your Value-Add...................................................88

Use a Significant Selling Proposition...........................................................................................................88

Have an SSP, No Story Needed ..................................................................................................................89

Discover Your Value-Adds and SSPs...........................................................................................................89

Know Your Customers...........................................................................................................................89

Know Your Competition........................................................................................................................90

Know Yourself........................................................................................................................................90

Know Your Profession............................................................................................................................90

A Value-Add Is More Valuable If It’s Hard to Acquire..............................................................................90

Value-Adds and SSPs Will Fix Your Interviews ..........................................................................................91

xi

Contents

Chapter 10

Tell Stories That Engage and Persuade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Our Stories Define Who We Are.................................................................................................................94

A Story Has a Beginning, a Middle, an End, and Excitement....................................................................95

A Plot......................................................................................................................................................95

A Theme ................................................................................................................................................95

Dramatic Tension...................................................................................................................................95

Success-Story Format ..................................................................................................................................96

Situation .................................................................................................................................................96

Barriers...................................................................................................................................................96

Action .....................................................................................................................................................96

Result......................................................................................................................................................97

We All Have Success Stories........................................................................................................................98

Success-Story Memory Joggers ...................................................................................................................98

When to Tell a Story ...................................................................................................................................99

Boring Is How You’re Saying It, Not What You’re Saying .........................................................................99

Answer the Dreaded Weakness Question with a Story .............................................................................100

Telling Stories Will Fix Your Interviews ....................................................................................................100

Chapter 11

Personal Success Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Interpersonal .............................................................................................................................................102

Intrapersonal .............................................................................................................................................103

Information ...............................................................................................................................................105

Personal Success Factors: Choose Seven ...................................................................................................106

Personal Success Factors That Relate Most Closely to the Critical Job Requirements .......................106

Personal Success Factors to Which You Most Strongly Relate ............................................................106

Personal Success Factors for Which You Have Success Stories ...........................................................106

Provide Proof of Your Personal Success Factors.......................................................................................106

Brand versus Personal Success Factors......................................................................................................107

Interviewers Aren’t Good at Determining Your Personal Success Factors ...............................................107

Don’t Force a Fit........................................................................................................................................108

Talking about Personal Success Factors Will Fix Your Interviews ............................................................108

Chapter 12

Your Strategic Action Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Most Frequently Asked Questions.............................................................................................................110

How Do You Know Company-Appropriate Goals?............................................................................110

What If You Have the Wrong Goals? ..................................................................................................111

It’s a Conversation.....................................................................................................................................111

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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job

Be S.M.A.R.T. with Your Goals ................................................................................................................111

Specific .................................................................................................................................................112

Measurable...........................................................................................................................................112

Attainable .............................................................................................................................................112

Realistic ................................................................................................................................................112

Timely ..................................................................................................................................................113

Simple Beats Bold......................................................................................................................................113

Strategic Action Plan Goal Examples .......................................................................................................113

A Strategic Action Plan Will Fix Your Interviews .....................................................................................114

Chapter 13

Why Hiring You Is a Good Idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Don’t Let Hiring Managers Guess about Hiring You ...............................................................................118

Why Hire Me?...........................................................................................................................................118

What Do Employers Want?.......................................................................................................................119

Features versus Benefits .............................................................................................................................120

Who Is the Main Benefits Beneficiary?................................................................................................120

The Greatest Benefits Are Emotional ..................................................................................................120

Telling the Hiring Manager Why You Should Be Hired Will Fix Your Interviews ..................................121

Chapter 14

Asking Powerful Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Asking Good Questions Is a Critical Business Skill...................................................................................124

Ask Open-Ended Questions......................................................................................................................125

The Definition of a Good Interview Question .........................................................................................125

Use the Proper Terminology in Your Questions .......................................................................................126

Ask a Question and Then Be Silent ..........................................................................................................127

Ask Follow-Up Questions ..........................................................................................................................127

Ask Professional-Personal Questions .........................................................................................................127

Go Prepared with Questions .....................................................................................................................128

Don’t Ask Obvious Questions ...................................................................................................................128

Information You Should Have after Your Interview.................................................................................128

The Best Interview Question of All Time.................................................................................................129

Vague or General Answers...................................................................................................................130

No Challenges or Minor Challenges....................................................................................................130

A Challenge in an Important Job Area ................................................................................................130

A Challenge in an Area That Was Not Mentioned in the Interview...................................................130

A Challenge You Can Provide a Strategy to Overcome ......................................................................131

A Challenge That Is a Misconception .................................................................................................131

Challenges Are Often Good News.......................................................................................................131

Lean into Challenges............................................................................................................................131

It Is Best to Know.................................................................................................................................132

Another Must-Ask Question .....................................................................................................................132

Asking Good Questions Will Fix Your Interviews.....................................................................................132

xiii

Contents

Chapter 15

Develop an Interview-Winning Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Why a Printed Presentation? .....................................................................................................................137

Is an Interview Presentation Appropriate for a Job in…? .........................................................................137

What to Use to Develop a Presentation ....................................................................................................138

Introducing Your Interview Presentation ..................................................................................................139

Interview Presentation Sections.................................................................................................................140

Cover Page ...........................................................................................................................................140

Job Requirements Section ....................................................................................................................141

Match with Job Requirements Section.................................................................................................143

Additional Areas of Expertise Section .................................................................................................143

Outstanding Accomplishments (Successes) Section .............................................................................146

Personal Success Factors Section..........................................................................................................147

Strategic Action Plan Section...............................................................................................................148

Hire Me Because… Section.................................................................................................................150

Questions Section.................................................................................................................................151

Interview Presentation Tips.......................................................................................................................152

Leave Out Extraneous Words ..............................................................................................................152

Bind It ..................................................................................................................................................153

Use Regular Paper ...............................................................................................................................153

Make a Copy for Each Interviewer......................................................................................................153

Simple Is Better ....................................................................................................................................153

Mind Your Font Size ............................................................................................................................153

Fix Any Typos or Misspellings .............................................................................................................153

Another Radical Idea: A Networking Presentation...................................................................................153

Your Personal Brand ............................................................................................................................154

Positions to Which You Can Bring Value.............................................................................................154

Areas of Expertise You Bring to the Job ..............................................................................................155

Career Accomplishments and Outstanding Experiences.....................................................................155

Personal Qualities That Drive Your Job Success .................................................................................155

Your Ideal Job.......................................................................................................................................155

Types of Companies You Are Seeking to Work With..........................................................................155

Why a Company Would Hire You.......................................................................................................155

Closing Questions ................................................................................................................................155

Apply All the Principles of an Interview Presentation ..............................................................................156

Using an Interview Presentation Will Fix Your Interviews .......................................................................156

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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job