Interviews and Job Search Strategy

Few job search candidates, if any, land a job without interviewing for it. More often than not, you'll go through multiple interviews before receiving an offer...if you get an offer...if you succeed in lining up interviews.

Planning and executing a focused, active job search strategy will help increase your chances of securing interviews. Thorough preparation before interviews—including research and practice--will strengthen your ability to sail smoothly through the interviews.

You might have specific interviewing challenges you need help with. On the other hand, you might just want to know how to prepare answers for tough interviewing questions. Either way, interview coaching can boost your chances of successful interviews.

Senior Management Interviews

Even if you're a senior manager or executive, you might have interview-rlelated concerns you could use help with. For example, if you're up against stiff competition for a targeted career opportunity, you need to get through several rounds of interviews in order to be included in the "final three." You certainly don't want to trust to luck to make that happen!

Working with a coach to make sure nothing slips through the cracks is a wise precaution.

Employment Interview Stages

Typically, employment interviewing involves at least 6 stages, and each one is critical in moving you all the way through the process:

• Identify job opportunities to pursue.
• Prepare and submit a resume and cover letter.
• Participate in a telephone pre-screening interview.
• Experience face-to-face interviews with one or more people.
• For selected first-round candidates, advance to a second interview and possibly more, especially at the senior level.
• Receive and negotiate a formal job offer, which includes conducting salary negotiations with the prospective employer.

SMART Interview Techniques

You've probably heard of SMART goals: Specific - Measurable - Actionable - Realistic - Timely. However, you might not know that for successful interviews, you need to develop SMART stories: Situation and More - Action - Results - Theme and Tie-in (from Job Search Magic.)

I can work with you to enhance your performance in any or all of the above and put the focus on the ROI you can deliver to the prospective employer.

Salary Discussion and Negotiation

It's important to basee the salary issue on your value to the employer, not on personal circumstances or what you earned in your most recent position. When dealing with salary discussion and negotiation, you'll want to keep several points firmly in mind, including the following:

• How you can make the company (more) successful, profitable, competitive, productive.
• Why the employer might not want to hire you—and how you can offset that (for example, the fear that you would be "too expensive").
• How good a fit you, the job, and the company are—or are not.