Blog Post: Interviewing: This is where everything happens!

Many times over the years I have been asked how to advance one's career, change industries, get a raise, obtain a leadership position, get a great job when relocating, and have more fulfillment in one's career? The answer that I most often come back to is to become an expert level interviewer. While this certainly sounds simple, it is not so easy without making a big commitment to yourself and your future success.

The reason for this answer is that all matters related to a successful career are going to rely on your ability to sell yourself in an interview. Everything happens in the interview, there is no getting around it. You may be the best negotiator but if you can't get the offer, then there is nothing to negotiate. Your resume may be great and get a lot of interest but the interview could be your downfall. The better your interviewing skills the better chances you will have of beating the competition and receiving a great offer.

The interview first and foremost is simply a conversation with a purpose. The purpose is for you to learn about the prospective company and for the company to learn about the value you will bring to them. Will you be a good fit to their corporate culture, do you have the integrity and values they have, is your management style similar, do you have the correct set of skills and experience to help them increase their profits and grow the business, and many other questions?

As you progress in your career the interviews become more challenging. At the beginning you may have met with only a few people and the hiring manager. When you moved into middle management, there may have been 5-10 people to meet, at the senior management level you would have had more than 10 interviews including interviews with the executive team, as a C-level Executive you would have met the executive team and perhaps had a board level interview and perhaps multiple conversations with critical decision makers. The higher the salary the bigger the expectations on you. There are more places to shine or to fail.

Over the years I have placed candidates who, in some cases where less qualified than their competitors, but had superior interview skills. The person who will get the offer is going to be the person who is an expert in selling themselves. With an economy in free fall this skill set becomes even more important.

Over the course of this blog I will be writing about the many aspects of being prepared, developing strong interview skills and creating effective strategy to win offers in any economic climate.

If you are located in the Denver area and can attend my free Interview Seminar on February 20th, at the Jobing.com office, you will learn about these various aspects of becoming an excellent interviewer. There is more information on the Jobing.com website.