Interview Doctor
Check out this video from Katherine Burik about how to use daydreams to reveal your deepest desires. Daydreams are a very good way to learn what your next steps should be.
I recently attended the 2014 ICF Global Midwest Conference in Cleveland to meet with other coaches for personal development. I want to be a better coach so I can help my clients achieve better results and this certainly was the place to be!
One breakout session by Pat Alvater and Jack Klemeyer shared “Five Steps To Exploding Credibility”. They directed their messages to coaches like me with small businesses. I would like to share with you one particular point that was particularly relevant to job seekers.
Your philosophy, mission, and vision must be in alignment with potential employers in order to make a good connection.
Making the connection is critical. Organizations that do not value someone like you are not your target employer.
Businesses know that not everyone will be a good customer. The same is true for job seekers. Not every business is an ideal target for your needs and interests. Your job is to find the right match.
Start by understanding your values and mission. What is important to you? What is your mission in life? I created my own personal mission statement years ago. I solve people problems with humor and creativity so the organization thrives. My business philosophy is to offer proven processes and support with humor and creativity so my clients find the job or candidates they love. Businesses or individuals who do not mesh with my personal mission or my business philosophy will not want to do business with me.
If I were looking for a position today I would not want to work for a business organization that does not value the way I solve people problems with humor and creativity. They would not want me either. It would not be a good match.
Consider this chart. We start by understanding our own values, and mission. Then we research to discover the businesses that have a philosophy that fits with our values, and mission.
Of the ideal companies, not everyone is looking for someone like you right now. Some might not even be aware they have a need. You want to devote your attention to the businesses that can use you because your mission matches theirs. Then you want to meet people in that organization to make them aware of how you can help that business solve their problems.
All your marketing materials should be designed to attract the employers who are aligned with your mission and values.
You want to demonstrate that you can solve their problems. Strong relationships pay off over time so take steps to build strong relationships with people inside your target organizations.
I attended a wonderful conference last week, the 2014 ICF Global Midwest Conference in Cleveland.
This was a wonderful time for coaches to gather and learn from each other. I met some fascinating people! I would like to share a few ideas I learned that might be useful in your business life or in your job search.
This blog will focus on ideas useful in your business life.
Richard Boyzatis, a professor at Case Western University specializing in resonate leadership and emotional intelligence, gave the keynote speech opening the conference.
He gave us an exercise to kick off the session that was particularly interesting.
You became who are you are today from the relationships you had in the past.
Pick a few of those important people. What did they say to you that made a positive impact? How do you feel when you think about those people and those stories?
Try this right now.
I imagined my father. He pursued adventures and stretched himself intellectually, spiritually, and physically all the time. Even so he was a quiet man and a little fearful. He taught me to stretch despite your fears. He had a strong impact on my life. When I think of him I become more adventurous; I put my fears aside and try something new. I feel warm and confident when I think of him.
When I experience this warm feeling I get a sense of excitement and openness. This feeling is actually a release. It is a wonderful stress antidote!
Dr. Boyzatis said that we are hardwired to pick up emotions from other people that sense their stress intuitively, without realizing it. The emotional energy that leaders and coaches send out are more powerful than the words they say or even their actions because people pick them up unconsciously.
If you are in a bad mood, other people will notice it without realizing what they are noticing. You would be so much more effective and have a much more positive reaction on those around you if you feel uplifted.
If you feel uplifted others around you will feel uplifted.
This positive energy will make the day more positive; work will happen faster, better, more positively. It is like magic! But it is real.
He says it starts with a vision. Know what you want and why. Then take action to make it happen. Engage in some activity that renews you so you can send out positive energy. For example, mediate or pray to a loving God, get physical exercise, take a walk, or laugh. These actions counterbalance stress and renew our spirit. This opens us to joy which is contagious.
What have you done recently to renew yourself?
An interview is a wonderful opportunity. Never be afraid! There is nothing to be afraid of.
Preparation is the key to avoiding that “deer in the headlights” look during interviews.
Being prepared makes you more confident, helps you know what you want to say and means you know what the interviewer wants to hear. You need all three parts to be really prepared.
The Quora readers provided some great answers: resilience, self-confidence, empathy, the ability to learn and communicate, and the ability to be happy. All wonderful insights.
My favorite response was from Jon who said, “The ability to tell a good story”.
Telling a good story makes you memorable. The ability to tell a good story makes a candidate memorable; it may even give the candidate an edge over other candidates who might be more qualified on paper.
I have written three books. In each I use stories to demonstrate the point I am trying to make. I work very hard to make the stories interesting, memorable, and teachable so I don’t preach. The story does the work.
The story does the work for candidates too. The story demonstrates the point a candidate is trying to make without having to brag.
What makes a good story?
When I talk to candidates about interviewing I tell a story about a really bad interview I had early in my career.
(Beginning) It was a lunch interview in the big dining room at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, the one with the stone floors and glass ceiling. It was noisy and crowded. I was very nervous. I was making small talk after we ordered when the bus boy came by with a large tray of glasses on his way to the kitchen.
(Middle) He dropped the entire tray right behind me! The glasses shattered on the stone floor. Glass shards went everywhere including my legs. Blood everywhere. The bus boy hovered, the manager came over, a dozen helpers came to clean up the mess. I was holding my napkin on my calf to stop the bleeding saying to my interviewers, “I am fine. No problem here. Everything is fine.”
(End) I wanted to sink into the floor but I held it together pretending like everything was just fine. We continued with our lunch but I was a wreck inside. I must have appeared calm on the outside. The interviewers offered me the job when we returned to the office.
(What I learned) It was a harrowing experience but I learned that being calm takes the day. My calmness under pressure earned me the job!
Stories are a great way to demonstrate what you have done, how you work, and what it is like to work with you. I could have said “I am calm under pressure” but the story demonstrated how I work so much better than just the mere statement.
The listener learns about you and can imagine you working with the team. Practice in advance so you get to the point without rambling using humor, great characters, and situations that apply to the position you want.
I have to agree with Jon. I think telling a good story is a great life skill!
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