“Mr./Ms. ______, I believe that I am the kind of candidate your company is seeking for this opportunity. I believe I am the most qualified candidate you can interview. Do I have your support? Would you recommend that I be hired? “

Then s-h-u-t u-p!….listen to what the interviewer says and be prepared with these following response:

You are likely to hear, “Well, it’s not really my decision, I’m going to leave that up to Mr./Ms. _______. It is really his/her decision.”

If you ask the “Do I have your support?” question, you force the interviewer to acknowledge that, while the decision might really belong to someone else, he/she does have a say in who gets hired. You are not asking this person to hire you, you are asking the person to support you.

If the interviewer says that it isn’t really his or her decision, you need to say something like:

“Well, Mr./Ms. ________, your company must think very highly of your opinion or I wouldn’t be interviewing with you. I need to be sure that I’ve covered all the questions about my candidacy with you and that I have your support. If I’ve answered all of your questions, are you going to recommend that I be hired?”

*Note: These are blunt and aggressive closes.

If the interviewing authority dances around it anyway and will not give you outright support, you best be aware that you probably will not get his/her support. On the other hand, you may get the person’s support, but still not get the job. In many instances, interviewing authorities up the ladder may not really choose a candidate to be hired, but they can only say “no.”

The idea is for you to be more aggressive and more assertive than other candidates will be!

The post Tip #52 Winning Round Two appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

As with the steps in the job search process, the finals, like getting from third base to home plate, are just another series of events that you are going to manage.

One of the biggest challenges that you have in a job search is to be unemotionally objective so that you can mindfully manage the process of finding a job from the first through the final step.

Most people get to the finals with one, or at the most, two job opportunities and they quit their search activities. Big mistake! You cannot afford to count on anything regarding a job opportunity until you actually have an offer and a start date. Even then, I would not recommend that you shut down all the other opportunities that you might be working.

So what do you do when you reach the finals? Exactly the same thing you did to get there. Keep working the process. Find the employer’s pain, sell yourself as hard as you can, and get a commitment from the hiring authority for the next interview. Do the same things, but in this next interview get a commitment and try to get an offer. The goal of the process is to get an offer – one, two, or as many as you can.

Don’t get overly excited; don’t get down in the dumps. Just keep working the process. It is a numbers game. Some events will be more beneficial than others.

Remember, this is the finals

You are not going to get another chance. You either win or lose. It is that simple. Whatever you do, play to win! Interview with everything you’ve got and, as they say in basketball, leave it all of on the floor.

But equally important, don’t be overly cautious and play not to lose. Often in the interview process, when candidates get to the final interviews, they have a tendency to act out of fear of loss, rather than with a vision of success. They become too careful about what they say and do in the interviews, being worried that they might “screw up” what they are close to getting. I’ve had candidates act completely different from the behavior that got him or her that far. Don’t interview out of fear. Be confident. Keep interviewing just the way you have been doing. Dance with what brung ya!

The post Tip #45 Don’t Relax Yet – Keep Working! appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

I don’t like social interviews. Most people are not very good at mixing risky business events, like an interview, with social events that involve meals. I would recommend that you avoid these interviews if possible, but you may not have a choice.

Interviewing is already an emotionally stressful experience. When you couple that stress with the pressure of displaying social graces, it’s easy to make a mistake.

If an interview over a meal, coffee, or social setting cannot be avoided, there are a few things you need to remember:

Watch your darn table manners. Slouching over your food, ordering the wrong kind of food, talking with food in your mouth, or eating sloppily will kill you in a lunch or dinner interview. I’ve had candidates with 15 to 20 years of excellent experience, MBAs from prestigious schools, and exemplary track records screw up interviews over a meal because their manners were so appalling. There’s no excuse for this.

Never, and I repeat never, drink alcohol in an interview. I don’t care if the hiring authority proceeds to get sloshed, you shouldn’t drink. In an interview, you have to be as mentally and emotionally sharp, congruent, and grounded as you possibly can be. You cannot afford to let anything impair your thought process.

Order your food after you see what your host is ordering. Don’t appear to be taking advantage of a free lunch by ordering one of the higher priced items on the menu. Let your host lead the way, then follow suit. Order a dish at the same or lesser price.

Stay away from messy foods, such as barbecue or spaghetti. Stick to simple foods and small bites. In an interview, you’re going to be doing most of the talking, especially if you’re being asked numerous questions. Stay away from things you have to pick up with your hands; even sandwiches can be a mess at some restaurants. Pieces of meat like a small steak or chicken breast are perfect foods to order because they can be easily cut.

Eat a little something before you go to a dinner interview. Appearing ravenous when you’re trying to carry on an interview is very distracting. Order small amounts and eat slowly.

Remember your manners. If you are invited to a social event like a party or attendance at a professional ball game, be nice and participate, but don’t call a lot of attention to yourself. If you are playing a game like golf or tennis, be a graceful loser or winner – just be graceful. Getting upset, or throwing your racket or golf club, may demonstrate intensity, but it will also lose the job offer for you.

You may have an occasion to be invited to a social gathering of the hiring organization. Remember that you are still being interviewed and you’re not yet a part of the organization. There is a real risk of being eliminated because someone, who probably has absolutely nothing to do with your hire, isn’t impressed with you and voices that opinion to the hiring authority.

If you have no choice but to attend events like this, remember to ask people about the most important topic they know – themselves! People love to talk about themselves, so ask them. Most people will walk away from you thinking that you are absolutely brilliant when you have spent most of the conversation listening to them. And they won’t be wrong because, after all, you are brilliant.

The post Tip #40 Try to Avoid the “Social Interview” appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

When you get the call asking you to return for a second interview, you need to ask a number of questions that are very important to the success of your subsequent interviews. If you get a call from someone other than the person with whom you initially interviewed, you must call back and talk to that original interviewer.

But first, retrieve your notes from the initial interview, review them so you can ask any clarification questions, and then ask the following questions:

• “Mr./Ms. _____________, I’m excited about coming back to speak with you again about the position at your company. Can you please share with me what the rest of the process will be? (Even if you were told what the process would be in the initial interview, you want to take notes to get an exact and detailed idea of what all the next steps might be.)

• “Please tell me, what is Mr./Ms. _______________ (the next person with whom you will be meeting) like as a person?

• “What is his or her role in the interview process?”

• “What does this person look for in a candidate?”

• “Based on what you know about me, am I going to be strong or weak in the eyes of Mr./Ms. _______?”

• “If you were me, what are the things from our initial interview that I need to emphasize in my interview with Mr./Ms.?”

• “Is there anything in my experience or background that I should emphasize or elaborate about to Mr./Ms. _________?”

• “How many candidates are moving forward in the interview process?”

• “Mr./Ms. ___________, in the next interview, I am going to present myself to Mr./Ms. _____________, in the same way I presented myself to you. Can you give me any pointers on how I might be able to present myself better as a candidate?” (This is a very important question because it will give you insight into the next interview authority.)

• “If you were the person to rank the candidates that Mr./Ms. ____________ is going to interview, how would you rank me?” (most interviewing or hiring authorities don’t have the courage or guts to tell you exactly how you rank. So, they’re going to say something like, “We are calling back three or four candidates and you are one of them.”)

• (If the interviewing authority actually tells you exactly how you rank with the other candidates and you’re not ranked No. 1) “Then please tell the, Mr./Ms. _____________, what do I need to do in order to become your number one candidate?”

• (If you were told that you were the No. 1 candidate) “That is great to hear, Mr./Ms. __________, what, it in your opinion do I need to do to continue to be the No. 1 candidate?”

• (If you were told that you are one of a number of candidates being considered) “Mr./Ms. _______________, what in your opinion makes me a unique candidate and what do I need to do, in your opinion, to get the job?”

• Mr./Ms. ____________, do I have your support in getting this job?

• “If it were totally up to you, Mr./Ms. _________, would you hire me for this position?”

• (If the answer is yes…) “Great, what do you think I need to do to get the next interviewing authority to feel the same way?”

• (If the answer is no) “What are your concerns?”

• (If the answer is “maybe, depending upon what the other people think “) “What are my strengths and weaknesses that you think I should emphasize or shore up with the next interviewing authority?”

• “If all goes well with the next interviewing authority, are you going to recommend that your company hire me?”

The reason that you want to ask all of these questions is that it does absolutely no good to get to the second, third, or four stages of the interviewing without knowing exactly how you stand or what you need to do to get the job. By asking these questions, you get the initial interviewing or hiring authority on your side of the fence. Notice that I recommend asking the person to support you as a candidate in two or three different ways. You are asking the person to support you and you want them helping you as much as they possibly can.

As you are promoted to the next interview level, ask each of those interviewers those same questions. Many people get to the second interview and relax their intensity, alter their presentation, and basically quit selling thinking it’s a done deal.

Keep in mind that if an interviewing authority promotes you to the next stage of the process, by that action he or she is stating that you are potentially a viable candidate. If you ask the questions that I’ve suggested, you’ll not only get their support, but you will get their input and suggestions on how you might be able to interview successfully up the ladder.

The post Tip #37 Round 2: Questions YOU Ask appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

In the interview process, you will have to deal with what I call “the paradox of urgency.” The paradox of urgency states that “every interviewing and hiring authority absolutely, unequivocally, urgently has to fill his or her position … someday.” Most hiring authorities act as though filling the position is the most important thing they can be doing and that they are going to set everything aside until the perfect candidate is found. Ninety nine percent of the time that is a bunch of bunk.

A hiring authority must act as though there is a sense of urgency in filling the position when interviewing you so that you will respond with interest. You can’t afford to get emotionally wrapped up in what hiring authorities tell you. They will tell you that you’re the best candidate that they have seen – yet you never hear from them again. You can’t control what other people do; you can only control how you react to it. Don’t get excited one way or the other because time frames in the hiring process are dubious at best.

We have a rule around my company, we call it Tony’s Ten Rule. It states, “If an employer and the candidate don’t take some kind of action after the initial interview to move the interviewing process forward within 10 working days, the probability of the candidate being hired decreases 10% for every day after those 10 days.”

The second guideline, and this is an overly broad guideline that can be applied to many aspects of the hiring process, is to have no expectations. Go after every opportunity you can as though it was the last opportunity ever. Prepare well. Interview well. Sell yourself as hard as you can. Just don’t have any expectations that anything will result. In other words, focus on the process and don’t worry about the results.

Interviewing and finding a job is one of your highest personal priorities. However, it is one of many priorities for the hiring organization. Hiring authorities aren’t intentionally rude or unprofessional. They, too, are subject to all kinds of factors that you may or may not know anything about.

People in this situation don’t intentionally lie, they just end up lying some of the time. You can’t let yourself be overly upset or distracted by it. If you are pursuing enough opportunities, none of these things should affect you. When the hiring authority tells you he or she is going to call you back, but doesn’t, if you have enough other opportunities to pursue, it won’t matter. Remember, finding a job is all about numbers, numbers, numbers.

The post Tip #36 Overtime Could be Sudden Death appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

The initial interview was necessary for you to get to this level of the interview process, but once you advance, the competition only gets harder!

Those who write books and articles about finding a job rarely explain that second and later interviews are a very different experience from the first. Follow-up interviews actually involve the same questions, but the number of people asking those questions increases and the detail requested is much more in depth and intense. Most candidates are not ready for the intensity and complexity of the follow-up interviews. The complexity is also less predictable and patterned than in earlier stages of the interview process. Be prepared for playoff intensity, because now it is all on the line and you have to bring your “A game.”

Companies usually involve more than one person in the hiring process because they want to spread the risk of hiring. You read that correctly – companies will tell you that the reason so many people interview candidates is to make sure of the candidate’s qualifications, that he or she can do the job, that everybody likes the person, and so forth. The truth is that no one wants to take responsibility for making a hiring decision, and the risk of possible bad consequences. People in the hiring process are so afraid of making a mistake that they want other people to share responsibility for the screw up.

This means that you’re going to have to interview with people that may or may not have anything to do with the job for which you are applying. Beware and remember: the more people who are involved in the interviewing process, the more difficult it is going to be to get hired.

I am constantly amazed at the differences of opinion between the different interviewers in a company about the kind of candidate needed. One would think that all the people involved in the hiring decision would have a consistent profile of the ideal candidate in mind. Unfortunately, most of the time that is just not the case.

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The post Tip #35 The Follow-Up Interview appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

You may be surprised to discover a lot of the interviewers are not sure of the next steps in the process. Most often, although you’ve pushed for the next interview, the interviewer is going to say something like, “Well, we have a number of people to interview, then, we’re going to complete that process and work on the subsection interviews.”

This is a perfect time for you to ask again, “Based on our conversation today, I want to think that I would be in that group, would you agree? So let’s set up that second interview now.” Then you pull out your notepad and ask, “When would a good day for me to come back?”

You’ll probably still get the standard, “Well, we’ll get in touch with you.” Again, this is an excellent time for you to find out how you really stand, relative to the other candidates, by asking, “Well, Mr./Ms. _______, you must have some idea how I stack up with your ideal candidate and the others whom you have interviewed. Please tell me what you think.”

This kind of questioning will usually provide a good idea of how you rank. They are relatively aggressive and do not necessarily come naturally or easily, but if you practice enough they will wind up becoming very easy for you.

If you are unable to confirm a date and time for the next interview at the end of the initial interview, you will need to ask for, and get clarification on, exactly what the next step will be. Usually, the interviewer will give you an idea about the next step. He most likely will not commit to your inclusion in the next round, but don’t worry about this too much. Remember, I’m emphasizing process. Getting confirmation of how you stack up against the other candidates is merely part of the process.

The post Tip #33 Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Next Step appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

Here are the major mistakes:

• Didn’t research the company. Didn’t know the CEO’s name, the size of the company, their business, the market cap, the ticker symbol (for public companies), etc.

• Didn’t sell themselves, or forgot to communicate: “This is what I can do for you, because this is what I have done in school, and for others,” etc.

• Were nervous, had poor body language, or didn’t look the interviewer in the eye. They obviously didn’t practice interviewing or selling themselves. They say things like, “What would you like to know about me?”

• Not having a real understanding of the position (i.e. not doing their homework about the job) or even asking about the position’s responsibilities.

• Not enthusiastic or did not demonstrate a level of commitment to work, the position, or the industry.

• Not sharing insights into their personal life that would carry over into their work.

• Not knowing what is on their resume. For example, being asked a question about a part-time or summer job and not remembering much about it.

• Not having thoughtful or inquisitive questions to ask at the end of the interview.

• Not able to differentiate themselves from other candidates (i.e. what makes them a better candidate than others).

• Not able to identify their weaknesses and show how they plan to strengthen them.

• Inability to relate what they have studied or what they have done to a business setting.

• Spent too much time getting ready for trick questions, such as, “Why is a manhole round?” instead of thinking about real, “Why we should hire you,” questions.

These mistakes are so simple to avoid, yet many don’t!

The post Tip #32 Top Interview Mistakes appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

When hiring authorities decide to move candidates up in the interview process, they’re getting other opinions in order to protect themselves. Since hiring is personally risky, these people have a vested interest in the chosen candidate and are likely to help the candidate as much as they can.

It is important that you ask this person:

• How many people are being interviewed

• How you compare to those other candidates

• Who else will interview you

• What the hiring authority’s perception is of these people

• How long the process is going to take

• What the people involved like or don’t like

• And anything else you can think of that will help your candidacy.

Once the hiring authority tells you that you’re going to be promoted to the next step, it is not a bad idea to request another meeting with him/her so you can get as much information as possible about the other people to whom you’ll be talking. The hiring authority wants to hire someone who goes the extra mile and demonstrates that he/she wants the job.

The post Tip #31 Interviewing with Your Future Boss appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.

The post Tip #30 When the Initial Interview is Done by an Interviewing Authority appeared first on Interview and Job Search Tips - Tonybeshara.com.