A View From the Other Side of the Interview Desk:
3 Changes to Improve
Your Odds at Getting that Job
by Dr. Stephen A. Laser
 Getting a job is hard enough that candidates don’t need to unnecessarily
shoot themselves in the foot once they get that coveted job interview. So
how does an otherwise qualified job candidate squander a chance to land a
good job? Below are the three most common mistakes I’ve seen job candidates
make in my experience as a business psychologist as well as an explanation
on how to avoid them along with improving your chances of finding the right
opportunity for you. The “Big Three” as I call them are:
- Talking too much
- Failing to do your homework
- Relying on a one-size-fits-all resume
Don’t Talk Too Much
In my work on the other side of the desk, the number one reason people
fail to land a job is plain and simple: they talk too much. Why do
candidates feel compelled to talk so much? First and foremost, they are
frustrated. After many months of extended unemployment and no responses to
emails or phone calls, people naturally become angry and upset. The
frustration of emailing, snail-mailing, and perhaps, going door-to-door
handing out resumes is a tiring process, and it can seem like a fool’s
errand. When a person finally does land that much coveted interview, several
things can happen – and many of them are not good.
Often, the long-awaited chance to talk to a human being either
face-to-face or over the telephone is seen as an invitation to tell
everything. Job histories are recited in excruciating detail, and each
question from the interviewer is an opportunity to offer a soliloquy. In
other instances, the discouraged job candidate vents all of his frustrations
on the poor human resources rep who is only trying to do her job.
To counter these problems, let me offer a few common sense suggestions.
First, listen and answer the question directly. Simple questions deserve
simple answers. For example, to the question, “How many years have you
worked in sales?” don’t begin with your first job in high school selling
retail clothing at the mall to 25 years later, reviewing your most recent
role as a national account manager. Instead, simply say, “25 years.”
Remember: while the job interview might be your first in months, it is
probably the HR rep’s fifth or sixth of the day! Give them a break. This
poor person might be the age of your son or daughter. How would you feel if
an angry job applicant verbally assaulted one of them? Finally, if you
absolutely need to vent about your frustrations surrounding unemployment,
talk to a counselor or a clergyman or even a sympathetic family member or
friend.
Do Your Homework
The internet is your friend. Use it to search for information on your
prospective employer. Find information about the company and its products.
If you are interviewing with a not-for-profit, learn about its history and
mission. Read news stories posted on-line about the place. The more you know
about the organization you might be working for, the better informed you
will be. More importantly, you will sound knowledgeable and well-prepared to
those at the company who will be interviewing you, and this impresses
people.
If you are fortunate enough to know the names of the people you will be
meeting, find out as much about them as possible. Where did they attend
school? What significant contributions have they made to the company or to
their field? Using Google as well as LinkedIn you can uncover a treasure
trove of valuable information. Another reason for searching for information
about individuals is to try to connect with them in some way. Maybe you know
people in common or share a similar background in terms of education or
interests. We all feel more comfortable with people we know and share common
interests or experiences.
Ditch the One-Size-Fits-All Resume
With word processing tools there is no reason not to customize your
resume for different jobs. For handy reference, keep a template on your
computer of your basic resume format which you can tailor at a moment’s
notice. Besides the obvious value of customizing your resume for a
particular employer, there is another important fact of life in today’s job
market which should compel you to listen to take my advice. With the crush
of hundreds, and even thousands of resumes being submitted to an employer
who posts a job opening, companies are getting aggressive about screening
out resumes which don’t make sense for the job and are not worth taking to
the next round. In particular, organizations are employing sophisticated
resume scanning tools to search for key words. If there’s not a match, then
the resume is dropped. This, of course, probably explains why so many
resumes go unanswered in today’s crowded job market.
To counter this problem, let me suggest a couple of ideas. First, examine
the job posting or ad if in it was in the newspaper or on a bulletin board.
Copy it word for word and then make sure your resume contains the same exact
key words as in the posting. While not always possible, you might try to ask
for a job description, and again, look carefully for the key words in the
document so that you can transcribe them onto your resume in order to avoid
being screened out electronically.
In closing, there is nothing magical about these three suggestions for
avoiding costly mistakes that might separate you from being a second round
candidate as opposed to being rejected out of hand. It’s amazing what a
difference common sense and little extra effort upfront can make in
increasing your odds of ending that long period of unemployment. Now, get
back to work!
Stephen A. Laser, PhD has over 30 years of experience as a business
psychologist. He founded and manages a Chicago-based consulting firm
specializing in advising clients on hiring employees. Over the past 10
years, Dr. Laser has been a guest speaker to various groups of unemployed
individuals, typically over the age of 40, and previously taught courses in
business psychology at Northwestern University, Roosevelt University and the
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Laser is the author of Out-of-Work and Over-40: Practical Advice for
Surviving Unemployment and Finding a Job. He is a regular contributor to The
Weissman Report, has written articles for top media outlets and industry
publications and has been quoted as an expert by
BusinessWeek.com, CBS MoneyWatch,
Huffington Post, Black Enterprise and the Chicago Tribune. For more
information, please visit
www.laserassociates.net.
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