“What’s the biggest obstacle to making sure new career opportunities seek you out?”
Post your answers here, and let’s get a good discussion going!
Someone asked me a good question, and I thought other readers would benefit from the answer. I invite you to post your own responses & comments as well…
Asking for the next steps is a good idea, though it should be AFTER you’ve asked questions to uncover any problems that might exist with your candidacy. One way to ask is along the lines of:“I’ve gotten the interview, established good rapport and made it known that I’m interested. How do I close the deal or get the job? Some say simply ask for the job! I usually ask what is the next step before a decision is made. That is when I hear, “We have (X-number) more candidates to interview before we decide.” I then thank them once again for their time and reiterate my interest. What should I be saying?”
“What else can I tell you to convince you I’m the person you would want to hire for this position?”
Their answer, both verbal and non-verbal, will give you important clues, perhaps even downright objections, that you can address right there and in your thank you letter. If they don’t express an objection outright, but the body language or lack of enthusiasm suggest they have them, you could try following up with something like:
“I get the sense that you have some reservation about my candidacy. Can I ask what that might be?”
After you find out the next steps, and the time frame for those steps, you should set your own action step, along the lines of:
“Since you expect to make a decision on second interviews next week, I will give you a call a week from Monday if I haven’t heard from you by then.”
If they say that it’s too soon, then just push the date back, but still leave yourself a specific date you will call them. This gives you the chance to model how you do business – professionally persistent, taking action, doing exactly what you say you are going to do when you say you will.
Finally, go home and within 24 hours write a marketing letter to everyone with whom you met. Notice I didn’t say a thank you letter. Of course, the ‘excuse’ is to thank them for interviewing you, but the purpose is to make your strong pitch for why you are a great candidate for the job, using what you learned during the interview. This is your chance to leave them a reminder of what you would bring to the table, and to show your confidence in presenting it. It’s also a chance to fill in some important quality you neglected to bring to light in the interview, or to try to strengthen an answer that you don’t think you delivered that well during the interview.
For more on “How to Hit a Home Run in Interviews”, check out this article:
www.JHACareers.com/ArticlesInterview.htm
I’ve posted additional categories, as well as articles to jump start the discussion in Interviews and Networking. Jump in and add your own comments and questions!
I’m headed off to Montana for a short vacation, so don’t be disappointed if I don’t respond to your comments myself until late next week!
Post your comments and questions on how to “Turn Interviews Into Offers” here!
Many candidates spend a lot of time carefully crafting compelling answers to common interview questions and their own insightful questions to pose at the end of the interview. Those are important steps, but if you stop there, you aren’t going to secure the best offers, if any.
Here’s an article kick start the discussion:
http://www.JHACareer.com/ArticlesInterview.htm
Post your comments and questions on how to “Network to the Hidden Job Market” here!
One of the most critical things you can do to accelerate your Career Search is to engage your network. Unfortunately, many people go about this the wrong way.
One of the worst things you can do is to blast your résumé to everyone you know. That starts everything off on the wrong foot. You want to sit down with people one-on-one, or at least make phone appointments, and get them excited about the package you bring to the table, and the results you can provide to the right target employer.
Here are 2 articles to jump start your efforts: