Participants: Eric Kelly (Host)
Series Code: WTD
Program Code: WTD000003A
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00:30 Hello and welcome to "Working the Dream"
00:34 I'm your host Eric Kelly and today we're going 00:36 to share tips on how you can ace your next job interview. 00:42 Now let's look at how you got here... 00:45 The recruiter or the hiring manager thought enough about 00:49 the resume that you sent in to take a closer look at you... 00:53 Great start! 00:54 Now you might have even gotten a screening call 00:57 which further peaked their interest... Good job! 01:01 Now, this is the do or die moment... 01:05 Your interview goals are to ensure that you make the 01:09 best presentation of your talents and abilities. 01:14 Now, I think our next friend should have asked for some help 01:18 before his interview, you be the judge... 01:29 Has my 4 o'clock arrived yet? 01:32 Um hm, alrighty... 01:34 Ohh, they told me to come in here - you must be the 01:36 Mr. Martin they been telling me about... Man, oh man, 01:39 this looks like a good day for me! 01:42 Jonas Martin and you are...? 01:44 GRANT, but everybody call me "G-stacks," 01:47 you can call me whatever you want, man, 01:48 because you the man with the job that's gonna make 01:50 me HAP-PY, I feel good today! 01:53 Yeah, my brother! 01:54 Tell me a little about yourself. 01:56 Man okay I tell ya, I'm the slam dunk champion, 01:58 the chess champion, the checker champion, 01:59 I am the little product on the neighborhood, 02:01 I got the highest score on caller duty. 02:02 What else you want to know, my brother? 02:04 All right, let's skip that. 02:05 Why did you apply for the 02:08 position that we have here today? 02:10 Why? What? Look, I need some money, 02:12 the G-notes, the C-notes, 02:14 I need the paycheck, that's why I'm here brother. 02:16 I need - I got pockets, but ain't nothin in 'em. 02:18 Um, a couple of things... 02:21 I'm looking at your resume and, by the way, 02:25 could you remove those sunglasses please? 02:27 Aw man, am I bad, my bad... 02:28 Man it was sunny outside today - Ooo 02:31 Man, the doctor told me I gotta protect these for your eyes, 02:34 ya know what I'm sayin, so I had to wear these things, 02:36 but I think they'll stay on my head. 02:38 Don't worry about it, I got it together. 02:39 By the way, on your over to the interview, 02:41 you didn't run into any traffic jams or anything, did you? 02:43 I gotta apologize about that, see - I set my clock for 3. 02:47 Well what happened when I woke up, I found out the 02:50 batteries had died, man, and the dog... wait, the cat chased 02:54 the dog, took the other alarm clock down the hall 02:56 that was tied to his collar, collar you know, 02:58 and the neighbor was supposed to be my backup alarm, 03:00 but they fell asleep too. 03:01 All right, all right, we just have to get through 03:03 this interview. 03:05 Now the position that we're talking about is that of 03:11 junior analyst. Um hm 03:13 And actually your work experience is not too bad. 03:17 Uh, it's pretty good. 03:20 You got four colleges, 6 different majors. 03:23 Just a hint Mr. Grant, when you're applying for a job, 03:27 you don't need to list every college you went to, 03:30 and everything you studied, just the last college 03:32 you attended and the last course 03:35 of study that you graduated from. 03:37 See the bottom line was, see I didn't know 03:39 which position was going to get me the most money, 03:41 you know, bang for the bucks, so I decide study 03:44 the whole thing - be well rounded - that's my game. 03:46 I got it all - the degrees. 03:48 Now I see also that you studied theology. 03:54 Now pastors, as a rule, don't make a lot of money. 03:57 What was your thinking there? 03:59 Well first, I don't look like a pastor today, but man, 04:01 you watch TV man? 04:03 Them pastors be making some big dollar bills, y'all. 04:06 Selling snake oil, prayer cloths, splinters from the 04:11 tree of life and all that stuff, so if I can't make it 04:13 in the real world, I'm gonna make some money as a pastor, 04:15 that's what I'm trying to say. 04:16 I understand, I understand. 04:17 Don't you worry about it. 04:19 What makes you think that you're a good fit 04:20 for this particular position? 04:22 Man, I got the experience, I got the education, 04:25 plus I bring some swag-eye, you know, nobody in this 04:28 company so far that I've seen got swagin. 04:30 This company needs some swagger that the 04:32 G- stack brings to the table. 04:34 This is not swagger. Um hm 04:35 Sadly, there's no particular position that requires swagger. 04:39 So it's going to be a little tough for us to kind of 04:43 place you because your skill set is a little different. 04:48 Yo man... how long is it going to take man? 04:50 I been, I got 7-1/2 minutes, 8-1/2 minutes you been talking 04:54 trying to fit me in, but I parked in a 10 minute 04:56 parking slot man, in 1-1/2 minutes I'm gonna 04:59 get towed - how long is it gonna take man? 05:00 Well actually, our interview is really quite finished. 05:03 We're pretty much done here, and I want to thank you 05:05 for coming in. 05:07 Okay now, while I'm with you, I have 30 seconds more. 05:09 While I'm leaving though, don't forget this man. 05:11 See I got it, G-stack got what you need, 05:14 what this company needs and the best decision 05:16 you could make, sorry about the glasses, is to fit me 05:19 into this office... you know what I'm saying. 05:20 You gonna need what I got, and you got what I need. 05:22 I'm out, my brother, don't forget me, 05:24 don't forget me. Call me! 05:32 Okay, let's be real about this, "Grant G-stacks" has about 05:37 an icicle's chance in a forest fire of getting 05:40 hired for this position. 05:42 Grant violated all of the rules for job interview etiquette. 05:47 Mr. Martin has already written him off for this job. 05:50 With his dress, his lingo, his demeanor, 05:55 Grant, as cool as he thinks he is, just wasted 06:00 an hour out of his day and Mr. Martin's too. 06:04 Now, let's examine Cole's approach to preparing 06:08 for the interview and see if he can do better 06:11 than our friend Grant... Should be easy! 06:18 Loud sigh...we really need to do a better job 06:22 with our HR process. "G-stacks?" Wow. 06:27 Phone rings... Yes? 06:31 Cole Elliot is early for the interview. 06:34 Oh, thank you, thank you, send him in. 06:43 Cole, how are you? I'm good, thank you. 06:45 Please have a seat. Thank you sir. 06:46 Good to see you. Yeah 06:48 Thank you for coming in and thank you for 06:51 coming in so early. Thank you sir. 06:52 We will try not to take up too much of your time. 06:54 Don't worry sir, it's your time - don't worry. Alrighty. 06:56 Looked at your resume and it's very solid, very strong. 07:01 I need to tell you, I'm not a fan of 07:04 traditional interview techniques, all right? 07:07 So we're going to change things up just a little bit. 07:09 Okay. Great. 07:10 Uh, you like basketball? 07:11 Love it sir. Great, great. 07:13 Let's suppose I'm the coach of the basketball team, 07:16 and we're hiring you to be our point guard, all right? 07:20 What I need to know is... are you a shoot-first 07:24 kind of point guard or are you a distributor - making sure that 07:28 everybody gets their shots, everybody gets what they need 07:32 so the team can be successful? 07:34 Hmm, well honestly sir, it depends on what the team 07:38 needs, I mean - I believe in preparation, so first I'll try 07:44 to understand the needs of the team or, in this case, 07:47 the company and I'll learn the opponent's weaknesses 07:50 and strengths and I'll use that on a play-by-play basis... 07:53 And if I need to score, I can do that; 07:56 if I need to make my teammates shine, I can do that also. 08:00 And, no matter the situation, it's all about the team 08:04 and what the team needs to succeed. 08:06 All right, great, great! 08:08 Give me some idea of what you think are your 08:12 character strengths and then give me an example 08:15 of how you would use them. 08:17 Hm, well I feel that I have a great attention to detail, 08:21 and I strive for accuracy and for best presentation. 08:24 And, my last boss assigned me on a project to improve 08:28 our accuracy and I found multiple holes that I 08:35 tried to fix and so made some recommendations 08:39 and since those changes were implemented 08:42 98% of the reports that were sent to management 08:44 never came back for accuracy errors. Excellent, excellent! 08:48 Tell me now... who is your favorite basketball player? 08:50 "Kobe Bryant," sir. 08:52 Kobe Bryant - why is he your favorite? 08:53 Because he gives it all, you know, sir, and he gives it 08:57 all to win. Um hm, yeah, um hm. 08:59 Do you see yourself as sort of a corporate Kobe Bryant? 09:04 No sir. Why not? 09:05 Well, I don't mind sharing the ball, sir and that's like my 09:09 dad always says, "You can have all the success you want 09:12 if you give all the success to other people." Um hm, um hm. 09:16 Um hm, kind of a "Zig Ziglar" philosophy, uh huh. 09:20 Your dad is a very wise man, you should listen to him. 09:22 Thank you sir, thank you. 09:24 Well, we don't have much more and you've done a fine job. 09:27 Glad you came in... we will be in touch, thank you! 09:30 Alrighty. Thank you, thank you sir. 09:31 Take care. You too sir. 09:37 Ha, ha, ha - Kobe Bryant...? whatever happened to 09:42 Michael Jordan? Those young people! 09:48 Now Cole values getting help from a mentor, 09:51 and he got some pretty good advice too. 09:53 If he follows it, he should do well in his interview. 09:57 Okay, let's think about what we just saw... 10:01 We've already established that the interviewer must like you 10:04 in order for you to get the job. 10:06 Cole definitely impressed Mr. Martin and by all 10:10 indications has a shot at landing a pretty cool job. 10:15 So let's look at what needs to be done prior to 10:19 the initial shaking of hands with an interviewer. 10:23 Research the company on the internet. 10:25 Prepare questions to ask. 10:26 Dress one level above the position you're applying for. 10:30 Arrive 20 minutes early. 10:31 Pray silently for confidence. 10:33 Before you go to your interview, 10:36 you need to do a little research. 10:38 Interviewers love applicants that walk into the room 10:42 and have an idea about what company 10:45 they're interviewing with. 10:46 So, go to the internet and find out as much 10:50 as you can about the company. 10:51 Find out about their products, their goods, their services; 10:56 in fact, read any little news clips about their company. 11:00 Know what they make, how they make their money, 11:04 and if they're publicly traded, it doesn't hurt to know 11:07 a little bit about their stock price and their stock history. 11:11 The second thing you want to research is the position. 11:14 What position are you applying for? 11:16 If online, in any way, you can find out what this position 11:20 does and what's some of its responsibilities are... 11:23 In fact, if you don't have the specific information 11:27 for that company, if you can find general information 11:30 about that position - when you're talking to the 11:32 recruiter, it helps them understand that you know 11:36 what you're asking for. 11:39 Then you might want to do a little looking at the pay... 11:42 How is the pay structure? 11:43 How much do they pay for that position? 11:46 And, you can go online and find so many different 11:49 websites that kind of give you a general idea of how much 11:53 is paid for each position. 11:55 Now, the recruiter, the interviewer - they are going 11:58 to have discussions about pay and you should have an idea 12:02 about how much you're going to be asking for 12:05 because they're going to ask YOU what are you looking for? 12:09 Now here's the interesting thing about pay... 12:11 The first one that talks about money loses and let me explain. 12:15 The interviewer does not want to tell you how much the job pays 12:20 because if they ask you how much you're willing to work for 12:24 and it's less, that's probably where you're going to start. 12:27 You are trying not to say how much you'll settle for 12:31 because you want to know how much they'll pay. 12:33 So there's a little bit of a dance around pay. 12:36 The first person that blinks loses... 12:39 But, if they ask you how much you are definitely willing 12:42 to work for, it's good to have done the research, 12:45 gone to the internet and find out what's the average 12:49 pay for that position and don't pick the high end of the scale, 12:53 pick the middle of the scale. 12:54 If it's between 80,000 and 95,000, find a number in 12:59 the middle somewhere... 85,000, 87,000, 13:03 but make sure that you have an idea of what would 13:06 work for you and don't be greedy. 13:09 Understand the culture that you're going into. 13:11 Also, look at that culture and see if that's a place that 13:16 YOU would feel comfortable working. 13:19 Ultimately in this process, you must pray for discernment 13:24 and God's leading. 13:25 Every job that looks good on a recruiting board 13:30 or on paper, may not be what God wants for you. 13:34 God knows whether or not that company is going to be around 13:37 He knows if there's going to be a merger and the job 13:40 that you're applying for is going to go away in 8-9 months, 13:44 a year or two once you get settled in. 13:47 God knows everything about what's going to happen 13:50 to that company... so pray for His leading and guidance. 13:53 He may tell you - apply somewhere else. 13:57 Listen to His voice - it's the guarantee of success 14:01 in your life. 14:02 Now, let's look at what we need to do on the day 14:07 of an interview. 14:09 "Acing an interview" means that you want to start 14:13 the day of the interview with a good mood. 14:17 Read promises from God's word. 14:20 One of the verses I love is: "I can do all things 14:24 through Christ who strengthens me." 14:26 Spend time that morning, if you never spend time 14:30 in the word and talking to God, no matter how 14:34 talented, gifted, educated, bright, articulate, 14:37 no matter what your gifts are - unless God is 14:41 blessing them that day, may not be such a great day. 14:45 So spend time with Him and get that divine connection 14:48 before you do anything else. 14:50 Now you also may want to make sure the blood is flowing, 14:54 the energy is there, so you might want to take a brisk walk 14:58 and kind of get the heart pumping and the blood moving 15:01 and, by the way, that kind of keeps you in a better 15:04 positive frame of mind. 15:06 You might want to work out, you might want to stretch 15:08 a little bit and kind of get pumped up, after the 15:13 walk and breathe some good lungfuls of air... 15:17 You know, really make sure that you're alive - all the 15:20 time communicating with your Father, your Higher Power. 15:24 Now meditation and prayer can also help you relax. 15:27 This is not a day to get nervous. 15:29 In fact, think about this... If God wants you to have this 15:34 job, you will have it, so turn it over to Him. 15:38 In your prayer, in your meditation, 15:40 ask Him for the peace to trust Him. 15:43 So this isn't a moment where you've got to make it all 15:46 happen - kind of relax, sit back, you've done all the 15:51 work that you can do and let God do what He does. 15:55 Give yourself a pep talk... 15:57 No matter what happens - before, after or during this interview, 16:01 you are still a favorite child of God. 16:04 You're still a person of value, no matter WHAT is said 16:09 about you, no matter what is said to you. 16:11 So give yourself a pep talk, remind yourself who you are 16:14 and WHOSE you are. 16:16 Sing a favorite song - in the car belt one out, 16:19 I mean let it rip, enjoy it, clap your hands, 16:22 let yourself FEEL that you're ALIVE! 16:25 Remember, no matter what happens here, you're still going to be 16:28 there a person of value and God 16:30 is still going to take care of you. 16:33 Recite your favorite inspirational quote. 16:36 Let your ears hear your mouth say something that moves you. 16:42 Now, how do you want to appear during your interview? 16:46 Well first of all, you need to be well-dressed. 16:49 The tip is - you need to dress a level above the position. 16:53 So, let's say you're applying for a position as 16:56 an accounting supervisor, you need to dress like the 17:00 accounting manager would dress. 17:02 Now I know when we talk about issues of dress, 17:04 people feel this is their last area of individuality... 17:09 Well, that may be true, but it is also 17:12 how you will be judged. 17:13 So dress above the position that you're applying for. 17:17 It makes an incredible impact on the people 17:21 that are interviewing you. 17:23 The next thing is - be natural, just be yourself. 17:26 The nervousness - let's give that to God, let's trust Him 17:30 to make the way straight for us, but be natural. 17:32 Just be you - if your hands move a certain way, 17:34 you talk a certain way, just be who you are 17:37 because that's going to come across as you being real 17:40 to the person that's talking to you. 17:42 ALWAYS be on time. 17:45 There's nothing that sends a message to the potential 17:48 employer about how you're going to be as an employee 17:51 as someone who is late; in fact, be early! 17:57 Now this might sound a little hokey, but if you're early, 18:01 many times it signals to your employer or your prospective 18:05 employer - this is somebody that is going to be early to work. 18:09 They're really eager, they really want this thing. 18:11 So always, always be on time. 18:14 In fact, if you're going to be late, see if you could 18:17 postpone the interview. 18:19 But on-time sends a big strong message to them about 18:23 how serious you are about working for them 18:26 and how serious you'll be about work once they hire you. 18:30 Stay company-focused with everything that you say 18:34 to the interviewer. 18:36 Getting them to focus on how your specific skills 18:40 can help them in their organization. 18:43 Ask questions based on what you've learned, 18:45 the research that you did about the company and be ready 18:49 to elaborate on any information that you put on your resume... 18:53 which is why we said, when you write the resume, 18:56 make sure that you're absolutely perfectly honest. 19:01 Now, practice makes perfect and perfect practice makes perfect. 19:08 You need to practice your interviewing skills even 19:11 when there is no pending interview. 19:13 You need to keep these up, so here's what you do... 19:16 Ask a family member or a professional friend 19:20 or a mentor or anybody that you can coerce to put you 19:25 through your paces prior to an important interview. 19:29 Skilled interviewers will pose behavioral interview questions 19:33 and they're going to ask you to describe 19:36 specific examples of an experience. 19:39 In these situations, your response can easily last 19:43 much longer than 90 seconds, but try to keep the answers 19:47 short and concise. 19:49 The five most common interview questions include: 19:53 #1. Biggie - so tell me about your weaknesses and strengths. 19:59 Now some people answer those in the most ridiculous ways. 20:04 We heard one that said, "Tell me about your weaknesses," 20:07 and the person responded, "Well one of my weaknesses 20:09 is that I'm a workaholic and I work so hard that my 20:13 employer has to tell me to slow down." 20:16 Yeah - we're buying that one. 20:19 Or tell me about your strengths, and you elaborate on how 20:22 wonderful and fantastic you are. 20:24 Now the interviewer is expecting to hear you talk 20:27 about your strengths and weaknesses, 20:29 but they want you to be real. 20:31 They want you to be honest and there's probably an area that 20:34 you're weak in, not a major one, that you're able to 20:37 share and kind of let them know what kind of a employee 20:41 they are getting. 20:42 Second question - happens all the time... 20:45 "Why did you quit or get terminated 20:48 from your previous position?" 20:50 Now be very careful when you answer this question. 20:55 If you answer it based on relationships, 20:57 it could be a problem. 20:59 "Well I left my last job because my boss was an idiot." 21:02 Or, "I left my last job because I hated my coworkers." 21:07 Or, "I left my last job because 21:08 the people there just didn't get me." 21:10 And do you see what you just told the interviewer? 21:13 You just told them that whether it's your boss, coworkers, 21:17 people that you work with, you're not going to a 21:20 good job fit. 21:21 Now remember, their job is to make sure that you fit 21:24 into the position they are interviewing you for... 21:27 So why should they choose you? 21:29 #3. Why should we hire you? 21:33 Make this a good one. 21:34 Ah, you can use terms like "career growth, interesting 21:38 company," there are a lot of answers you can use; 21:41 however, please do not say, "You should hire me 21:44 because this position pays a lot of money, 21:47 and I'd like to make a lot of money." 21:49 Now that may be absolutely true, 21:51 but there are better ways to say that. 21:53 In fact, one of the best ways I've heard about 21:55 someone that wants to grow and develop is simply saying that. 21:59 "Hey, I looked at your company and it looked like 22:02 an organization where I could really grow and develop 22:05 to the best of my abilities." 22:07 Now, here's where they want to find out if you know 22:11 how to problem-solve and deal with issues. 22:14 So they're going to ask you, "Tell me about a problem 22:16 that you had with a previous supervisor, team member 22:20 or employee." 22:21 And what they want to hear from you here is... 22:24 4. How do you handle adversity? 22:27 So what you might tell them... "Well I had a supervisor 22:30 who was rather skeptical about me working a certain project 22:35 and I was able to win them over by: 22:39 a. Doing all my work well. 22:41 b. Winning in small projects. 22:44 c. Finally get a chance to show my skills and abilities 22:48 on a bigger project. 22:50 And from thereon out, they were able to use me in some 22:52 pretty important projects." 22:54 Now what you just told the interviewer there is that you 22:57 grew and developed and instead of fighting that person, 23:00 you were able to sell them on what you brought to the table. 23:04 5. This is a biggie... Tell me about a time when you 23:09 made a mistake. 23:11 Please be honest... Now I'm probably not 23:14 going to tell you about the biggest mistake I ever made 23:17 because that might scare you just a bit, 23:19 but we've all made mistakes, we are human beings. 23:23 So pick one that didn't turn into an incredible disaster, 23:25 preferably one that you were able to fix once you 23:28 were aware of it and share that with them. 23:31 What they really want to know is... 23:34 Are you human? 23:37 Now, during the interview, don't talk too much. 23:43 The average interviewer's attention span looks 23:47 something like this... 23:48 As you begin speaking, the interviewer is listening 23:52 with nearly full attention, then after about 10 seconds, 23:56 he begins listening with less than intensely. 23:58 After about 60 seconds, his mind begins to wander 24:02 and he is remembering he has to pickup the children 24:04 from school and he's devoting 24:06 less than half his attention to you. 24:09 Now, the interviewer starts asking questions about 24:13 your responses or begins formulating his next interview 24:17 question while he's thinking. 24:19 Now after you've been speaking for 90 seconds without 24:21 any interruption... Oo, oo, oo, ooo, 24:23 the interviewer is barely listening at all. 24:26 So when you're attempting to sell yourself, 24:28 don't take the conversation and run away with it 24:31 because they really might not be listening. 24:34 The last thing they're going to ask you is... 24:38 "Well, do you have any questions?" 24:41 Now to be impressive, you want to ask about some 24:44 issue that during the research about that company... 24:48 that you learned or maybe even something personally 24:51 while you have that conversation. 24:52 It's so impressive when you ask about... 24:56 "Well what's the biggest push this company 24:58 is making this year or what's the focus 25:01 of the organization this year?" 25:02 "Where could my talents best be used to 25:05 make this company win this year?" 25:06 Man, does that sound like you're ready to go with this! 25:09 And, here's when you make it personal... 25:11 Since people like to talk about themselves, 25:14 ask them, "What in this company made it so good for you?" 25:18 This interviewer, who obviously is like everybody else, 25:22 once they start sharing why they enjoy it, 25:25 you'll get an insight not only into the company, 25:28 but you'll get an insight into them. 25:30 Remember, talking about ourselves is most peoples 25:34 favorite subject. 25:35 At any rate, your final questions should reflect 25:38 interest in being an asset to the company. 25:42 Now, here's a set of questions that will completely 25:45 turn the interviewer off at the end of your 25:48 wonderful interview, here's one... 25:50 "Do you have any questions for me?" 25:53 "Yes, I'd like to know how many sick days you give?" 25:56 I'm pretty sure that signals, you're not even sick 26:00 at the moment, but you're planning on it 26:02 as soon as you get there and get hired. 26:05 "How many vacation days do you have?" 26:08 Well, you haven't been hired yet and you're still 26:12 trying to figure out how soon you can take time off. 26:15 It's not a bad thing to do, but it is simply giving the 26:18 wrong message to the interviewer. 26:22 Remember, you need to focus on what you can do 26:26 for them, not necessarily what they can do for you. 26:30 Finally, panel types come in different sizes and different 26:33 forms - sometimes it's a one-on-one interview, 26:36 sometimes it's a two-person interview, 26:40 and occasionally it's a panel interview where they all 26:43 line up in front of you and ask you questions. 26:46 Let me tell you, no matter what, God is with you. 26:49 Well, that's all the time that we have today, friends. 26:52 So use the information we shared with you today, 26:55 and know for sure that your next interview 26:59 will be an impressive and blessed one. 27:02 Remember, you are powerless over what they can do to you, 27:06 but they are powerless over what God will do for you. 27:11 This is Eric Kelly, until next time, 27:13 keep "Working the Dream" |
Revised 2017-08-22