You Have A Bad Recruiter If...

Or "How Recruiters Are Screwing You Over"

Let me start this off by saying that there are some excellent recruiters out there. I have the good luck and fortune of being able to work hand-in-hand with some of the best in the business and help them place candidates at great companies.   The candidate gets the job they wanted, the recruiter earns their commission, and I help someone turn a job interview into a job offer.  A win-win-win!

Unfortunately that’s not always the case.  There are many bad recruiters out there that are damaging and even ruining your chances at a better job.  Not only are they hurting your career path, they’re also affecting how much you earn and how happy you are at your job.   

Recruiters are important…..if you get a good one.  So for those of you who aren’t versed in the inner workings of recruiters, I’m pulling the open curtain for you.

Are you ready?  This isn’t for the faint of heart.  Once you know what is really going on, you won’t be able to go back.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

1. Bad Recruiting Firms Deliver Very Little Value

Recruiting firms typically charge between 25-35% of your 1st year salary.  Sometimes it’s less, sometimes it’s more (up to 50%).  What’s 25% of your yearly salary?  That’s what  a recruiter made for looking through LinkedIn for jobs and  being the roadblock, err, I mean middle man, between you and the employer. 
 

2. Bad Recruiters Don’t Care If YOU Get The Job Or Not

Most recruiters use the “spaghetti cannon” approach (shoot a bunch and hope one of them sticks).  A recruiter basically works for the hiring company so their job is to find someone to fill that job.  They don’t care if it’s you, the guy that came after you, or the one that they cold-called this morning.  They’re going to throw as many resumes as they can at the client hoping one of them gets the job.  As long as one of their candidates gets the job, they get the commission.
 

3. A Bad Recruiter Doesn’t Have Time To Help You

Tell me when was the last time a recruiter actually met with you face-to-face and gave you interview pointers?  And I mean real pointers not just generic “Show up early and ask good questions” advice. Unless you’re dealing with a good recruiter, probably never.  A bad recruiter is too busy cold-calling everybody and anybody in order to fill up that spaghetti cannon full of resumes with the hopes that one of them will stick (see #2 above). 

A good recruiter doesn’t have to bury their client with resumes.  They take their time finding a good candidate for the job and a good job for the candidate.  They coach their candidates, either themselves or by bringing someone like myself into the mix, so that even though they send only 1 candidate, that candidate has a better chance of getting the job. 
 

4. A Bad Recruiter Won’t Help You Negotiate Your Salary

Recruiters don’t have your best interests in mind particularly when it comes to negotiating.  The sooner you accept an offer, any offer, the sooner they’ll get their 25% commission check. They’ll try their best to get you to accept whatever it is you’re being offered and won’t encourage you to negotiate because they’re afraid the deal will fall through.  Even if they did try to negotiate, they don’t know how to.  Bad Recruiters are only good at cold-calling and praying someone they sent gets the job.

I help my clients negotiate pay raises anywhere between $10,000 and $30,000.  What would you do with an extra $30k?
 

5. You Can Be A Bad Recruiter And Still Make A Good Living

The average Experienced Candidate Salary is around $80,000.  Assuming your recruiter gets the average 25% commission, they get $20,000 whenever someone they refer gets the job.  Your recruiter only needs to place 5 people every year to make $100,000.  5 people!  Do you consider someone who can only get 5 people a year a job to be successful?  Of course not!  Even if some recruiters don’t make that much, they make enough to scrape by and continue giving terrible service and advice to unsuspecting victims. Do you really want someone who can only do their job right 5 times a year handle your job search?

BONUS REASON (Like they say, “Under promise and Over Deliver!”)
 

6. Most Bad Recruiters Aren’t Really Recruiters

Hello, World!

There are very few career recruiters.  Most bad recruiters are really just people who were previously unemployed or who got tired of their previous jobs and are “trying out” recruiting.  Do you want to take career advice from someone who couldn’t get a job or who doesn’t know what they want to do with their life?  If you do, then you’re getting what you deserve. 

Professional recruiters typically have several years of experience, are typically recommended by your peers, and stay at one firm for several years in a row. Keep that in mind before sending your resume to a recruiter.  

Now you know some of the secrets of bad recruiters.  Do you want to know the easiest way to determine if you’re dealing with a bad recruiter? Show them this list.  If they agree then you’re dealing with a good recruiter.  You can be really sure if they add some more items of their own to this list. 

If they moan and complain, then, I’m sorry to say, you have a bad recruiter on your hands.  Not to worry, I can recommend some excellent recruiters that can help you on your job search.  Just contact me.

Still think your bad recruiter is going to work out for you in the long run?  Have fun getting screwed over during your job search. 

Share this list with someone looking for a job.   Friends don’t let friends have bad recruiters.

Be Bold!

Ramon

P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

For the next 3 days, I'm going to show you the steps you need to know to start building your network one day at a time. You will learn how to choose the right networking event for you that fits your personality and your career goals. You will know how to approach strangers and you will know how to start and end a conversation. You will know how to follow up. -> Click Here

2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

I wrote this book to answer the most pressing questions people have about interviewing, how to manage their job search, and the best ways to answer the difficult interview questions you might get ("Why are you looking to switch jobs?").  I am only able to work with a limited number of people a month so this book is the perfect way to get all the advice and knowledge you need to be successful without having to book an appointment with me. Download the e-book by clicking here - > Instant Interview Coach: Your most pressing questions about interviewing answered!

3. Join our FREE Official Persuasive Interview Parents group and connect with other parents who are committed to helping their child find their dream co-op -> Click Here

4. Work with me 1-on-1

If you’d like to work directly with me to find your dream co-op... just schedule your complimentary “Persuasive Interview Consulting” Call with me so we can clarify your fastest path to finding your dream co-op and create a strategy for you to make it happen... Schedule your FREE call with me here -> Click Here To Schedule

How to turn down a job offer

Last week I received an email asking how to turn down a job offer.  You’re probably saying “Turn down a job offer!  Why would I do that?  I’m trying to get a job!”

I know I’m probably jumping the gun here but I’m going to show you how to solve a problem you will soon have: having too many job offers. Yes, it’s true. Believe it or not, whether you’re on the autism spectrum or not, there will be a point (soon I promise) where you’ll get not one, but two and maybe even three job offers.

When it rains, it pours

I always like to tell the students of my coaching program that when it rains, it pours. I’ve seen it over and over again to where people get two job offers in the same week whereas before they started working with me they had gone 6 months without even getting an interview. When you start getting job offers, they come at you hard and fast.

Today I’m going to show how to turn a job offer down in a way that’s professional, respectful, and doesn’t burn any bridges. Remember, just because you’re not working with them this time, doesn’t mean you won’t be working with them sometime during your career.

Turning down a job offer isn’t a terrible thing and it won’t brand you as someone that’s ungrateful or too big for their britches. I actually spend quite some time coaching people on this because it’s something they truly struggle with. I think it’s because it can be hard to go from hoping and wishing you get any job to getting having to pick from two or more awesome jobs.

It’s not about the money

Some job offers are easy to turn down because they’re bad jobs. Either they pay too little and aren’t willing to negotiate, there isn’t room for professional development, you don’t like the people, or the company just plain sucks.

The hard decision is when you have two great offers. They may both pay the same, same benefits, great people. Both of them are the whole package. This is when you have to make a decision based on what you want. When you’re making a decision on what job offer to take, you have to really think about what the pros and cons of your choice, what each particular job can help you achieve now and in the future. It’s not as easy as choosing a job that pays you more. Sometimes it’s about choosing the job that will prepare you for the next job.

At the end of the day, you have to make the decision based on what you want now and what you want in the future. You have to make the choice based on what’s best for you and not on how it’s going to make other people feel. “I don’t want to disappoint them. They’re such a great company and everyone was super nice” and that may be true, however, this is a business decision and their feelings don’t really matter. Think about it another way: Would a company make you a job offer just so their feelings wouldn’t get hurt? Absolutely not. They made an offer because it made business sense to hire you instead of someone else.

So how do I do it?

First off, make sure you already have a signed offer letter from the company you want to work at. You wouldn’t want to turn down a job offer only to find out that you don’t have the other.

Another thing, no matter how you do it, the people you’re turning down are going to be disappointed and frankly, that’s not your problem. No matter what, you want to maintain the level of professionalism they’ve come to expect from you throughout the whole interview process. Anyone can be polite when a company is wining and dining you to convince you to work for them. A true professional is the one who can maintain that level of professionalism when it’s time to deliver bad news.

“Hi NAME OF CONTACT,

Thank you very much for your offer. After much consideration, I have decided to go with a different company. I was very impressed by the whole team and the recruitment experience. I hope we will be able to work together sometime in the future.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME”

Notice how I don’t include the name of the company you’re going to, or why I chose the other company, or any type of explanation. Your decision isn’t up for consideration or change. You’ve made a decision and you’re sticking to it.

As a side note, this is very much like breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend. It’s better to just be straightforward, honest, and decisive about it. Would you tell your ex all the reasons why you’re breaking up with them, who you’ll be going out with next, and why this new person is better than your ex? Absolutely not! That’s why restraining orders were created.

Same goes for job offers. You never know how they’re going to take it and frankly, it’s none of their business so don’t give them extra info they don’t need.

The company you turned down may reach out to you and ask you all types of questions (same goes for exes) and it’s up to you to decide what you want to let them know. I personally like to stick to my guns and just tell them that that other job was a better fit for me long term. Why don’t you want to get into specifics? Well, for starters, it’s doubtful that they’ll try to negotiate at this point or change any other terms. Second, If they’re willing to throw in more money/benefits now, why wouldn’t they do it at the beginning when it was time to negotiate? Third, if you chose another job based on things besides money/benefits, that means that the job you turned down would have to radically change what they would give you career-wise. Not only that, they would have to change it so much that it would be better than the other offer. This is very unlikely to happen. Along those lines, changing your mind about jobs because they offer you a couple thousand dollars more after you’ve made a decision, in my opinion, shows a lack of character. At some point you will have to make a decision and stick to it. Remember, not making a decision is a decision itself.

Be Bold!

Ramon

P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

For the next 3 days, I'm going to show you the steps you need to know to start building your network one day at a time. You will learn how to choose the right networking event for you that fits your personality and your career goals. You will know how to approach strangers and you will know how to start and end a conversation. You will know how to follow up. -> Click Here

2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

I wrote this book to answer the most pressing questions people have about interviewing, how to manage their job search, and the best ways to answer the difficult interview questions you might get ("Why are you looking to switch jobs?").  I am only able to work with a limited number of people a month so this book is the perfect way to get all the advice and knowledge you need to be successful without having to book an appointment with me. Download the e-book by clicking here - > Instant Interview Coach: Your most pressing questions about interviewing answered!

3. Join our FREE Official Persuasive Interview Parents group and connect with other parents who are committed to helping their child find their dream co-op -> Click Here

4. Work with me 1-on-1

If you’d like to work directly with me to find your dream co-op... just schedule your complimentary “Persuasive Interview Consulting” Call with me so we can clarify your fastest path to finding your dream co-op and create a strategy for you to make it happen... Schedule your FREE call with me here -> Click Here To Schedule

How to answer the most difficult interview questions

I received great feedback from last week’s email and received a bunch of questions from readers on how to handle particular interview questions.  Right now I’m compiling all the questions and ranking them based on the number of times they were asked. In the following weeks I’ll answer them and share a little surprise I’ve been working on.

Below is an actual question that was emailed to me although there were different variants of it from different people.

It reads:

“I had an interview where the director asked me the following: "I have 40 candidates that want this position, why should I hire you specifically instead of any of them?". That question made me freeze for a seconds, and it shook me. I wasn't expecting such a direct and personal question. Plus adding her strong personality and her fixation on me, made me feel a little intimidated instantly. I was answering all the questions in a good manner, until she hit me with that question.  

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them.”

Most interview questions are the same and they just vary somewhat between interviews/interviewers.  However, sometimes you get a question from left field which you may have no idea how to answer. Instead of practicing 101 Interview questions, you should focus on creating an Interview Theme.  

An Interview Theme is what you think you want to be seen as.  In other words, what kind of impression do you want to make when you’re there and what do you want to be seen as once you leave the interview.  As long as you have your Interview Theme created, you should be able to answer any question that comes your way.  

Instead of just telling you to practice a question, I’m going to help you break it down to its different components until we get into the why (purpose), the typical answer and why it’s not the best answer, an example of the perfect answer, and what makes up the perfect answer.  

By understanding what makes a perfect answer, it will help you create your own perfect answer.  This is better and more authentic than parroting some generic answer from a book.

On to the question!

What makes you different than the other candidates?/Why should we hire you?/I have 40 candidates that want this position, why should I hire you specifically instead of any of them?

Purpose:  This question is typically asked towards the end of the interview and it is used to see if there is anything else you would like to mention to make your case as the top candidate.

Typical Answer: “I’m a hard worker, I’m dedicated, and I’m a team player.”

Problem with Typical Answer: What makes you think you’re the only applicant who is hard-working, dedicated, and/or a team player?  Chances are everyone else gave the same answer.

Best Answer:  “I haven’t met the other candidates so I don’t know if they’re better than me but something that I know makes me different is my ability to find solutions/get everyone on the team to work together/get done things on time.  

For example, there was a time when I found a solution/got everyone on the team to work together/finished a project before the deadline by.… (Provide examples).”

Why this is the Best Answer: For this question you will obviously come up with one of your strengths. This is what makes you different than the other candidates.  An important point is to use a strength that relates to the job at hand.

If you notice that the job description has several instances of needing an expert in Excel, bring that up as your strength.  If communication is what the job requires, bring up examples of why you’re better at communication than everyone else (member of debate team, editor of college newsletter, etc.)

However, what will turn this answer from good to great is citing examples.  Instead of just saying that you’re good with Excel, talk about examples where you have used Excel successfully in the past.  Tie that in to how your previous Excel experience will tie in with the hiring company’s needs.  

Your Turn: What makes you different than the other candidates?

Remember to cite your strengths, provide examples, don’t be generic, and tie it to the job at hand.

Be Bold!

Ramon

PS: Send me other questions you’d like me to answer and I might include them in my next email.

P.P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

For the next 3 days, I'm going to show you the steps you need to know to start building your network one day at a time. You will learn how to choose the right networking event for you that fits your personality and your career goals. You will know how to approach strangers and you will know how to start and end a conversation. You will know how to follow up. -> Click Here

2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

I wrote this book to answer the most pressing questions people have about interviewing, how to manage their job search, and the best ways to answer the difficult interview questions you might get ("Why are you looking to switch jobs?").  I am only able to work with a limited number of people a month so this book is the perfect way to get all the advice and knowledge you need to be successful without having to book an appointment with me. Download the e-book by clicking here - > Instant Interview Coach: Your most pressing questions about interviewing answered!

3. Join our FREE Official Persuasive Interview Parents group and connect with other parents who are committed to helping their child find their dream co-op -> Click Here

4. Work with me 1-on-1

If you’d like to work directly with me to find your dream co-op... just schedule your complimentary “Persuasive Interview Consulting” Call with me so we can clarify your fastest path to finding your dream co-op and create a strategy for you to make it happen... Schedule your FREE call with me here -> Click Here To Schedule

How to answer interview questions like Steve Jobs

I came across this the other day and I thought it was interesting.  It talks about how Steve Jobs (founder of Apple), handled an insult wrapped around a question during one of his famous keynotes.

You can see the video here: Steve Jobs Response

Aside from masterfully handling the question, the key to his answer was that he took time to think about his answer.  Many times when we’re in an interview or other high stress setting, we feel like we have to say something, anything, otherwise we might look like we don’t know what we’re talking about.  

Part of having a successful interview is being able to manage it.  A good way to manage an interview is to make sure you control the speed.  If you ever feel like you don’t know an answer or don’t know how to articulate something, don’t be afraid to say so.  

Just like Steve Jobs, don’t be afraid to slow it down and pause in order to gather your thoughts during the interview.  Not only does it show that you are human, but also that you are thoughtful about how you come across and what you say.

Below are two ways to handle this:

Situation 1: They asked you something you haven’t considered before and just need a little more time to think about it.

How to handle it: “I’ve never considered that before.  Can you give me a minute to think about it?”  

Use this time to figure out the answer to the question.  I’ve even gone as far as writing on my note pad some points I want to make sure I cover.  You would usually use this when you know an answer but you want to make sure you are concise and not ramble.

Situation 2: They asked you something you have no idea about.  It can be something technical or maybe a weird interview question.  You’re pretty sure you don’t know how to answer this one.

How to handle it: “Can we skip this one for now?  I’m not really sure how to answer this”  You can also say “I’m not sure about this.  How would you solve/answer it?” If you aren’t able to answer the question later on in the interview when they ask you again you can always tell them that you’ll think about it some more.  Once you get home, send them what you think your answer should be in the Thank You email.

I’ve used all of these during interviews that lead to job offers.  Interviewers know that sometimes you may get caught off guard by some question.  They realize that you’re human so they’ll cut you some slack. Now if they ask you something  that will be expected like “What’s your biggest weakness?” and you don’t know your answer, then maybe you won’t make the great impression you’re looking for.  

Have you had an interview question you weren’t able to answer?  What was the question and how did you handle it? What was the result?

You can read a detailed run-down of the video here: Steve Jobs answers questions with grace

P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

For the next 3 days, I'm going to show you the steps you need to know to start building your network one day at a time. You will learn how to choose the right networking event for you that fits your personality and your career goals. You will know how to approach strangers and you will know how to start and end a conversation. You will know how to follow up. -> Click Here

2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

I wrote this book to answer the most pressing questions people have about interviewing, how to manage their job search, and the best ways to answer the difficult interview questions you might get ("Why are you looking to switch jobs?").  I am only able to work with a limited number of people a month so this book is the perfect way to get all the advice and knowledge you need to be successful without having to book an appointment with me. Download the e-book by clicking here - > Instant Interview Coach: Your most pressing questions about interviewing answered!

3. Join our FREE Official Persuasive Interview Parents group and connect with other parents who are committed to helping their child find their dream co-op -> Click Here

4. Work with me 1-on-1

If you’d like to work directly with me to find your dream co-op... just schedule your complimentary “Persuasive Interview Consulting” Call with me so we can clarify your fastest path to finding your dream co-op and create a strategy for you to make it happen... Schedule your FREE call with me here -> Click Here To Schedule

Did you fail? Or was it your process?

I was planning on writing you again until next week however I wanted to make sure I sent this out now since you may be struggling with this problem.

 I go to the gym on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and since they’re small classes, I usually get to overhear what other people are saying during the workout. 

One of the exercises we do is to put a resistance band (basically a giant rubber band) right above our knees and move around.

 There is a secret process to putting them on. If you hold the band from the sides to stretch it out and then pull it up like you’re putting on a pair of underwear, the band doesn’t roll up and it doesn’t dig into the side of your knees. However, if you roll it up your legs when you put it on, it (surprise!) rolls up and becomes uncomfortable (in my case it also yanks off a bunch of leg hair.)

 This girl next to me (let’s call her Stacy) rolls it up and noticing it’s digging into the side of her knees says “This is uncomfortable. It’s because my thighs are too fat.”

 I found this interesting because I am a good 10 inches taller with thicker thighs and yet, I didn’t have the same problem.

 The reason I’m telling you this is because through my coaching practice and my day to day I consistently see candidates, and particularly women, personally blaming themselves for their failures when in reality, it’s not them who failed, but rather the process. 

Stacy thought her “fat thighs” was the problem when really it was the way she put on the resistance band that was wrong. Think about how those are two very different problems. One can be fixed in 5 seconds and the other would take months as well as a lot of mental energy and self-awareness to achieve. 

Same applies to your job search. Did you not get the interview because you were deficient or was it your resume that wasn’t up to par? Did they give someone else the job because you don’t have enough experience or because your Interview Theme wasn’t developed?  

 Let’s look at “Stacy” again.

Stacy probably thought this:

“This is uncomfortable because my thighs are too fat” = “It’s my fault I’m fat and it will be very hard and months of work to get thin thighs for this to work the way I want it to be”

 When really it should have been this:

“This is uncomfortable because the process I’m using isn’t correct” = Fix process in less than 5 seconds, gets a great workout.

 You’re probably doing the same in your career.

Instead of thinking this: 

“I didn’t get the job because I don’t have enough experience” = “I’m personally deficient and will take years to get that type of experience so I may as well just give up”

 Replace it with this:

“I didn’t get that job because my Interview Theme wasn’t the right one” = Takes about 90mins to develop an Interview Theme, gets awesome job.

 Next time you hit a roadblock, before you start thinking that things didn’t work out because YOU are too dumb/fat/skinny/tall/short/broken/deficient/etc, take a step back and first consider that maybe, just maybe, the process you used wasn’t the right one.

 Thoughts?

Be Bold!

Ramon

PS: Next week I will be in Houston for the World Autism Organisation's 5th Annual International Congress as a speaker discussing techniques job candidates who are on the Autism Spectrum can obtain white collar jobs at Fortune 500 companies.  I was selected based on my work and success rate I've had helping candidates start their careers. If you will be in attendance, feel free to reach out

P.P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

For the next 3 days, I'm going to show you the steps you need to know to start building your network one day at a time. You will learn how to choose the right networking event for you that fits your personality and your career goals. You will know how to approach strangers and you will know how to start and end a conversation. You will know how to follow up. -> Click Here

2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

I wrote this book to answer the most pressing questions people have about interviewing, how to manage their job search, and the best ways to answer the difficult interview questions you might get ("Why are you looking to switch jobs?").  I am only able to work with a limited number of people a month so this book is the perfect way to get all the advice and knowledge you need to be successful without having to book an appointment with me. Download the e-book by clicking here - > Instant Interview Coach: Your most pressing questions about interviewing answered!

3. Join our FREE Official Persuasive Interview Parents group and connect with other parents who are committed to helping their child find their dream co-op -> Click Here

4. Work with me 1-on-1

If you’d like to work directly with me to find your dream co-op... just schedule your complimentary “Persuasive Interview Consulting” Call with me so we can clarify your fastest path to finding your dream co-op and create a strategy for you to make it happen... Schedule your FREE call with me here -> Click Here To Schedule

How to calm your nerves during an interview with ASD

When I was in middle school, I was part of the Gifted & Talented program also known as the GT program.  Basically they grouped all the nerds and put them in all the same classes that were more advanced. In those classes, one of my friends, let’s call him John, was at the top of the class in the grade rankings.  He was the school valedictorian if there is such a thing for a middle school.

Problem was, taking a test was a big deal for him.  He would get so nervous that he would literally vomit before a test.  On more than one occasion I saw him get beet red, sweating profusely, shivering like he was in the middle of a snow storm, and cry his way through a pop quiz.  

A similar situation happens to many people during interviews.  Even though everyone gets a certain level of nervousness, a portion of the population suffers from severe episodes of nervousness.

I decided to write down the 6 step process I recommend people follow to help them control and reduce the way nervousness affects them during interviews.  

Plan

Fail to plan, plan to fail.  Planning doesn’t have to be stressful.  Instead of thinking of all the things you have to do, focus instead on the process.  Just like a cake recipe, you go from one step to the next which leads you to the end result.  Consider the planning phase the read through of the recipe.

Research

Something I have found very useful to calm my nerves before interviews is to remove all the uncertainty from the situation.  Many people get nervous because they’re afraid of what the other person may think of them. These thoughts run through their heads until all we imagine them yelling “Get out!” in the middle of the interview.  

What if instead of wondering what they may think, we do some research to get to know them better?  

Looking through their LinkedIn profile will give you some excellent clues on how they think and what they may ask you.  Write down what schools they went to, the companies they’ve worked at and things you find interesting. For example, if they got a degree in engineering but are now doing accounting, that career change may be something you can write down as interesting and ask them about.  Length of time at jobs, similar companies you’ve worked at and anything you think you two have in common. These are always good points to bring up during the interview.

You can also look at their facebook and other social media profiles to get a better idea of who they are.  I like to do a general google search and see what else there is about them online.

I’ve done this with all my other clients and it’s always amazing what we’re able to find.  One time we found a company newsletter that had a full article on the hiring manager and his how he did beekeeping as a hobby.  My client brought this up during the interview which immediately turned the interview into a conversation. Obviously the hiring manager was excited to talk about beekeeping as well as impressed that someone took the time to really prepare for the interview.  

Now instead of meeting a stranger, you’re meeting someone you kinda know.  This makes the whole interview a less daunting event.

Practice

Obviously practicing is important however there is a difference between practicing and rehearsing.  I don’t want you to memorize answers. I don’t think memorizing helps calm nerves because you might then worry about messing up your script.  Instead, create your Interview Theme which is how you want the interviewer to see you and practice the answers you think those answers would be to the questions.

Aside from our practices, you should practice on your own whenever you have some free time.  You can record yourself, do it in front of the mirror, with someone else as long as you’re able to practice out loud.  

You can use this free copy of my book to learn the framework to answering the most common interview questions.  

You want to practice so much, you’ll be able to improvise.  

Visualize

Visualization is something I feel strongly about.  I consider it part of your preparation since you are mentally practicing several scenarios in your head.  If any of those scenarios or even some you haven’t thought of, come up, you’ll be able to react accordingly because you’ve “been there before”.  

Below is an excerpt from the book The Power of Habit which has that story I use often during my one-on-one coaching sessions  about Michael Phelps and how he thought about his perfect swim every day since he was a teenager until he won 23 Olympic gold medals.  

“When Phelps was a teenager, for instance, at the end of each practice, Bowman would tell him to go home and "watch the videotape. Watch it before you go to sleep and when you wake up."

The videotape wasn't real. Rather, it was a mental visualization of the perfect race. Each night before falling asleep and each morning after waking up, Phelps would imagine himself jumping off the blocks and, in slow motion, swimming flawlessly. He would visualize his strokes, the walls of the pool, his turns, and the finish. He would imagine the wake behind his body, the water dripping off his lips as his mouth cleared the surface, what it would feel like to rip off his cap at the end. He would lie in bed with his eyes shut and watch the entire competition, the smallest details, again and again, until he knew each second by heart.

During practices, when Bowman ordered Phelps to swim at race speed, he would shout, "Put in the videotape!" and Phelps would push himself, as hard as he could. It almost felt anticlimactic as he cut through the water. He had done this so many times in his head that, by now, it felt rote. But it worked. He got faster and faster. Eventually, all Bowman had to do before a race was whisper, "Get the videotape ready," and Phelps would settle down and crush the competition.”

From The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Power Pose:  

This is something I also feel strongly about.  There is research that shows Power posing has immediate effects on your testosterone levels.  Just 2-5 mins of power posing can help you raise your testosterone (which helps you with focus and quick thinking).

From the Association for Psychological Science findings:

“High-power posers experienced elevations in testosterone, decreases in cortisol, and increased feelings of power and tolerance for risk; low-power posers exhibited the opposite pattern.”

There are several moves you can try and the easiest is the superman/wonder woman pose.  This is where you stand up straight, shoulders back, eyes forward, feet shoulder width apart and hands on your hips (see wonder woman pic below).  Your head should be straight almost like if you had a string attached to the crown of your head that someone is pulling up.

Breathe either with your eyes open or closed in this pose.  I like to do it with my eyes closed and visualize but you can also just stare at your reflection or just straight ahead.

Breathe

Look at this video ( It’s only like 10 mins long.):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sgb2cUqFiY

It has a great presentation on how to correctly breathe. Practice this in the days leading up to your interview as well as the day of.

P.S. And, whenever you’re ready... here are 4 ways we can help you turn job search anxiety into interviews, job offers, and self-confidence.

1. Watch my free charisma challenge course

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2. Download my Instant Interview Coach E-book

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4. Work with me 1-on-1

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