Learn what interviewers really want

If you have been invited for an interview, the good news is that the hiring manager or Human Resource person meeting you probably wants you to be the right person for their job almost as much as you do! If you turn out to be the perfect person for their position, they can relax and get back to their real work, rather than conducting interviews – which let’s face it, few people other than myself really enjoy!

To get offered the role all you need to do is provide the interviewers with enough evidence to make the decision easy to hire you!

Sounds simple, but of course it’s not that easy.

For someone to hire you, they need to feel that you are capable of fulfilling the job requirements in a manner consistent with their culture and be able to effectively add value to their organisation.

They will be asking themselves either consciously or unconsciously the following 5 questions. These five questions are super important.

1. Do you understand the job?
2. Can you do the job?
3. Do you want to do the job?
4. Will you fit into the culture or cause problems in the team?
5. Do I like you?

Everything you say or do during the interview must address all these questions.

Your job during the interview is to eliminate any fear, doubt or uncertainty they may have about your suitability for the role. Often a hiring manger will make no decision and leave the job unfilled rather than take a hiring risk and get it wrong. It is therefore your job to uncover if the interviewer has any doubts about your suitability for the role and address these concerns before you leave the interview.

How to win the interview game.
Prior to the interview conduct a comparison exercise. A comparison exercise is where you compare your achievements and accomplishments against the hiring organisation’s needs. This prepares you to become more comfortable talking about your achievements, goals, strengths and weaknesses in the context of the specific job you’re interviewing for.

Most people don’t spend enough time thinking about how their skills and experience relate to the job until they are asked the question at interview and then it’s too late. If you haven’t prepared a succinct answer that responds to the needs of the organisation you’re interviewing for, you have blown a great opportunity to sell yourself.

So how do you conduct a Comparison Exercise?

Simply draw a line down the middle of a page, on the left-hand side list all the employers needs and on the right hand side, your skills and accomplishments to prove you can do the job. As a result during the interview you’ll easily be able to point out these achievements and the value you can offer. This will help you to stand out. You can even take this document with you to the interview, to boost your confidence.

Ensure you tell the interviewer; the job sounds great, you would love to do it and you would welcome the opportunity to work for their organisation.

Answer the five questions they are thinking and this will place you in the strongest position to be offered the role.

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