A job interview is a sales interview

A job interview is a sales interview

Roger Ailes, a communication consultant specializing  in marketing and public relations, clearly understood the idea that when anyone is looking for a job, what that person is doing is selling an idea or an expectation to the one doing the hiring.

Several years ago he wrote the book, “You are the message”, I love the title, and in that book he tells us about a client who had just quit a very prestigious consulting firm in order to look for better opportunities elsewhere, maybe even making more money.

Roger says that the young lady was really very good at what she did, she was efficient and she had a great curriculum vitae but for whatever reason, she hadn´t been able to land a job after trying for a few months. He took on the challenge and proceeded to interview her for half an hour. Afterwards, very sincerely he told her that if she was applying for a job and he had to make the decision, he wouldn´t hire her.

The lady was very surprised at Roger´s comment and asked him why?  He proceeded to tell her that in the whole half hour, not once had she addressed how the company hiring her was supposed to make back the $150,000 salary she was asking for.   

This is a very important question that must be answered by anyone looking for a job, specially a well paying job. When a company is going to hire you and pay you X amount of money for your services, in order to have a better chance of being hired, you better make sure that in the interview you convince the interviewer that you are the best candidate and how will you make back the money they will be paying you and then some.  

In two sessions that followed the initial session with this lady, the P.R firm worked on communicating the tangible value of her skills and accomplishments throughout her professional career including their worth to the employee. This is very important, how much were those abilities and skills accumulated throughout her career translated into bottom line dollars for the employer.

They devised a list to be used on every interview from then on and it was so well thought out that I want to share it with you in case you are looking for a job or you are hiring people who are looking for jobs.

In a soft jobs market, more people will be competing for fewer jobs so you must give it all you have got during the interview.

Here is the list:

1.      How is my physical appearance? Am I dressed and groomed appropriately for this particular job, the company, and the industry culture? (This is important since you would not dress the same way if you were applying to work in Google as you would if you applied in IBM)

2.      How self assured do I portray myself to be? Can I put the interviewer or others participating in the interview at ease?

3.      Can I communicate the following during the interview in a clear, brief, entertaining and interesting manner:

·        How I represent a return on the employer´s total investment in my pay and benefits if I am hired (in other words, how much money I will bring in and how I will add measurable value to the company)

·        Specific examples of my achievements at work, each delivered in no more than a minute or two mini case histories and focused on results not on activity.

·        My knowledge of the industry (market place , products or services, personal contacts, inside and outside pressures, trends)

·        Knowledge of my potential employer´s company including its goals, challenges, history and top management. If it is a public company, go to their web site and take a look at the 10K report, it is public information and gives you lots of information of the company’s challenges.

4.      Can I demonstrate with concrete examples my:

·        Maturity and readiness to take on responsibility?

·        Desire and enthusiasm to learn and grow on the job?

·        Positive attitudes toward management and coworkers?

·        Commitment and involvement; doing more than the bare minimum the job requires?

·        Understanding of the technical language and the practices of the industry?

This lady, after being trained and going to her first interview, was hired with a 25% increase in her expected salary. She followed the plan and because of it she was successful. Ray Pelletier, a good friend of mine, may he rest in peace, used to tell me that he only took clients on that were coachable. If someone is not coachable it is very difficult to help that person.

If you are looking for a job or if you have to interview people, it is important for you to understand this methodology because it will help you get the job or hire a good candidate.