The interviewer’s first worry (out of 7)
You may be talking yourself out of a job. Your resume and your interview may combine to scare the interviewer. He may think he will lose control of his situation if he even makes you a job offer.
The hiring manager for any job usually already feels out of control. Someone quit, or there is more work to do than his team can handle. He is losing control of his own time because he is being forced to review resumes and set up interview times. He is feeling out of control.
Then you make it worse. He looks at your resume and asks himself, “Why does this candidate want to come work for me? What does he have in common with other people who quit? Will he even accept the job if we offer it?”
Will he even accept the job if we offer it?
That is the first huge question you have to remove from the hirer’s mind. There are two types of questions you can ask to help soothe the hirer. Ask the first one in the middle of the interview. Ask the second one at the very end. The second question is critical.
- What do you like most about working here?
Your purpose is to convince the hirer that they have connected with you about what makes the company great. Give them a chance to say what they like the most. While they are talking about it, lean forward and listen intently. If the hirer feels you like his explanation, he will feel a lot more comfortable that you will accept the job.
- Can I have the job?
At the end of the interview you have to be bold. You have to ask for the job. There are several ways you can put it.
- This sounds like a great opportunity. I like the people, and the job sounds great. Is there anything you have seen in me that would keep you from hiring me?
- This is the exact job, company, and coworkers I have been looking for. Can we set up the next step in the hiring process right now?
- I really appreciate the chance to talk to you. What a great job and company! I want to work with you. How soon can I start working here?
- This has been great. Can I have the job?
You will notice that the last example above is the condensed version. It is the shortest and most direct way to ask for the job. However you say it, say it at the end of every interview. Never forget it.
The will practically never make you the job offer, or set up the next step right then. The point is to let them know you really really really want the job.
Remove all doubt that you will accept the job if a decent offer is made. Do it by letting them know you are interested. If you ask some variation of question 1 and question 2, you will dramatically increase your chances of being seriously considered and hired.
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More on these topics is coming later:
You have to help them regain control before you are hired
In order to soothe your potential boss, you have to give them as much control as possible. If you can prove a few basic things, they will hire you immediately. You need to prove:
- You will take that job and keep it.
- You can do that job
- You won’t take too much training
- You will take the initiative to do things within their system
- You learn quickly
- You get along with all kinds of coworkers – good and bad
- You will quickly take other burdens off the boss’s back and give them back control.
How do you prove it?
We’ll talk about that over the next few days.