In our last episode of Onward Search’s Career Cast podcast, Executive Search team members Tom Hull and Jamie Young gave some excellent advice to the hiring managers out there who are looking for just the right talent. For our brand new episode of Career Cast, Tom and Jamie are back to flip the perspective and talk about the top 5 tips every job seeker needs to remember when they’re trying to land the job of their dreams.
If you’re currently searching for a job, or if you ever have in the past, you know exactly how crucial and nerve-wracking interviews can be. For the first job seeker tip, Jamie jumps right in to making the interview process easier by doing your home work ahead of time. It’s all about preparation, Jamie says, especially when it comes to researching the company and its culture. The goal is to be able to answer all of your prospective employer’s questions and throw a question or two their way as well. Knowing as much about the company as possible will help you feel more confident and ready to handle anything.
Speaking of confidence, Tom follows Jamie with a tip about how you present yourself once you’re in the interview. He points to the importance of referring to yourself (as in “I” vs. “we”) when you are discussing what you accomplished in your last role. While it may feel totally natural to continue expressing yourself in the corporate conditioned “team” language, during the interview is the time to take full credit. Remember, you are the only one in the room they want to hire, so be confident and point proudly to what you made happen at your old job.
For the last tip I’ll share here (before I encourage you to listen to the whole episode for ALL the great tips), Jamie shares her thoughts on selling yourself, which is an important part of the interviewing process. The most valuable idea she points out is that sending in your resume and accepting the interview doesn’t always translate into “Yes! I definitely want this job!” to the hiring company. They want to know not only that you’re interested, but that you want to do the job and you can’t wait to dive into the work. That level of expressed enthusiasm can make or break an offer for you, so remember that it’s not always that obvious to the interviewer.
Once again, Tom and Jamie provided great advice in this episode and had some valuable stories to tell about the candidates they’ve worked with over the years. If you’re in the process of interviewing, or if you just want to be more informed the next time you do interview, take a look at the full transcript here on our Career Cast page. Better yet, you can download and listen to the entire episode here!
Stay tuned to the Onward Search podcast because I’ve got more Career Cast episodes come up soon! While you’re there, drop me a line about the show. Are we covering all the topics you want to hear about? Is there a specific Internet marketing or interactive design job you’d like us to explore? Just let me know and I’ll make it happen!
