Does this sound familiar?
You submitted over 100 resumes via LinkedIn, indeed, and other professional job boards. Out of that effort, you received 10 pre-screened phone interviews and ZERO second interview.
Your immediate emotional or mental reactions were: “what’s wrong with me?” “Have I lost my touch?” “Am I good enough?”
Out of frustration, you silently questioned and expressed: “I know I have a lot to offer, but I do not know how to convey or present my skills during an interview.”
On the other hand, if you’re confident about your skills, you probably have thought of this: “How come the interviewer was not able to see that I am the right person for the position?”
Although the reasons are not limited to the following, but nevertheless these are possible reasons that you can own as a candidate: (Disclaimer: Part II, We will discussed when its not you, but the reason lies with the hiring manager.)
1). You failed to convey or describe your skill set that made significant contributions or difference in your previous roles. Many candidates do not realize that recruiters or interviewers love to hear you describe your past roles rather than them reading it on paper. It allows them to create opinions or judgements about you as a viable candidate.
2). You made assumptions that the interviewer read your resume and is fully aware of the things that you have done. You quickly decided before your interview that there is no need to reiterate what’s already on your resume. You confidently justified: “Besides, it’s the interviewer’s responsibility to read and dissect my resume, why bother saying what they should already know!”
3). You failed to engage the interviewer either because your interest or energy level is subpar. You were probably nervous, so you came across as someone who is lacking confidence and unintentionally demonstrated poor communication skills.
4). You didn’t do your homework about the company’s product or service offerings. Worst, you failed to research the latest news that can help you demonstrate your industry know-how or special skills in alleviating day-day challenges unique to the field you are pursuing.
5). What the interviewer is reading on your resume and what you are describing during the meeting are simply not matching. In other words, you underdelivered during the interview.
When you submit your resume, it is inevitable that the potential hiring manager would create an opinion before an interview. Your responsibility is to meet that expectations formulated via your resume, and when your performance is simply not good enough, you would be out of the running. The lesson? Make sure you do not exaggerate on your resume and “defend” by describing your work experience articulately.
6). Keep in mind that the hiring manager is buying and you are selling. Many candidates are under the impression that they are also interviewing the company as much as they are being interviewed.
Well, that’s half truth and if it’s misused, it can be detrimental to your chances of getting the job. In fact, many candidates have lost opportunities, because of that mind-set, which consequently made them come across as being arrogant.
They simply jump the gun too quickly. It’s like when you’re on a date and the other person is already talking about “potential marriage and how many children they should have.” It is simply a turn off.
Think of it this way, “who has the status quo?” At the beginning of the interview, the hiring company definitely has the status quo. The way you can change that status quo is to sell them on what you can offer the company. Once you have achieved that many companies would be willing to accommodate your “wish-list”. Wait until you here this, “What would it take for you to join our company?” At that point, you know that the status quo has changed hands, but even then, be humble because it’s still a possibility that they is a very closed 2nd candidate and they are simply having a hard time deciding.
7). You have past unresolved emotional trauma. These could be “shadow beliefs” that would surface before or during interviews. Your altered emotional state would take over your entire logical state no matter how much preparation you did the night before.
These “shadow beliefs” or “trauma” could totally be unrelated to what goes on in an actual interview. The emotional trauma should be addressed and discussed with professional experts that can help you overcome these emotional states, which hinder you from getting that positions you deserve.
Our past candidates have shared and explained the following:
“They felt being judged during the interview.”
“They blamed themselves for being laid-off or fired and the humiliation of that experience would creep in during the interview.”
“Certain words are emotional triggers that have nothing to do with what is being discussed.”
“They are afraid that the interviewer would uncover that they ‘faked it until they made it’ with their past positions.”
“They are not good enough for the position they are pursuing because they were promoted by default, which caused their nervousness.”
SEEK HELP FROM EXPERTS
The most important thing is to recognize the reasons and seek help from expert professionals who can assist you in overcoming the things that are stopping you from getting the position you truly deserved.
Allow experts to focus on what they are good at, so you as a candidate can have a fighting chance to pursue that roles best suited to your experience and personality.
SELF MARKETING
In the world of self-promotion through social media, one would think that many of us in the professional world are well-versed in personal marketing.
Well, this might be true if you are in entertainment, public relations, sales, and marketing industries in which you are trained to always present a strong cohesive message that your audience could easily relate.
However, as professionals in other fields, where social media platforms are not utilized, our natural inclination is to focus primarily on the needs of the companies we serve and solve problems by applying our unique technical skills.
Simply put, we are out of practice.
Thing about it, “how many times did you really interview or change jobs in the span of your entire career?”
As employed individuals, we rarely would stop and truly assess our professional accomplishments. Let alone create a message that we can successfully convey in an interview.
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