In my practice Ive come across all sorts of interview feedback from my clients, but this stands out as being worthy of bringing to your attention. With all of my clients we cover the importance of interview preparation; knowing what you have to offer and being able to discuss why you want the job and are the most suitable candidate. In addition having the confidence to conduct the interview on an equal footing with the interviewer so you can make your decision about whether the job is right for you. All of this depends on actually taking part in the interview of course and if the interviewer through incompetence or other reason doesnt allow that, what can you do? The story is about the interviewer who sent my client, Chuck, away without any discussion whatsoever. When Chuck returned, he was really down. I did everything right and I know I am the best person for this particular Field Sales role, but he just wouldnt talk to me, and sent me away; what a waste of time! What happened was that when Chuck was shown into the interview room, the Field Sales Director barely looked up from what he was writing and just said: Thanks for coming youre not what we want, check with the desk for your travel expenses, goodbye. Most firms dont intentionally waste your time, so you have to ask yourself what is going on. What happened here was the Field Sales Directors way of putting Chuck to an immediate test how would he react at being rejected? Rejection is the greatest problem for Field Sales people to overcome, but Chuck never expected to encounter it at his interview. When I got Chuck to think about this he realised that he should have applied his sales skills to the situation to find out if there really was a problem. So what he should have done was ask What is it about me that makes you think Im not right for the job? This way if there was a genuine problem he would have the chance to deal with it, or if it was just a test he would have passed the first stage. This is generally known as objection selling and is a powerful technique. First identify if there is a real problem (objection) and then you have the opportunity to minimise it or make it go away altogether. In this case Chuck would then be able to offer up some solid reasons why he was right for the job. And once he got started he would be on the way to securing the job he knew was right for him. |
