A properly scripted, properly delivered interview performance, combined with diligent follow up, produces the most offers. Correspondence, telephone calls, and networking keep you in front of the interviewer while you're out getting offers elsewhere.
But first you must be your own toughest critic, and .. .
This step is a major reason for leaving time between interviews. You've got to get to a quiet place even if it's only your car and replay the interview in your head.
After mentally reviewing your performance, write down the facts. What did you learn about the job, the company? Note names of individuals, their titles, details about the organization, and anything else you can use for your follow up letters and phone calls, second interviews, and negotiations.
As soon as possible after the interview, record all the facts about the company, the position available, and your interview performance on an "interview evaluation form." Your interviewer will be filling out his or her own. A sample you can use for yourself is on the next page.
The follow up letter is the single most effective post interview technique you can use if you use it right.
I'm not talking about a glorified thank you note. A "better letter" takes what you learned in the interview and uses it to write sales copy that highlights your qualifications. All those words you said during the interview have dwindled down to one or two remarks, and your image is fading fast. You have to keep from being confused with average appli cants. A properly drafted letter will restate your candidacy. Follow the better letter format.
I covered the subject of better letter format in the second book in this series, Jeff Allen's Best: Get the Interview. Just for review, the letter should:
- Be typed on high quality personal letterhead, on an electronic typewriter with a carbon ribbon or on a word processor with a letter quality printer, in block format. No errors or erasures.
- Be no longer than one page.
- Be fully addressed with no abbreviations, misspellings, or inaccuracies.
- Contain the middle initial and title of the interviewer. (Double check exact title and spellings.)
- Be brief, enthusiastic, and to the point.
Recontact your internal referrals.
Check in by phone with any internal referrals and friends you made during your research of the target employer. Tell them a few positive things about the interview. Inquire subtly if they've "heard anything." If they're receptive, ask them to "put in a good word" for you.
If you've followed the first ten techniques in this section, you'll be called back for a second interview. And the second interview is almost equated with getting the job.
Statistically, this is true 60 percent of the time. However, there are crucial differences from your first visit. If you under stand them and use them to your advantage, you can almost guarantee that you will be hired. Here's how to do it once more with feeling, from How to Turn an Interview into a fob:
If your first interview was in the personnel department, you will often be asked to return for another meeting. This will probably be with the supervisor and others in the department that has the job opening, which personnel calls the functional department.
If you already made direct contact with the supervisor, and your second interview is with the personnel department, then you've probably already won the battle. That second interview then is merely a formality. Watching someone use a rubber stamp doesn't require much training.
"Supervisor" means any functional hiring authority from the chief executive officer down.
The differences are subtle. . . . Generally, you have passed through the interviewer's office and will be working on your future supervisor. This means that you must use every means at your disposal to understand what makes him tick.
At this point, you should have several acquaintances within the company that you can contact. If you haven't developed them, now is the time,
One ally you probably have overlooked is the interviewer himself. He has stamped you with his seal of approval, and you can help him by closing the requisition. The interviewer also knows that if he allows too many applicants to become actual candidates, the supervisor will delay making a decision. With so many seemingly qualified people, the supervisor's decision is that much more difficult.
Call the interviewer, and after expressing your appreciation, lead into the discussion with a comment something like: "From what I understand, it looks like I'll really be able to assist _. Is there anything I should know before we meet?"
Then listen and take notes. The interviewer will be delighted to give you his impressions. Often they are extremely incisive since he has access to the personnel files. Before you conclude the conversation, ask the interviewer if he thinks the supervisor would mind a direct call. Interpret his "No, I don't." as a suggestion that you do so.
Then call the supervisor. After saying that the interviewer suggested you call him and asking if he has a few minutes, state: "I'm looking forward to meeting you (again) on _, at _. Before we get together, I wonder if there's anything you'd like me to bring."
The supervisor will not be able to think that fast. In the remote event he asks for something, evaluate whether it can affect your chances adversely. If so, say something like: "I'll check to see if I have it. If not, I'll bring what I can."
This is more than just an excuse to confirm the interview. It is a chance to hear where the supervisor's thinking is going to be with regard to hiring you. A little industrial espionage goes a long way. And you don't have far to go.
