Always assume you can have the job if you want it
If you approach the job interview with this frame of mind, you improve your chances of landing the position. That is not to say that you should be unduly arrogant; but, a strong sense of self-confidence can go a long way toward convincing the employer that you are the person for the job.
People want to hire confident people; by the same token, they avoid hiring people who seem nervous, defensive, and self-deprecating. The more you look and sound like you can do the job, the more likely it is you will get the job.
You are ultimately in charge
The employer is the customer and you are the salesperson. Although you must please the employer to get the job, you are in charge because you alone decide what you are willing to do to get the job.
Therefore, it becomes a question of taking charge of the situation without being overly aggressive. One way you can do this is to decide what accommodations you will make to get the job; what terms you are willing to accept to get the job; under what conditions you are willing to work; and how far you will go to impress the employer. Another way is to ask questions of the employer that get at points he or she has left unclear.
You may be too qualified
Once, when I was applying for a job as a manager at a mid-sized financial services organization, the interviewer told me that he was very impressed with my background. He was impressed, he said, that he could not and would not hire me.
"I'm afraid the job wouldn't be challenging enough for a person with your education and experience!" he commented.
"It sounds very challenging to me," I insisted. The fact was that I really wanted the job.
"No, no," he went on, "I don't think that we can take that chance. I really wish we could hire you, but it's just impossible."
With that comment he dismissed me saying that he certainly wished I wasn't so "damned over-qualified."
I was quietly outraged and I left the office without saying a word.
It is difficult for any candidate to accept the fact that he or she is not hired because he or she is too good. It is a sad sort of irony that promotes anger and frustration, but it is also a fact of life.
Now, to some extent, you have some control in this area. For example, if you think that you may be over-qualified, you can minimize certain aspects of your background in your resume. Or, in the interview itself, you can play down certain skills or experiences during the conversation. The bottom line is that it is up to you to decide what you want to reveal.
Be persistent
Job hunting can be very irritating and disappointing. There is nothing more humiliating than being told you are somehow inappropriate, not right for the job, when you know deep inside yourself that you could do the job without any difficulty. However, as has been indicated throughout this book, most of the people who hire employees for companies in this country do not know what they are doing. So there is no point in taking their judgments too seriously.
The one sure way to overcome the odds and land the job you want is to be persistent. The more often you interview, the better your chances are. It may be difficult to pick you up, one interview after another, and keep on trying, but believe me, it will eventually pay off.
Expect rejection
Obviously, the more you expose yourself to interviews, the more likely you are to be rejected. One study indicated that the typical job candidate is rejected five times after being interviewed before he or she lands a job.
As was indicated above, you would be wise not to take such rejection seriously. The interviewers are frequently so whimsical and bizarre in their subjective judgments, you could be Leonardo da Vinci applying for a job as a magazine illustrator and still not be hired! Rejection is just part of the process and it is only as painful as you let it be.
Try networking
Believe it or not, the best jobs are seldom advertised in the paper or made available through employment agencies; they are filled through the networking process.
One kind of networking is to join a professional organization that offers the individual the opportunity to meet people in a particular field. For instance, if you want a job as a purchasing manager, you should join the Purchasing Managers Association of America. At their meetings you will meet those who are employed in the field and they are bound to know where the jobs are. In many cases, they will also be the people who either do the hiring or make significant recommendations to those that do.
Friends tend to hire friends. When a job becomes available, you will be given special consideration. Such an arrangement, however unscientific the process may be, is a standard way of filling positions.
The simplest way to network yourself is to find out the names of the professional or business organizations appropriate to your employment interests and join them. They can be found through professionals already in the field, through your local library, in the phone book, through college placement services, through the research department of local newspapers, and through the local chamber of commerce.
