Five Things to Say to Get the Job You Want

For nearly any job opening, the world has dozens of qualified candidates. You may be one of them. You could even be the “most” qualified, but that is not enough. Being qualified is, and I want you to hear this, the least important part of the interviewing process. That is because a smart corporation hires to make their team and organization stronger, not just to solve today’s problem. To win the interviewing game, candidates need to reconsider their entire approach to the interview process.

In a previous article, the Five Keys to Hiring Greatness, I discussed how a hiring manager should interview. A great hire is a fit for the culture, brings a winning attitude, has endless curiosity, is a strategic thinker, and has a set of skills matched with the job. In that order. For the job-seeker, approaching it in this way will increase the chance of landing that job. These keys are true whether you are looking for full-time employment, a temporary job, or a freelance gig.

Turn these keys into statements that will make the hiring manager want to hire you.

“I Value What You Value”

The biggest risk for a manager is to hire someone who is a mismatch with the culture of the organization. A person who doesn’t agree with the values of the organization is painful for both sides. Before your interview, read up on the values of the organization. For example, looking at General Electric’s website: “The GE Leadership Behaviors — Act with Humility, Lead with Transparency, and Deliver with Focus — are an essential part of our Lean culture transformation, reflecting how we each aim to act to drive progress.” Therefore, framing your conversation to support teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and finishing projects with strength gives you a huge advantage. Yes, there is a basic level of skill you need to bring to the table, but talking about your skills in the context of that organization’s values is critical to winning the job.

A person who doesn’t agree with the values of the organization is painful for both sides.

One final thought on this. If you don’t like the values of the organization, don’t apply. You won’t be happy, and they won’t be happy.

“I’ll Do Whatever Is Necessary”

Do you know what the worst thing you can say for your career? That’s not my job. If you are hired by a company, your job is to make that company more successful. And while you may have a specific job title and set of responsibilities, emergencies happen or priorities change. I used to lead product management at a large financial services firm, and one of the team missed a meaningful typo on a document that was being mailed (ah, the old days) to thousands of customers, and mailing that document had a deadline. Materials were reprinted and delivered to our internal mail house around 4 o’clock, but we needed these items posted by midnight. I drove out to the mail house and stood side-by-side with the team, moving boxes, stuffing envelopes, loading the truck, etc. It wasn’t my job. But it was necessary.

If you are hired by a company, your job is to make that company more successful.

Maybe your attitude is that you only want to do your specific job. You’ll be fine for a while, but you’ll be passed over for promotions and will eventually end up an expert in skills that an organization no longer needs. If you want to grow, be challenged, advance and have fun, you need an “anything necessary” attitude.

“I’m Interested in What You Do and Why You Do It”

Be curious about the organization. Come with questions that show your interest, but make those questions about the team or the company and not about you. (In other words, don’t ask “What would be my salary?” or “How many vacation days would I get?”)

Here are some good questions to consider asking the hiring manager:

• What are the measurements for success for you and how can this right person in this position help you achieve that?
• What are the companies or products that you keep an eye on from a competitive standpoint and why?
• How would you define your customers’ most important needs?
• How does this team fit into the overall organization?
• What is the most exciting “next” thing you are working on?

Be curious about the organization.

If you aren’t curious during the interview, the manager will view you as uninterested. If you aren’t curious as a member of the team, the manager will see you as disengaged which means fewer opportunities, lower pay, and less challenge.

What if?

A great team member is not satisfied with the status quo but is always thinking about how to make a team, a department, and a business more successful. You, as the interviewee, are at a disadvantage since you have very limited visibility. However, asking “what if” questions in the interview an important indicator of strategic thinking.

A few examples of these types of questions are:

• What if your team needed to double because of the success of the business. Is there a different way you’d lead it or organize it?
• What if your company bought its main supplier? How could that change what is being done?
• What if work-from-home became a corporate initiative? What would that mean for you and how you lead the team?

These are different than questions that demonstrate curiosity. Curiosity questions are “Why” and “How” questions. Strategic questions are “What if”. They set you apart and communicate an underlying leadership quality benefitting you and the organization in the long-term.

A great team member is not satisfied with the status quo but is always thinking about how to make a team, a department, and a business more successful.

If you aren’t naturally a what-if person, you probably aren’t cut out to lead departments or organizations but there is room in an organization for you. However, if I was choosing between someone I thought could be a leader and someone I thought would always be a follower with everything else being even, I’d hire the leader every time.

“I Can Solve Your Problem”

This is where your skills or experience come in, but understand that dozens of people have similar skills and experience so competing here is not where winning the interview will happen. This is, however, the time to close the deal: I can solve your problem.

All too often, candidates forget that on the other side of the table is a hiring manager who has a problem. Candidates get focused on the opportunity and fail to say the most basic statement they need to make. They focus on hoping they get hired instead of focusing on the hiring manager (i.e., their customer at the moment), what that manager needs, and then address that need. What the hiring manager needs to hear and believe is that you can solve that problem.

A good manager knows the specific skills can be learned, but the qualities of a person are the difference between a good hire and a lousy one.

You may think that you don’t have all the skills or experience needed. If you satisfy the first four points of having similar values, having a great attitude, are curious and strategic, a smart manager will cut you slack on your skills. Unless they are hiring a surgeon or a lawyer, a good manager knows the specific skills can be learned, but the qualities of a person are the difference between a good hire and a lousy one. I’ve hired people who are strong culture fits, with great attitudes, who are curious and strategic but lack the basic skills of the job. They are always great hires. Sure they need a little development and training upfront, but that is the easy part.

Notes about the “Second” Interview

Most of the time, if you nail the first interview with the hiring manager and possibly the team you’d be working alongside, you will need to interview with the hiring manager’s boss. To this person, your skills are far less important and you may not even be asked about them. What this person is looking for is a cultural fit, a good attitude, and leadership qualities. They want to know that you will be an asset, both immediately and over time, to the organization. Even if it is a freelance or temporary position, they will want to know if they would bring you back for engagement after engagement. Don’t talk about your skills or direct experience unless asked. Talk about your fit, your curiosity, your strategic inclination, and your willingness to do what is needed to see the team and the organization succeed. This will not only close the deal but put you in a leading position for future opportunities.

Conclusion

At its basic level, hiring is nothing more than a customer with a need looking for a product to meet that need. The customer is the manager, the need is the problem and you are the product that needs to stand out. Use these keys to stand out and get the job you want.

ML Sadler is an NYC-based writer, novelist, entrepreneur, and business leader. Follow here, or look for his Medium articles in TNB: The Novel Bulletin and The Innovation.