Employment|Self-Confidence

You’re Hired!— Overcoming First Impressions in a Job Interview

And relying on those that come after them

In an article I wrote several months ago, I challenged the “law of first impressions” primarily because it is often inaccurate. In the world of social media, resumes, LinkedIn and other platforms promulgating personal information, any interviewer who stands up to greet you, and in better times, shake your hand, has already had his or her first impression. It is now up to you to affirm it or counter it with what you want them to know about you.

THE SETUP

Once again, with a preponderance of data out there about us, the job seeker cannot simply rely on what will be said in the interview.

Everything you’ve been communicating about online in FB, Quora, and other platforms is accessible to the Interviewer, assuming you received the blessing of the algorithm and eventually got her attention.

Once your name appears on her list for a phone call or actual interview, she has already begun a search. It’s important that what she finds matches what you are telling her in your resume, application or cover letter.

You are who you are, so attempting to scrub all your media sites for “offending” information is a waste of time. There’s too much out there that came from you.

The only thing you should scrub is your own view of yourself — temporarily. Erase your perspective of yourself and then read what’s there.

If you’re telling your prospective employer that you are flexible in your dealings with people and understand that a one-size-fits-all method of personal interaction is doomed to failure, then clearly words to the opposite, should not be appearing in Quora or LinkedIn.

Present a consistent picture of yourself throughout.

THE DAY BEFORE

Nerves are nothing to worry about. They’ll be with you throughout and unless you suddenly become a Zen Master, the day before, you’ll have to cope with them.

The day before the interview is a day you should be role-playing. Visualizing the interview in three ways.

a. As you would like it to go.

b. As you see it going based on past interviews

c. Somewhere in the middle.

In your mind, in your office, with your wife or husband as the Interviewer, talk it through. Prep your partner to ask some challenging questions. Keep in mind that this is not — Do you Want to be a Millionaire, so questions about the stoicism of Marcus Aurelius can be excluded.

Just questions about what the company does, it’s products and mission statement. Your role in it and how you’ll prepare for and engage with your fellows.

Perfect is not the end game. If you sound like Sir Lawrence Olivier in Richard III, you’re overplaying your role and it will come across canned and insincere.

They’re expecting you to be nervous, it works in their favor. They expect you to miss a point here and there. What they don’t expect is for you to be one step ahead of them. Shoot for that.

THE INTERVIEW

The interview itself fits somewhere in the middle of Game Theory, with each participant trying to gain an advantage.

As in tennis, advantages go back and forth. Don’t stress it. Don’t try to dominate. You’ll win some serves and you’ll “lose” some serves, but if you maintain your own presence, you will be more in control of the outcome.

Warm-Up

Chat and engage. If the Interviewer is all business and looks like she’ll jump over the table, if you distract her from her questions — be more subtle, but don’t stop altogether. It’s important to let her lead with your permission rather than your submission.

First Serve

Note it well. If it’s a scorcher down the line, then this is how she wants to play it in the beginning. Intimidation. If it’s more of a lob, then fine, just volley back, not trying to hit it through her. Play the game, not hers, not yours, just the game.

Volleying

Don’t forget to ask your questions. These should be part of your role-playing exercise noted above. Your interest is key throughout. Your interest translates into your research and due diligence. It also gives you vital information.

Historical Sidebar

I once walked into a room filled with managers, supervisors and AVPs of a major mortgage bank, all looking like lunch was late and I was the appetizer.

They stared. I greeted. I asked, what seemed to be the problem? They looked at one another and then started to tell me. All I did for the next 90 minutes was answer questions and show them I had the technical solution to their problems. This was a stressful interview — without a doubt. I didn’t sell them on anything. I simply handled their problems through their questions.

THE HOME STRETCH

Time is both your friend and your enemy. If the interviewer looks like she’s playing Angry Bird, while you answer her canned questions — get her attention.

If she’s brushing you off, make a point of it. You may not pass the interview but the job wasn’t yours anyway. And your self-respect will thank you.

If the interview stretches out and things are going well, don’t be lulled into being buddies. Oversharing your stories of fraternities and sororities past may scuttle the whole thing. Keep it cordial but professional at all times.

Until the bell rings, the interview is over and the elevator doors closes behind you on the way out.

Make Your Points

Grab 2 or 3 points about yourself that are real and important and communicate that — I can handle this job. Repeat them often. Consider them keywords in an SEO exercise. Repeat them strategically without appearing obvious.

WAITING

Sorry, but it’s pointless to discuss this last bit past a sentence or two. My advice — as soon as you leave the interview, give yourself about 60 seconds to enjoy the win, then move on to your next target.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Communicating who you are and what you do well is under your control

2. First impressions are illusions. With social media, a stranger knows as much about your in 20 minutes, as most people knew about their fiancés after two years. Your task is to nail the fourth, fifth and sixth impression like nobody’s business.

3. Job interviews are Sales moments. And it’s a numbers game. The irony is, the less you Sell and the more you inform, the better the result. Find their problem area, isolate the cause as best you can, then solve it, or show you can, given the chance.

4. Don’t dwell on losses or disappointments. I know — as easy as not breathing for 6 minutes. Let me rephrase — minimize losses and disappointments as best you can my moving forward to the next target.

FINAL ANSWER

You can influence the outcome even if you can’t predict it. Focus on you, helping them. Get them thinking they need your help, rather than you trying to convince them that you need theirs.

Joe Luca is writer and editor for ILLUMINATION and a published author and writer of short fiction, non-fiction articles, screenplays and poetry. There are some other articles below — have a read. And thank you for stopping by.

A quick thank you to Desiree Driesenaar for helping me grok the concept of creating a portfolio with my writing. Cheers.

Paul Myers MBA George J. Ziogas Bill Abbate Karen Madej Alison Tennent Dr Mehmet Yildiz