Job Interviews: How To Become A Job-Offer Magnet

There is a danger lurking in the workplace, I call it the competency problem. It occurs when an employee feels trapped because her competency in a skill area has become her reputation, but it is not fulfilling her goals, passions, or ambitions – or worse, it is overshadowing something that she is more than competent at… a skill or talent for which she is truly remarkable.

This is a branding problem. Build your personal brand on what you enjoy and are great at, not what you’re merely capable of executing with competence. Accept the risk and responsibility of attaching your name to projects where the expectation you set is for outstanding results.

In case you missed it, the point is that job #1 of personal branding is recognition!

Without recognition, work gets done, but no reputation, no brand is built. Recognition is vital because it triggers expectation. The employee seeking to develop a personal brand must recognize that brands, especially personal ones, wither or thrive based on the cycle of expectation-setting and execution.

Through competence and a passive attitude toward personal brand, one might steer inadvertently toward developing a brand based on a track record of competent, but unremarkable execution. Since the work is deemed necessary, the worker ends up in a career cul de sac, with no reputation for taking on tasks outside the routine, and no reputation for exceptional delivery. Why would a superior take a chance on giving this worker a plum project or other chance to shine? The worker outwardly enjoys a personal brand of helpfulness, and steadfastness, but suffers inside – stuck in a “needed” job she didn’t want without the opportunity to spread her wings and put her true talents to the test.

So… Take control of the message! Emphasize the skills that align with your goals and value. Remember there are only two choices in a career cul de sac: stay put or change your direction – It’s up to you to steer the car towards where you want to go!

- David Cohen, brand therapist, helps people to recognize and name their superpowers. Find out more about David and his left-brained + right-brained approach to branding at www.EquationArts.com Job Interviews: How To Become A Job-Offer Magnet19650Job Interviews: How To Become A Job-Offer MagnetDo you think selling yourself in a job interview isselling out?

I hear this from clients from time to time. They tell me:I hate the idea of marketing or selling myself to prospective clients. I am just myself. I shouldn’t have to sell myself’ to get a job!

I think the problem is that our definition of selling conjures up feelings of going against our authentic selves. After all, if someone doesn’t like us for who we are, then the job probably isn’t right for us anyway, right?

Wrong!

Let me offer another perspective on what selling yourself to a potential employer is: when you are able to communicate your strengths in a way that compels others, you are doing yourself and them a great favor.

After all, you can’t help a company that doesn’t hire you.

To boost your know-like-and-trust factor in your job interviews it’s vital you know how to encourage potential employers to hire you in a way that’s ethical, full of integrity and authentically you.

What this means for you is that the more you learn and understand how to truly sell’ yourself, you will attract the interest of more employers, receive bigger and better job offers, and feel confident in the way you’re communicating the multiple ways you can help potential employers get the results they want…and that only you can deliver.

So everyone gets what they want and desire.

Here are three tips use can use in your very next job interview:

Tip #1: Ask what the potential employer is looking for in a star candidate at the beginning of the interview.

As you casually jot down what they share with you pay attention to those key words and phrases that match what you love to do the most. Lets say for example you are a marketing manager who is an expert at product launches and they mention they just had a problem with their latest product launch and are looking for help there. Circle that challenge! You have just been given a BIG gift by your interviewer!

Tip:2 Dig by asking more questions about their challenge

With the gift you have just been given, you want to ask more questions about their product launch challenge such as:

Why do they think they were not successful with their product launch?

Who has tried so far to fix the problem?

What would it mean to them if the problem was fixed?

Tip #3: Seed the interview by frequently mentioning your value in terms of your product launch expertise.

If you are a marketing expert, you will frequently share the results of your marketing efforts throughout the interview.

Plus, you can mention plenty of before and after stories. And the best ones clearly paint a before and after picture (and the worse the better – so don’t hold back). Think of all the problems, challenges and dire situations with past product launches in past companies you have taken on and how great things are now that you have helped them.

BONUS TIP: Make THEM an offer they can’t resist

The point is to create an “offer” that’s so irresistible, your interviewers think, “We have to hire this person!”

To do this, you need to offer something they believe they can’t get anywhere else. Be creative!

The following product launch example I have used, you could offer to fix the problem within a certain time. Or, as part of your interview, come in for a couple hours and evaluate the product launch in more detail. Then you could offer some solutions (don’t give too much away when you do this though they have to hire you for that!).

Here are a couple more examples:

One of my clients quickly received a robust offer because HE offered to produce at least two potential solutions to a challenge the company was facing and he said he would do it in 60 days.

Another client of mine set up as part of her interview process a 1/2 day on-site observation of the potential employer’s media company. She then presented an outline of 10 ideas to improve their work environment and boost their ratings. They offered her a whopping 100k over what she had been making previously. All this even after she was let go from that previous position. I love it.

You will benefit from shifting the way you look at selling, if it’s from a vantage point of thinking you must be disingenuous, or that towin someone else must loose.

When you unburden yourself from these limiting beliefs, you will instantaneously feel more free to communicate to your interviewers how you can authentically help them, and by doing so, you will be removing the obstacles (including money, time and your competition) that might otherwise stand between you and the job offer(s) you want.

Would you like to learn how to quickly and easily get more interviews, shorten your job search and increase your salary? Check out my website: http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com, for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free audio mini-seminar “5 Simple Steps To Find, Focus On and WIN Your Dream Job – Starting Today!” Internationally Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Job-Search Coach and Internationally Certified Master Career Director Mary Elizabeth Bradford is “The Career Artisan.”