interviewing mastery - turn interviews into job offers

SAMPLE CHAPTERS

Interviewing MasteryTurn Interviews Into Job

Offers

By Derrick Ellerbie© 2010 Dellerbie, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Interviewing Mastery - Turn Interviews Into Job Offers

Interviewing Mastery by Derrick Ellerbie - © 2010 Dellerbie, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

© 2010 Dellerbie, Inc. All rights reserved.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

SOME BASIC REQUIREMENTS 2

2 MAJOR ASPECTS OF THE INTERVIEWING PROCESS 3

PRE-INTERVIEW PREPARATION 5

THE CHAMPION MINDSET 6

3 FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS OF THE CHAMPION

MINDSET 7

YOU’RE GOING TO BE A HUGE ASSET TO THE

COMPANY 7

THE ONLY COMPETITOR THAT YOU HAVE IS

YOURSELF 10

THE INTERVIEWERS WANT YOU TO KNOCK THEIR SOCKS

OFF 11

ANATOMY OF AN INTERVIEW 14

THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW TRACK 15

THE UNSUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW TRACK 16

PICK THE BEST TIMES TO INTERVIEW 18

TOP 3 DAYS AND TIMES TO INTERVIEW 21

KNOW YOUR RESUME 23

6 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO MASTERING YOUR RESUME 25

KNOW THE COMPANY YOU’RE INTERVIEWING WITH 29



10 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT EVERY COMPANY YOU

INTERVIEW WITH 31

RESEARCH YOUR INTERVIEWERS 34

PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS 38

THE COMPANY 40

THE POSITION 40

THE TEAM 41

PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS 41

INTERVIEW FOR 3 JOBS YOU DON’T WANT 44

ESSENTIAL TOOLS TO BRING TO AN INTERVIEW 47

WHAT TO EXPECT ON PRACTICALLY EVERY INTERVIEW 52

COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED BY INTERVIEWERS 53

ESSENTIAL IDEAS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN ANSWERING

QUESTIONS 54

DO NOTHING THE DAY BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW 57

GET PUMPED! 62

6 WAYS TO GET YOURSELF PUMPED UP BEFORE YOUR

INTERVIEW 63

BODY LANGUAGE & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION 67

7 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF BODY LANGUAGE & NON-VERBAL

COMMUNICATION 68

YOUR ENERGY LEVELS 68



THE WAY YOU WALK 69

POSTURE 69

WALKING SPEED 70

MOVEMENT 70

THE WAY YOU TALK 70

KEEP THESE THINGS IN MIND WHEN YOU SPEAK 71

EYE CONTACT 71

YOUR HANDSHAKE 73

FACIAL GESTURES 74

WHEN SPEAKING 74

WHEN LISTENING 75

THE WAY YOU SIT 75

WHEN TO SPEAK AND WHEN TO LISTEN 78

WHEN TO SPEAK 79

7 THEMES YOU SHOULD TALK ABOUT WHEN ANSWERING

QUESTIONS 80

WHEN TO LISTEN 80

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU’RE STUCK 84

HOW TO INTERVIEW THE INTERVIEWER 88

FRAME YOURSELF AS THE IDEAL CANDIDATE 93



SELL YOURSELF TO EVERYONE 97

IN CONCLUSION 100



Anatomy of an Interview



I’m going to walk through the typical anatomy of a job interview. All companies

aren’t the same so don’t expect all interviews to follow these steps. In my

experience, there are two interview tracks: the successful interview track and the

unsuccessful interview track.

The Successful Interview Track

1. Arrive at least 15 minutes early

2. Meet with a receptionist or an HR contact upon arrival

3. HR briefs you on what your day will be like

4. HR drops you off for your first interview

5. Typically meet with 3 or more interviewers throughout the day for at least

an hour per interview

6. The better you perform the more senior people you will interview with

7. If they like you and are strongly considering you for the job, you will most

likely meet the hiring manager or the “big boss” on the team for one last

interview

8. The big boss will drop hints of their interest in you and may even try to

“sell” you on the team and the company. Sometimes the big boss tells you

that you got the job right there.

9. HR meets up with you and asks you how your day went. If you did well,

HR will most likely drop some hints of your success, and try to gauge

whether you would commit if an offer was extended to you.

10. A few hours later or the next business day, HR contacts and congratulates

you, asking for a verbal commitment to their job offer.



The Unsuccessful Interview Track

(Repeat steps 1-4 of the Successful Interview Track)

1. Even though HR tells you that you might have up to 6 interviews, you

meet with only 2 or 3 interviewers before they decide to shut the interview

down. Meaning that you don’t interview with anyone else.

2. Meet with HR and HR asks how your interviews went but HR isn’t very

interested in what you have to say. HR doesn’t gauge your interest in the

company or hint at your success.

3. You don’t hear back from the company again or get a rejection call.

The Successful Interview Track is when you keep meeting more senior level

people and decision makers. As you ace each interview, the interviewer will

move you up the decision ladder to the next person. In between interviews,

interviewers will share information about you with all the other interviewers,

such as what aspects of your skills or personality to dig deeper in.

Most companies won’t waste any more time with you if you keep screwing up

the interviews. This is why the Unsuccessful Interview Track will typically end

short. The interviewers might come up with an excuse about an emergency

meeting or some other seemingly good reason to miss the interview.

In either case, you need to become aware of which track you’re on during the

interviews. The goal of this book is to get and keep you on the Successful

Interview Track at all times.



Know Your Resume



If you followed my advice and picked a great time to interview then the

interviewer would have had enough time to review your resume before

interviewing you.

70% of the questions the interviewer will ask you will be about your background,

your experience, and the skills you said you have on your resume. Since you

wrote your own resume, you should know how to talk at an expert level about

what you wrote. Who else will know your background, your experience, and

your skills better than you do? As simple as this sound, most people screw up

their interviews in the first 10-15 minutes of the interview while they are talking

about the things they said they know or the experiences they claim they had on

their resume.

People make impressions about you almost instantly. You can’t afford to struggle

talking about yourself on an interview.

Think about it this way. Suppose you were interviewing some home contractors

to fix up your basement. While shopping around for a contractor, you receive

tons of bids for your basement project. On one bid, you’re impressed by the

background of the contractor. He said that he’s the king of pimping basements.

You think “Cool, I’ll bring this guy in for a quick chat”. He shows up to your

house wearing a suit (you think that’s weird) and you ask him a very simple

question, “Tell me about some basement projects that you’ve worked on”. That’s

odd you think, he’s having a hard time talking about his past projects, he’s not

speaking a home contractor’s language (you actually mention terms that he’s

never heard about before), he’s not giving you any specific details, he didn’t



bring any photos of basements he’s worked on, he doesn’t have any references

from past clients, etc, etc, etc.

He just hasn’t sold you on his ability to make your basement awesome. After all,

the reason you brought him in to chat was because of his awesome bid on your

project. His resume looked great but he couldn’t back it up!

This is EXACTLY what 90% people look like when they show up for an

interview. It’s as if they told a bold face lie on their resume. Even if what you

have on your resume is legit, if you can’t talk about yourself or what you put on

your resume, then you’re going to look like a complete idiot to an interviewer.

So then what is the key to not looking like a complete idiot on an interview?

KNOW YOUR RESUME inside and out.

Be able to dive deep into the details about every single thing that you put on

your resume. Leave out anything on your resume that you can’t go deep on.

You don’t have to be an expert at everything you put on your resume but you

need to be able to talk about it enough where you don’t look stupid.

6 Essential Steps to Mastering Your Resume

1. Take everything off your resume that is a lie OR you feel insecure about

2. For each job you put on your resume, prepare a mini-script that:

1. Describes your role

1. What was your title when you began the job



2. What was your title when you ended the job

3. What were you specifically responsible for

4. Your day to day activities in that role

5. Name at least 1 major impact you’ve had in that role (policy

changes, process improvements, sales, a patent, etc)

2. Contains at least 3 things that you’re most proud of from that job

3. What was the most important thing you’ve learned on that job

1. Specifically, what about this important thing has led you to the job

you’re currently interviewing for

4. Mention how you’ve become a better person professionally from that

experience and that you have a stronger sense of direction

3. Be able to call out 3 things on your resume that you’re super confident and

proud about.

4. Pick 1 skill on your resume that you initially knew nothing about but

through dedication and persistence, mastered

5. Have a story to tell about your leadership and team work skills. Either

how you’ve successfully led the way or how you’re used to leading but

learned how to become an excellent follower.

6. Know how to speak the language, jargon, or lingo of your industry, and

use the appropriate terms on your resume.

Don’t skip this exercise! It’s the foundation for acing the interview and getting a

job offer. After you’ve crafted your resume in such a way where you know all

there is to know about it, you have to rehearse your mini-scripts in front of a

mirror. You’re going to do this in private and you’re going to do it over and over

and over again.



You want to rehearse to the point where everything you say about yourself flows

naturally. What you say has to sound natural, confident and automatic.

What you put on your resume frames the entire interview. Good interviewers

won’t drill you about things that aren’t your specialty. Instead, they will ask you

questions about something on your resume and just keep digging deeper based

on what you tell them. Therefore, you have the power to direct the interview by

knowing at a deep level what you say you know on your resume.

If you can’t have a deep conversation with someone about the things on your

resume, then sit down, get out a pen, and do the “6 Essential Steps to Mastering

Your Resume” exercise mentioned earlier.



What to Expect on Practically Every Interview



Almost all interviews work the same way. Getting familiar with the interview

process will help alleviate any stress or nervousness.

I’m going to talk about some common elements to interviews so that you know

what to expect before you show up for your interview.

Earlier in the book I laid out a Successful Interview Track and Unsuccessful

Interview Track. This was the blueprint of most interviews.

Now, I want to lay out some typical questions an interviewer might ask you on

the interview. So take the time to study these questions.

Ask yourself the questions and write down your answer to the questions. Don’t

skip this! It’s extremely important to prep your mind for these questions so that

you’re prepared when the interviewer asks you. Your answers will flow more

smoothly.

Common Questions Asked By Interviewers

➡ Tell me about yourself

➡ Tell me about your career path

➡ Why do you want to work here?

➡ Why are you leaving your current job?

➡ I see you worked at ABC doing XYZ, can you tell me more about that?

➡ What would your current boss say your biggest strength and weakness is?

➡ What are some of your favorite work tasks?

➡ Describe your proudest accomplishments



➡ Why did you major in ABC? What made you choose XYZ as your career?

➡ How do you perform under pressure?

➡ Describe your boss

➡ Describe your work habits

➡ Describe a time where you had to manage or lead other people

➡ What kind of schedule do you like?

➡ What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

➡ What part of your job do you enjoy the least?

➡ How do you feel about working under tight deadlines?

➡ Do you mind traveling?

These are just a sample of common questions asked in interviews. However, the

questions don’t really matter. It’s the way you answer the questions that count

the most.

Essential Ideas to Keep in Mind When Answering Questions

1. Always say something positive

2. NEVER say anything negative

3. Turn every question around so that you are answering it positively. For

example, when asked “What is your biggest weakness?”, don’t confess all

your weaknesses! If you name a weakness, mention what you are doing to

work on that weakness. If you’re not a good writer, then mention how you

signed up for evening writing classes.

4. Your answers should always be specific and relate to your professional

experience. Quantify your answers with numbers, stats, times, dates, etc.

Never give a one word answer.



5. Your answers should be concise and you shouldn’t talk for more than a

minute or two when you answer.

6. NEVER bad talk anyone from your past

7. Keep it professional at all times! Don’t tell stories about your kids or

friends or girlfriend or boyfriend, etc. Stick to professional experiences

only.

8. If you’re lacking a skill then describe how you are working on building

that skill.

Remember that the question doesn’t really matter. Questions are only designed

to get you talking about yourself. The interviewer wants to see that you are a

competent, reliable person. So don’t be negative and don’t be unprofessional.

Be specific, quantify your answers, and always talk about professional

experiences or how you plan to work on any skill you don’t have.

If you keep these ideas in mind, you can answer any question like a champ.



What to Say When You’re Stuck



There will come a time when an interviewer asks you a question and you don’t

know how to answer it. Maybe their question doesn’t apply to your past

experiences or maybe the question is meant to stump you. Whatever the reason,

it’s OK to get stuck. What matters is how you handle the situation and get

yourself unstuck.

The best possible way to get unstuck is by asking questions. Lot of questions.

Become a question asking machine until everything seems perfectly clear to you.

Do not start answering any question unless you are perfectly clear about what

is being asked!

You don’t want to come off as someone who jumps right into things without

having all the facts straight.

Major assumptions are bad in business; therefore, never assume anything about a

question before you answer it. Instead, repeat the question to your interviewer

and ask them to clarify anything that doesn’t make sense to you.

If you jump into a question without completely understanding it, you’re severely

hurting your chances of answering the question correctly.

After you’ve asked enough questions the next step is to think out loud while

you’re answering the question.



Let the interviewer in on your thought process. Don’t solve problems in your

head! It’s important for the interviewer to see how you think and work through

difficult situations.

Working out the problem inside of your head only hurts you. Show the

interviewer exactly what you’re thinking and then ask more questions if you get

stuck again.

It’s all about knowing when to speak and when to listen. You don’t want to try

to talk your way through something you know nothing about. You’ll come off as

a bullshitter.

The most intelligent thing you can do is open up the question so that it becomes

a dialog between you and the interviewer. Get the interviewer involved as much

as you can. This helps reduce the spotlight and pressure off of you while

demonstrating your ability to ask for help.

The golden rule of getting unstuck is this:

Never try to babble or bullshit your way through a difficult question. Instead,

get the interviewer involved by asking them to clarify any parts that you’re

uncertain of. Never make any assumptions before you speak. Think out loud,

sharing your thought process with the interviewer so that they can get

involved.



The entire book can be purchased and downloaded from:

http://www.InterviewingMastery.com

Feel free to contact me at:

[email protected]

60 Day Money Back Guarantee!

If You Don’t See You’re Job Interviewing

Results DRAMATICALLY Increase after

spending the time to follow my results-

oriented tips and advice, then I will give

you your money back, NO QUESTIONS

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Interviewing Mastery - Turn Job Interviews Into Job Offers


interviewing mastery - turn interviews into job offers

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