July 10, 2010Reader question: Interview for a job like a “Naked Consultant”

Filed under: Uncategorized by merylrunion |

Hi Meryl,

My husband is going to have an interview soon and I thought it would be nice if he knew the power words to say on the interview day. What not to say and say. Would you be so kind as to help me to find the right words? Thanks for your tips to make the interviewer listen and impress.

Response:

I recommend he consider it an INTERVIEW instead of him just needing to prove himself. In other words, he’s out to see if it’s a match and what he can contribute in the interview. Whether he wants the job, and what he can give as well as get.

I like the book The Naked Consultant even though this is an interview for a job instead of a contract. The consultants in it don’t sell themselves, they share ideas. The “prospect” gets lots of useful information in the getting-to-know-each other phase, and that makes them want more. Applied to a dynamic job interview, that would mean asking questions and making recommendations that give the experience of what you (your husband) can do.

For example, a woman who I spoke with about social media coaching gave me so much information in our 45 minute interview I couldn’t wait to hire her. She gave me concrete suggestions about things she recommended I do. Some people guard their information, but this lady laid it out. She said, things like,

There are things you could do to attract media attention to your site that you’re not doing, like…

That kind of experiential sharing creates relationship and leaves the “interviewer” hungry for more. So do phrases like…

I can help you by…
I’m excited by the possibilities of working here because…
When I was researching your site, I was thinking about what a great position you’re in to…

So what I’m sharing here is more of a mindset than phrases. If you (he) thinks of the interview as an opportunity to share what he knows more than sell himself, the selling happens naturally.