I was interviewed but did not get the job. I’ve heard of cases where the right kind of thank you letter has resurrected candidates and led to other jobs in the same company. The format I’ve seen goes like this: “Thank you for interviewing me even if you did not hire me. I am disappointed, but I hope you’ll consider me for other positions in the future.” It sounds kind of hokey to me. There has to be better wording. How would you say it?
It seems simple enough to me, and very clear: I’d like to try again if you’ll have me.
Is there a better way to say it?Have you succeeded at getting a second chance with an employer? How did you do it? How did you say it?
Whether you’re changing careers or changing jobs, your challenge is to make yourself stand out from your competition — and your competition might be fierce. You might be competing with people who are more experienced than you, and whose resumes look better than yours.
In this short presentation (from a recent teleconference), I explain to a group of job-hunting executives what it means to stand out — and how to prove you’re worth hiring into a job that’s new to you.
To learn more about how to carefully select your target companies, how to use a business plan rather than a resume to apply for a job, and how to demonstrate your bottom-line value to a company, check out How Can I Change Careers? It’s not just for career changers — it’s a powerful tool for changing jobs.
One thing that really bugs me about the tech industry is this focus on Skills, as opposed to Ability to Get Said Skills. When I interview for management roles and I am asked about the types of people I hire, I always lead with a comment to the effect of, “I’ve never fired someone because they weren’t technically capable, but I’ve fired people because they weren’t capable of getting the necessary skills.”
I know that I’ve lost at least one opportunity because the interviewer strenuously disagreed with me on that point. (Not that I would want to work in a company that focused on skills as opposed to skills acquisition…) What’s a good way to explain my position? How should I say it?
This is a fine point in management. Do you hire someone who can do exactly this job now? Or someone who can quickly learn how to do this job and the work that comes next, as well?
Many managers are dopes. They’d rather hire someone who brings them a fish, than someone who knows how to catch more fish. (I cover this in more detail in Talent Shortage, or Poor Management?)
How do you explain the difference between having skills and being able to get skills in a job interview? How do you say it?
In today’s Q&A (What? You don’t get the newsletter? So you don’t know the story?Sign up now — don’t miss the next one!) a reader complains about headhunters who can’t get past the gaps in his resume. They don’t see how he can help their clients. As I point out in the newsletter, most headhunters simply won’t look past the resume. But some do, especially if you nudge them in the right direction.
Try this: “Look, I know it’s more difficult to make a match from my resume because I’ve been doing consulting since my last traditional job. I don’t expect you to recruit me if I can’t show you what the fit is. During 20 years building a start-up, I was fortunate to learn almost every aspect of growing a business, and that doesn’t all fit into a resume. Let me suggest something. If you can outline one or two specific challenges your client is facing, I’ll show you — step by step — how I’d tackle them. And I’d be glad to walk your client through it.If I can’t show you how it would pay off, you shouldn’t recruit me.”
Some headhunters get that, if you take the time to try and explain it.
We routinely rag on headhunters here — but there are certainly some good ones out there. If you’ve worked with a good headhunter, tell us about the experience. How did you get their attention? Were you able to turn around an interview that was going nowhere?
I work as a design engineer in an industry where projects are typically confidential. However, prospective employers frequently ask to see a portfolio. I am comfortable showing one in person, where I can control its dissemination, but do not want to e-mail or send a hard copy. How do I let them know that without sounding like I’m trying to weasel my way into an interview?
How to Say It: So… your portfolio of work might help you land a great job, but showing it might also get you fired or sued.
Okay folks: Can this reader reveal the evidence of his abilities without adverse consequences? Is there some other way to leverage his portfolio without leaving it lying around?
Or, should he just spread his stuff around and stop worrying about it?
I have a medical condition (since birth) that has no effect on my work: my hands tremble a little or moderately. It’s called “benign essential tremor.” It is not Parkinson’s or anything like it. I worry that it scares off employers when I interview.
Today I was invited to an informal interview. In my reply, I tried something new. I said, “Great! I would love to meet with you. One thing I should let you know about. My hands shake slightly, but this doesn’t affect my work.”
I don’t want to scare off prospective employers by saying the wrong thing. I figure if I discuss it up front, that’s best. How should I say it?
How to Say It: I think you already say it well. You might add that it’s not a degenerative condition, if you want to go that far. I’m sure you’re aware that you may be protected under the disabilities laws, but it also seems you prefer to be candid. I like that.
Should this reader explain it up front, or wait until the interview?
In today’s newsletter a reader throws down a challenge:
I love this classic question from interviewers, as if they’re in a bar looking for a date rather than in an office hiring an employee: “Tell me about yourself.” I can answer that, but what’s the best way to say it?
How to Say It: “I’m glad to tell you about myself. But when we’re done with that, I’d like to ask you a question, okay? The question is, Would you please lay out a live problem you’re facing in your department, one that you’d want me to tackle if you hired me? And I’ll show you how I’d do it.”
In today’s newsletter a reader takes an interview with a company that wants to “meet and talk in general,” with no indication there’s a specific opportunity on deck. No problem, I say to the reader. It’s good to meet new people. But when the company brings you back for a second interview — to meet the president — and there’s still no objective, then it’s time to reconsider what you’re doing. I offered the reader a suggestion about How to Say It in the newsletter — “No job in mind? No meeting.” (Well, a bit more politely than that, but that’s the gist.)
But there’s more the reader could do to ferret out an opportunity — and to make some money in the meantime. Here’s what else to say to the employer:
If there isn’t a specific job you’d like to discuss, it might be because you’re trying to figure out what kind of position you want to define. I believe I could help you with that by applying my expertise in XYZ… Until you define and fill a position, I’d be glad to offer you my consulting services at $X per day. I look forward to hearing back from you… and I’d like to help you any way I can. Thanks again for your interest… I really enjoyed our wide-ranging discussion. Kind regards…
See how that works? You play every angle but put the onus on them to either define a job or pay you for your time to help them do it.
Otherwise, it’s a bunch of guys blowing smoke with nothing better to do than waste your time and their own. Believe me — many managers are clueless and should be fired for wasting company time and resources on meetings like these. Sometimes, you just have to realize there is no job there. That’s no reason to decline a first meeting — you might meet some cool people and explore possibilities. But beyond that, we’re business people and we work for a living. Either the employer has a clear agenda that presents a clear opportunity to you or he’s wasting your time.
(The tipoff in this reader’s story was that after the second interview with the president, the company did not follow up further, did not respond to queries or bring closure to the discussions. Bear in mind, it was the company that reached out and initiated the meetings.)
In today’s edition a reader says, “My degree beats your certification!”
Why are firms so ignorant of one’s university degrees and instead treat certifications like CPA with much more respect? To complete a degree takes quite a bit of effort. (Try to take MBA school in four exams like a CPA does!) Degrees are expensive, but firms treat us like idiots. What’s so special about a certification? After much consideration I finally sat for FAR part of CPA certification. It cost me $235 and content-wise it barely covered the scope of my undergraduate accounting curriculum. Am I missing something here? My MBA degree is far more valuable than a certification. I need to know How to Say It when I meet with an employer.
How to Say It: Would someone like to explain this? Yah, a certification is proof that someone passed a qualifying exam… whether in accounting or data base administration… but is it more valuable than a college degree? And how do you say it to an employer?
I’ve spent years sharing advice about job interviews. My main advice is to walk into a job interview prepared to stand and deliver: Show the employer how you will do the work profitably so the employer will want to hire you.
But sometimes I forget that that’s the substance of a good interview. A good interview also has style and presence. What’s that? It’s how well you communicate. And how well you communicate is an indication of your conviction.
Employers are impressed with people who can and do speak with conviction. That’s who they hire.
Talk to a kid in grade school today, or to a high schooler or a college student or someone just starting out in the work world. You’ll experience one of two things. Either you will be amazed at how thoughtful some kids are and at how well they speak — you can hear their conviction. (You might cringe a bit, remembering how awkward a speaker you were at that age.) Or you’ll be shocked at the miasma of meaningless sounds emitted from their mouths — at the confusion they betray and at their lack of conviction.
In my opinion, our schools don’t do a very good job at teaching kids to write and speak. Some teachers pull it off and my hat is off to them. But I worry about how students coming out of college present themselves in job interviews. I worry how they present themselves when they try to develop the contacts they need to get in the door at the companies they want to work for.
Poet Taylor Mali makes the point better than I do — with conviction. Watch the video above.
You are judged by your presence and your conviction. What do your job interviews sound like? Which part of Taylor Mali’s poem do you sound like?
