This is something that I know how to do very well. I have worked for four Fortune 100 companies and interviewing has become a skill and an stressful event for many people. With high unemployment across the country it is important to understand how to interview because you only get one shot to make a lasting impression. I am currently working on my book, “9 Steps to Finding the Career you Want” and some of these tips come the interviewing section. You are ultimately selling yourself and you have to do it with a limited amount of time. Use these tips to help you land the job of your dreams or in the case of many, to help you get back to work.

Tip #1: Try to relate to the interviewer

It’s not easy to do, but it is a must and the reason is not for the interviewer to like you initially, but to show him or her that you can build a rapport with anybody in a relatively short period of time. Try to discuss more than weather banter. Listen for cues as to where the interviewer is geographically, if it is a phone interview. Ask how their day is going. Relating to the interviewer won’t get you to the next level, but it will get you to tip #2 J

Tip #2: Summarize yourself

What sets you apart from everyone else? What is different about you in person than on paper? You should have a 30 second commercial that is rehearsed, but does not sound rehearsed to provide an interviewer that allows them to see or hear your personality come alive. I make it a habit to give one crazy fact about myself that isn’t on paper.

Tip #3: Quantify and Qualify yourself

You have a certain level of experience, but how can you quantify your experience to the interviewer, you should state something like this, “I’m an experienced sales manager that has worked for a fortune 500 company and I was directly or indirectly responsible bringing in $12 million in revenue in 2009.” With that statement in your 30 second commercial you have instantly gave yourself credibility and created value for the company you are interviewing with.

Tip #4: Research the Devil Out of the Company

If you have a certain interest in a particular company, you should have an idea about what that company does well, where it operates, how it makes money, what’s current in the industry, and the core values of the company. There is nothing worse than interviewing a perspective employee that knows nothing about the opportunity. There are websites that you can use like ZoomInfo that can provide information about the company executives. If it’s a public company, I like using Yahoo Finance to look up information about what’s current, whether the stock is up or down and why. This type of information will help you to seem knowledgeable and also give you information to ask the interviewer questions.

Tip #5: Dress for Success!

We are in a crazy environment right now and some of the values that existed years ago do not exist currently. One of them is dressing for the part. I have interviewed people that just appeared as though they didn’t care. Let be the first to tell you that first impressions are the last impressions. I can remember applying for a job with Apple, Inc. in their retail division to supplement my income from my full-time job and I wore a suit to the interview even though I knew they had a relaxed environment. The goal was to make a lasting impression on the manager. It’s important to shave for all positions to look as professional as possible. We live in a society where it seems that the majority of the people have a tattoo on their body. Unless you are interviewing for a tattoo artist, please refrain from showing the tattoo during the interview. Whether it is a non-traditional or traditional role, I believe the consensus is that what you may call “art,” may not be art in the eyes of many.

Happy job hunting and if you have questions, please feel free to contact me for a free consult.