When you’re interviewing for a role, you’ve got to remember that it doesn’t matter how good you are. What matters is how good the interviewer(s) think you are.
This means you have to communicate this clearly.
If you want to get a job offer, you have to demonstrate that you can do what is required for the role and you can do it well.
Here’s why…
Hiring Companies Hold All the Power
Remember that the entire interview process is designed to keep people out. This means the hiring company has all the power during the interview process.
You want something from them. They have a lot of candidates to choose from. You have little to no bargaining power.
This is similar to the supply and demand in economics.
If there is limited supply and demand is high, prices go high. Buyers don’t have much of a choice. If they want it, they have to be willing to pay the price because if they don’t, others are.
It’s like housing. There’s high demand and limited supply. This is jacking up the prices and only those who are willing and able to pay can participate.
The same holds true for the interview process. With hundreds or even thousands of applicants for a single role, the hiring company can do whatever it wants to weed out these applicants.
Demonstrate How Great You Are at Every Stage
The interview process is different for every company. What is common though is that they are trying to find answers to these two questions:
- Can you do the job?
- Can you do it well?
Knowing this, it falls on your responsibility as an applicant (because you don’t have any power, remember?) to demonstrate that you can do the job and do it well at every stage of the process.
From Your Application to Your First Day in the Job
The interview process starts the moment you submit your application. It ends on your first day.
Keep this in mind.
At every step of this process, you have be able to show this to the hiring company.
The best way to do this is to communicate your results from your past/current work. Do not talk about activities. Do not talk about years of experience.
Focus on what makes it unique to you. These are your results and achievements.
Smart interviewers know that if you only talk about activities, you’re no better than the person who got fired for doing those things but didn’t achieve any result for the company.
Always remember that no matter how good you are, it won’t matter if the interviewer doesn’t think of you that way.
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