It’s fairly easy to
distinguish a great sales manager from a good one. A great one will talk
figures. Even during the first minutes of the interview, he or she will tell me
the turnover he was responsible for, the percentage of sales increase she has
realized…
When it comes down to
being successful in a job, it is all about achievements. You can be a natural
leader with unseen people skills…if you cannot produce tangible results, it is merely water down the drain.
Measurable achievements
can consequently be the star of the show during a job interview. They tell stories
that point to a specific outcome that I can measure against my client’s needs.
Although being open
and frank about results that you have personally achieved may feel
uncomfortable, a job interview is not the place to be modest. To get to the
next round, you need to show me the goodies.
There are a few
techniques that you can use to make your results shine without coming across as
arrogant.
It all starts with a
good preparation. Based on the job
specification, you can detect the result areas that I will be looking for. Base
your responses on those criteria, especially when you are eager to move into a
new field. Start reflecting, prior to the interview, on achievements that are
solid examples of these competencies.
Next thing is structure. There is nothing as
unpleasant as having to probe you to find out exactly what you have done. Structure
your story upfront: provide me the context, describe the challenges and the
expectations, elaborate on your specific action and quantify the results (this
is know as the STAR technique, future blogs will elaborate on that further). When
you do this right, your well-structured story proves that you have the
experience to do the job.
Last but not least,
there is the content of your story.
Be specific, I don’t want to know what ‘we’ did, I want to know your personal
contribution. Avoid the typical company jargon. When I have to interrupt you to
ask for clarification on an acronym, it will break your pace. Be precise and
concise, I’m not interested in all the details, it is the overall picture that
counts.
The best candidates are the ones that unconsciously integrate
tangible results in their stories. But these tips should help you to create the
mindset that is needed to ‘sell yourself’ during our discussion and become the star of the show.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium
Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that
matches the DNA of your company
Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be
Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch
