Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2013. The references to “those 6 million unemployed” and “the current crisis” reflect Spain in 2013.
After a job interview, how can you tell whether you are going to be hired? You have probably asked yourself this more than once, and it is a hard question to answer.
All sorts of advice gets handed out about job interviews. Recruiters themselves now talk about an advice bubble that is probably confusing candidates, who no longer know what is and isn’t right when they go to an interview, when they prepare their CV, and so on.
That is why this time we are going to simplify the process in a way that has probably never been explained to you, but which most of the recruiters we consulted agree with. In the end, recruiters, like I suppose any other professional, are swayed by feelings and impressions that are worth far more than a few lines written on a sheet of paper.
The real reasons you will be hired
1. The recruiter wants to remember you, but for something excellent
In the middle of an interview, pick up your chair and hurl it through the office window, shouting at the top of your voice. After doing that, the interviewer will probably see more candidates, but at the end of the day they won’t be able to forget you. He will even tell his wife about you when he gets home. That is what we want as candidates for a job, except that…
Now try to get them to remember you ahead of the other candidates because you made a positive impact during the interview, so that you stand out even after you have left the room. When we talked about how to stand out in a group job interview, one way to do it was to be the best dressed. Still, it won’t be that easy. Most recruiters agree that they remember candidates more for impressions and feelings than for facts.
2. Be friendly and pleasant before, during and after the interview
Nerves can make even a shy, friendly person come across as serious or arrogant. It may help to know that the interviewer, sometimes very serious, is probably a joker with friends and family.
Everyone likes dealing with pleasant, friendly people, whether they will be a colleague or your boss. In fact, you may have noticed that some people put you at ease with their friendliness, so much so that you could hardly get angry with them. By being friendly and pleasant from the moment you pass the secretary until you say goodbye to her, you increase your chances of being remembered positively, and therefore hired. Remember that there are companies with unusual methods that won’t hire you, however professional you are, if you have been unpleasant to a peer.
3. Avoid any negative message
We could talk about many things that unconsciously create negative feelings. Remember that many people believe in karma, and think that people who make negative comments are negative people who spread their negativity to everyone else.
That is why you should avoid references to the current crisis, the bad patch the sector is going through, problems you had with clients, and so on. Don’t talk about problems, and don’t try to make them feel sorry for you with lines like “I can’t feed my family” or “they’re about to repossess my home”. Believe me, they won’t hire you for saying that.
Remember that however bad the situation is, that company needs a worker, so they think things are going to get better, but they need positive people to make that happen.
And that brings us to the next point.
(Read: 10 words you should delete from your vocabulary)
4. Don’t show desperation
The mere fact that you are at a job interview already tells them you are desperate for work and that you are most likely one of those 6 million unemployed. So don’t remind them of it. We all have a cognitive bias that makes us want what is hard to get and run away from what is easy.
Don’t say straight away that you want the job; negotiate the conditions. Show professionalism, not desperation.
5. But what the company really wants from you is money
Let’s come back down to earth. A company makes an investment in you, and with that investment it wants a return on its money. Show them what you can offer. If you can get the company to associate hiring you with a lot of money coming in, you will have 90% of the contract signed.
You do this by presenting your own project to the company (you are showing initiative), by showing that you are creative, by showing that you have done it before, and so on.
Above all, show confidence and keep appropriate body language. In the end, all these points are what count when it comes to making a good impression and improving your chances of being hired. I would go further: I really think they are the actual reasons a person ends up being hired from a group of candidates who start out on an equal footing.
Further reading
- Techniques for telling when someone is lying to you
- 7 body language techniques that will help you in business
- Don’t hire a CV, hire personality
Featured image: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
