MG: How to sell your abilities in a job interview?
I have been having a hard time selling my abilities to job interviewers. My problem is this, I am from a culture where “tooting your own horn” is frowned upon. Hence, I don’t know what exactly how to sell myself or abilities. It is obvious in my resume I have the skills required for the job, plus I show a personable personality, but when I don’t get the call I am left in oblivion. I don’t know what others expect me to say or not during the interview. I usually research the company but many times I find that this does not tell me anything about the department I am interviewing for, the particular job, or the culture of the company. I talk about my abilities and past experience, plus I answer all their questions. How do you sell yourself in job interviews?
Answers and Views:
Answer by 006
Usually there will be attributes or specific skills needed for the job listed in the job description. Practice stories about your past where you’ve demonstrated those skills/abilities and recount them when the interviewer asks about those qualities.
You begin with a question about selling YOUR ABILITIES in a job interview and end with a question about selling YOURSELF. In reality, these are NOT the same thing, but the reality is, also, they BOTH are involved in getting a job offer.
Every hiring decision a company makes represents a $ 1,000,000 investment. In addition to salary and benefits, there are training costs and turnover costs to think about as well. At a cost of $ 1,000,000, no company can afford to make many bad hiring decisions. So, to take as much risk out the decision as possible, companies have requirements about education and prior experience. They also want to get to know candidates personally. If fact, companies will readily hire someone they know over someone they have just met in most cases. Although education and experience are important, in the end, companies really want to “feel good” about their hiring decisions. What his implies is that the candidate who gets the job offer will have formed some sort of personal connection with those involved with the hiring decision.
If you are from another culture, my guess is this is probably more of a factor in your job search results than your abilities and experience. You may think this is unfair, and maybe it is, but a large part of how effective we are in our jobs involves how well we manange our personal interactions with peers, supervisors, and customers.
If you want to sell yourself, making your abilities and experience seem grander than any other candidate is not the answer. Honestly, when it comes to skills and abilities, really aren’t there hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have as good or better skills and abilities for any position? If this is so, then many job hiring decisions will come down to how the interviewers feel about YOU. When you answer questions about job requirements, skills, abilities, the information you provide is important. But, they want to make a connection with YOU as they discuss the position.
Culture and personality may be a barrier in making personal connections with people, but it does not have to be. People are naturally drawn to and comfortable around people who are comfortable with themselves. They sense when others are nervous, unsure and not genuine. So, the best way for you to impress interviewers is to be natural, confident, and self-assured. And, those qualities are best expressed to others when you are being honest with and about yourself. You have no reason to apologize or feel threatened or inadequate because of your cultural heritage. Fully embrace and accept who you are, your culture, your abilities and you are much more likely to get others to embrace you as well.
If you simply cannot seem to get past these cultural issues, then, you may want to consider offering to work on a trial basis. This is not about desperation, it is about supreme confidence. It is about recognizing the $ 1,000,000 that is at stake and your willingness to help the company avoid risk by offering to work for free if necessary for a trial period; by giving them what a car dealer would call a “test drive.” At the end of the “test drive” they can decide how much your contribution was worth. If they feel your work was worthless they can simply let you go. If they find value in what you can do, they can pay you appropriately for the trial and into the future according to their assessment.
Hope this helps. And, good luck.
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