Preparing for an Informal Interview | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Starting with a story of my own about an informal conversation with my boss where I shot myself in the foot, let’s talk about preparing for an informal interview.
Don’t Have Your Resume Rejected by The Applicant Tracking System
When I was 22, I was working with a search firm in New York and the owner decided he was going to take me for lunch. I was working there for maybe a year at that point but apparently he was interested in promoting me, and wanted to develop me as a manager. Okay, so we’re sitting in this Korea,n restaurant, and
he’s asking me questions about where I see my future is, and of course, he wants me to talk about his business and how I’d like to learn and grow and get ahead. Being 22, I was stupid. So I talked about all the other things I wanted to do in life that had nothing to do with him and suffice it to say I blew an opportunity.
Casual interviews are still interviews and if you’re being evaluated for positions, and you’re invited for coffee, for lunch, for dinner, with your future boss, with your boss’s boss, whomever it is, and you’re being told, ‘This is going to be a casual conversation. They want to get to know you.’ Or ‘This is going to be an informal meet and greet.’ That’s just BS. It’s not informal. They’re still evaluating you.
You may be told you’re the front-runner for this role. But you know what? You can still be rejected as I was when I was young and dumb. So you can appear casual, you can have all the hallmarks of looking casual. And I’m not telling you to dress badly, of course, but to carry yourself in a way that seems less formal, while always being on guard for trap questions that are designed to have you reveal intimate details of your life that they have no business knowing.
Frankly, they just want to see that you’re smart enough, which I wasn’t, to not shoot yourself in the foot and cost yourself an opportunity. You don’t want to get that email, you don’t want to get that voicemail that says, ‘We decided to go in a different direction,’ or ‘We chose someone else for this role,’ because you were too casual at this informal interview. There’s nothing informal, there’s nothing casual about any interview, even when they use those words because they’re still evaluating you. They’re just doing it in a different type of place, in a different kind of manner.
I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. Visit my website, TheBigGameHunter.us There’s a ton in the blog, that’ll help you. Plus, you can schedule time for coaching with me. I’m great at interview preparation, among other things. I worked in recruiting for a long time and filled a lot of positions so I understand the full lifecycle of a job search, from resumes to starting and onboarding at your new role. So reach out to me. You can schedule time for a free discovery call or schedule time for coaching. I want to help you so you act like an all-star in all situations. At my website, I also have access to my books and guides and courses that will help you as well. They are terrific, particularly the interview ones. Also, I’ll mention that the blog has 1000s of posts that you can watch, listen to or read that will help you.
Lastly, connect with me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. Have a terrific day and be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2400 episodes.
Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? People hire me to provide No BS career advice whether that is about a job search, hiring better, leadership, management or support with a workplace issue. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
My courses are available on my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses The courses include ones about Informational Interviews, Interviewing, final interview preparation, salary negotiation mistakes to avoid, the top 10 questions to prepare for on any job interview, and starting a new job.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) and on Facebook (on the Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter page) Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me via messaging on LinkedIn or in chat during the approximately 30 minute show.
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