The 7 Deadly Sins of Interviewing: Thinking That You Know What They’re Looking For
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
If you’re interviewing for a job, this is one of the 7 deadly sins you want to avoid making. You will miss out on many jobs you shouldn’t miss out on.
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Defining the sin
01:16 What to do instead
01:36 What to say
02:07 Outro
Today we’re gonna talk about another one of the seven deadly sins of interviewing. And this one is the sin of thinking you know what they’re really looking for.
I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I started to be called The Big Game Hunter when I did recruiting because I hunted down leaders and staff for organizations, did it successfully for a long time. But now people hire me for no BS job search advice and coaching globally, because I make finding a job much easier for people.
Now, for most positions, job descriptions are not created. They’re reactivated after a resignation, not updated and used because it was previously approved, saving the hiring manager time,
Even when one is created by an executive search firm after exhaustive conversations with their client, once interviewing begins, the thinking about the search requirements may evolve, yet the job description and search document may not be updated. That leaves you thinking, you know what they’re really looking for when you don’t.
It’s why I recommend that rather than passively waiting for them to tell you about the role, which will usually occur at the end of the interview, when you would ask about it, but after they’ve already decided whether they’re interested in continuing discussions with you, start the discussion with them by asking them about the role.
“Hey, thanks so much for making time to meet with me today. I saw the position description (or Rajiv, or Rona, the Recruiter from the search firm) told me about the role, but I wanted to get your take on it. Would you tell me about the position as you see it and what I can do to help?
This way you hear their current thinking about the position at the beginning of the interview, so you can talk about what you’ve done that matters to them, and not just talk about what you’ve done. Big difference between those two.
I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us Go to the blog. There’s a ton there that will help you. In addition, you can find out about my video courses, books, and guides. There’s a lot there to help you including if you have questions for me, you can schedule time for what I call Trusted Advisor Services where you can ask me questions or schedule time for coaching so I can actually help you.
Lastly, connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ career easier. Those things
can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2600 episodes.
Website: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Books and Guides: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/books
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
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