What One Job Interview Tip Is Guaranteed to Get You Hired?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I have been coaching people on how to effectively interview for years whether I was a recruiter or now as a coach. This one tip will help you get even better results than what I’ve been telling people to do for years.
BTW, I mentioned another video, What Is The Best Question To Ask on Any Interview? This is a link to it.
00:00 Intro
00:48 Watch the other video: The link is in the show notes
01:41 Behavioral interview questions
03:23 Bridge phrases for behavioral interview questions
05:27 Summary
05:58 Outro
Tough Interview Questions: Tell Me About The Most Boring Job You’ve Ever Had.
Are you struggling to get hiring managers to see you in the role versus just evaluating you and your previous experiences? Many people have amazing backgrounds on paper but fail to connect those dots for the interviewer. So I want to share a simple mindset shift, a simple tactical shift, that can get interviewers to picture you thriving in this job, rather than just judging your credentials.
I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for no BS job search advice and career coaching globally, because I make the process so much easier for people.
And my thinking is . . . well, the first thing I want to encourage you to do is — I have another video on YouTube called the easiest way, the sorry, The Best Question to Ask on Any Interview, because what it does is help you find out about the current thinking of the job at the beginning of the interview with a simple question, so that you can talk about what you’ve done that matters to them, and not just talk about what you’ve done. Thus, when you answer the “tell me about yourself” question, or “walk me through your background” question, you have the ability using a simple bridge phrase that the video covers to demonstrate to them within 60 seconds, how your background can fit what they really need.
However, once you get to the behavioral interview questions, the problem is most of the time, people are just telling stories, and they’re not getting the interviewer to talk back to them and imagine you in the job, and how these experiences really fit what they need.
So my thought is, when you get to the, “tell me about a time when you” type of question, the behavioral interview question, or “tell me about a situation when . . . ” and you have to tell a story. I always encourage people keep your answer to about a minute to a minute 15. You follow a framework. You use STAR, it could be problem-action-result, it could be situation-obstacle-action- result. So that you can provide a concise history of the story. And then when you finish that concise history, you can say, “if you like I can go into more detail with you.” And most of the time, they’ll say yes. And sometimes they’ll say no. But, even if they say no, and certainly if they have you go in for a yes, once you finish answering the question to their satisfaction, whether it’s yes or no, you might ask a connecting question, another bridge question that’s designed to engage them in further conversation.
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For example, “you know, that experience taught me a lot about (fill in the blank). Could you describe a situation when that skill would come into play in this role?
Notice you’re putting them in a position of thinking about you in the role, and how that relevant experience might fit.
Other examples of that might be “In that position, I really honed my ability to . . . ( and this you accomplished a certain task, you know, you managed a certain number of people, you thought you were doing a lot of firefighting). What types of projects could I take on here that would allow me to apply that skill?”
One thing I loved about that job was how it challenged me to (fill in the blank). What kinds of challenges could I expect to face in this position that would build on that experience, or utilize that experience?
My time at (fill in the blank company) helped me to become very adept at (fill in the blank). What aspects of this role would rely most heavily on that capability?
From that experience, I learned (fill in the blank). How would that help you add value here and hit the ground running if you hired me?”
“That role really strengthened my (fill in the blank relevant skill). What strengths would the ideal person need to be successful in this position?”
You notice what you’re doing is engaging them in conversation, having them talk about how that skill or that experience would help you be effective in helping them. It’s something I missed for many years. And I want to correct this now so that you’re continuing to connect the dots for people about how what you’ve done in the past can help them in the future.
So to sum up, the key is to briefly summarize the past experience, identify a particular skill or lesson or impact that you had, and then specifically, and explicitly tie it back to the open role by asking how you might apply it, or how it might apply or how it would help you succeed in their role so it helps them translate your background to their needs.
I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us Go to the blog and go exploring. There’s just a lot there that’s going to help you. In addition, you can schedule time for a free discovery call, schedule time for coaching, find out about my video courses, books, and guides. Again, there’s a lot there to help you. Plus, if you have questions for me, you can schedule time for what I call a trusted advisor services where I answer your questions, figure 20 minutes or less.
Also, you can schedule time for coaching with me so I can help you directly through the lifecycle of this job search. 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’ careers 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 2700 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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