Surviving a Job Interview

I know much as been written in this subject. There are probably millions of books and articles about this out there. So why write another one about it? Hmm... maybe I just want to share what I believe can give anyone an edge in a job interview. While there are millions of books out there about job interviews I realized that there are still a lot of people I know who has not read any of them and my motivation is, as long as there is one person out there who does not know about a topic then it's worth talking and writing about.

I've only been in a job interview thrice in my life so far: two with a printer company and one with a Manila-based software company. So experience-wise I could say I'm probably NOT "that" experienced to talk about this. But one of the skills I know is to determine how and why something work. It's typical of me to study why one experience yields a successful outcome while another fails. From conversations and experience I draw conclusions and find the universal (almost unchanging) truth behind it. I trust that the results of that process will somehow explain why an outcome occurred. So after undergoing three job interviews and one as an interviewer, I realized that we need to define what are the interviewee and interviewers role in the job interview process first and from there draw the "actions" necessary to win an interview.

Let's get started!

Interviewer's Job Description 
1. To find out if the interviewee is a candidate. Meaning if the interviewee has the qualities demanded by the company position needed.
2. To make sure that he/she is the best they will ever see among the candidates.They want to know what the candidate can bring to the company if they hire him/her.

These are two motivations of an interviewer. They are not there to scare the hell out of the interviewee but they are there to clarify and capture what his/her resume' states.


Interviewee's Job Description 
1. Find out if he/she is the man for the position.
2. If he is then the next question is, is he the best candidate there is?
3. Check out if you like the company.

Lesson for the applicants: 
1. Make sure your resume represents you at your very best

Your resume' should contain the correct information about you and what can you can do for the company. It should reflect your core skills and experience. If they need you to submit a handwritten document then make sure you write legibly. Many times the interviewers are turned off in the resume-level and the applicant loses the chance to get the job in that level. Meaning, the applicant will not even have a chance for an interview. So make sure that your resume represents you at your very best.

2. Be assertive of your answers. 

When asked to answer a question, be assertive of your answer. This is not the time to show that you are "very humble" and very shy. Remember that the interviewees want to know if you are the man for the job and if you are the best there is. So being shy about what you can do will not help your cause. You can brag a little about what you can do. Be confident. Sell yourself.

3. What makes you different?

What makes you different from other applicant? If they you are the same with everybody else then you will have very low chance of being hired. Show your uniqueness and relate it why you have what it takes to be hired.

4. What can you do for the company?
Make sure that the moment you leave the interview table that you already presented a vivid picture of what you can bring in the company the moment they hire you. Most of the applicants waits for the interviewee to questions them but I think a more proactive approach is to speak out that you are the man for the job and convince them why.

With this in mind, these are the actions that I think will improve the odds of you getting the job:
1. Read books.

A person of knowledge attracts opportunity. In one interview I had, I was asked what's the last book that I've read. I told them I read the Book of James of the Bible and a book on leadership by John Maxwell. After saying this, I feel that they began to feel interested in what I was gonna say. I then proceeded on the things I've learned in each book. I feel that they were amazed that I have read such books.

2. Memorize quotes.
I'm almost 100% sure about this that a person who memorizes quotes seem to look more intelligent. In one interview I had I said, "In leadership, we have to study how to develop influence. According to John Maxwell, author of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, "Leadership is influence nothing more nothing less." Somehow it wowed my interviewees.

3. Make sure you wear respectable clothing.
First impression is first impression. In a corporate seminar I attended, speaker, Adrian Ding, said it this way, "The moment you walk in any room, within 5 seconds the people inside that room with judge you." So make sure that the moment the 5 seconds is over you already have a "this guys is clean" or "this person is respectable" or "this person has a nice smile" "judgments" from your interviewees.

4. Speak, maintain eye contact, and smile.
Don't be shy. Be conversant. Be interactive. Don't make the interviewees feel uncomfortable by looking all around the room. Instead, maintain eye contact and smile. When you answer a question you can use different answering patterns:
-> SMG (Story Message Gain ) Don't answer the question directly. Use a Story then your Message then your Gain.
-> AREM - (Answer Reason Example Message). Answer directly give your reason why. The add examples (1 or 2) then your message.

These are just two of the many known answering techniques that will enable you to gather your amorphous thoughts and transform it to a awe-inspiring answer.

5. Be honest.
Applying for a job is not lying to the company. It's about selling yourself so be honest with who you are and what you can do. If you like the company tell them you like the company. If there are terms you did not like then tell them (even if it means losing the chance to be admitted to the position). There was a job interview requiring me to transfer to Manila, I was asked if it's OK with me to relocate. I told the interviewer, "yes I think I can." But deep down in my heart I know I could not. The thought of being so far away from my family and my girlfriends is just so much. Maybe the interviewer sensed my lies to I was not admitted to the position but I could have made it easier if I had told the truth.


Maybe the bottom line for all of these is summarized in two words- BE VALUABLE. If you are valuable then it's easy to sell yourself. So I encourage you to read, learn as many crafts as you can, experience as many events as you can. Join clubs with good causes. Host events. Learn another language. Learn new skills. BE VALUABLE.