#JobSearch #Friday – You Graduated from #College – Show Your Interest!

By RecruiterGuy | June 6, 2020

When new graduates are interviewing for jobs with companies, many of even the most confident grads become nervous – and the ones who are not nervous may create concern if they are not cautious.

My wife was an intensive care nurse for 46 years. Occasionally, her unit would hire a newly graduated nurse who felt they knew everything. They would make potentially dangerous assumptions or decisions and claim, “It’s fine!” Those nurses suffered from “Whiteitis.” (refers to the old white uniforms nurses wore)

Confidence during interviews is important – arrogance will cause hiring managers to move on.

As your interview is winding down and you are sincerely interested in the position, tell the manager that you are interested in working with them.

What Is Another Interview Mistake New Grads Make?

It is puzzling when candidates hide their interest in a position. I am not sure who gave them that advice – or they thought it on their own, thinking they want to be cool.

There are many ways to demonstrate your interest:

Listen closely to the questions asked, especially the behavioral questions. They give you clues to the problems you may face in this position. After responding to a behavioral question, consider structuring a question to verify you may have to face that situation in this position.
If the manager lays out a program or structure that does not appear complete or to make sense, feel free to ask if something is missing. They may respond by asking, “Why do you ask?” Then you may ask, “Did you intentionally not include that step?”
When they ask you if you have any questions, this is how you may pose one question – “I strive to exceed expectations. What are the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month goals for my first year?

All three of these questions demonstrate you are actively listening to their conversation. This indicates interest.

How Does Body Language Indicate Interest?

Over the years, many candidates indicated their coolness by sitting back into their interview chairs and getting comfortable. The manager’s interpretation was they were not interested – or worse, lazy.

The importance of acting interested in the position is sometimes as or more important than the words you use. Sit straight up on the edge of your interview chair. When you want to make a point, lean forward. This demonstrates confidence.

Finish Strong – And Earn An Offer!

When your interview is coming to an end, lean forward, look the manager in the eye, and tell them you are Very Interested in this position (only if you are!). Then ask them, “What are next steps?”

If they respond, “We will get back to you on Thursday.” Ask them if you may call them on Friday if you have not heard from them? Ensure you follow up and call them if you did not hear from them on Thursday. They may test you on follow up.

Demonstrating interest may give you the edge over another candidate.

One final note – after you leave the interview, handwrite a Thank you note expressing your interest in their position. Tell them you look forward to working with them. Since so few candidates take the time to thank hiring managers for their time interviewing, this nice expression of courtesy can be enough to put you over the top!

If you want or need to accelerate your #Jobsearch, please immediately click on this link to my recent book, Employee 5.0: Secrets Of A Successful Job Search In The New World Order – http://amzn.to/2D9w39f My book contains the 12 Steps to find a new position in a nice, orderly fashion. It also has the stories of people who did well – and some who did not. You may learn from both sides.

See you on Fridays!

Bill Humbert is available for Speaking, Talent Attraction Consulting, Career Transition Consulting, and Training contracts.

RecruiterGuy@msn.com 435-714-4425

https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/speaker/profile/23767/Bill-Humbert

USA 01-435-714-4425 RecruiterGuy@msn.com

Content is licensed CC-BY-ND (Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0) The right to reprint is hereby granted if the copyright notice and contact information remain with the article.