Finding a new job or changing careers is challenging. Most times you are competing against many other skilled and talented job seekers for one position. How you present yourself in an interview is most often the deciding factor in whether you get the job or not. Differentiating yourself from the competition for that job comes down to 2 minutes of well planned and rehearsed speaking.
Introduction
The first 30 seconds of your interview can set the tone for how the rest of the interview will go. How you introduce yourself and the impression you make in those first 30 seconds will greatly influence the interviewer as they try to determine if you can do the job they are trying to fill. Every introduction will be different so it is very difficult to rehearse this portion of an interview. However, you can carefully plan and practice presenting a winning first impression.
- Smile
- Be confident
- Stand up straight
- Relax and be yourself
- Let your personality shine through
- Be friendly but professional
Your Career Commercial
When you are looking for a new job and interviewing, you are essentially selling yourself to your new employer. To do this you must convey to them all the features, advantages, and benefits you can offer to the employer. Just like products are marketed to consumers with commercials you can market yourself to employers using a Career Commercial or Elevator Speech. When you are looking for a new job, your elevator speech is an important communications tool you will use over and over again to sell yourself and your skill-set to potential employers.
Your elevator speech is the one-minute explanation of who you are, what your skills are, and the type of position you are seeking. It is the quick explanation you would give to a complete stranger, like an interviewer, given a very limited time to explain who you are. It is called an elevator speech because you need to be able to introduce yourself and your skills in the time you have between floors on an elevator ride.
Craig Harrison, a motivational speaker offers these examples:
"Hi. I market confidence! I'm a motivational speaker and trainer who helps others aspire and achieve. Through dynamic keynotes, interactive training and creative off-site events I help audiences communicate with clarity and confidence. Here's my card, let me help transform your world."
Here's one Craig developed for a meeting planner:
"They call me the Corporate Concierge. My name is Sandy Simpkins of Meet Me at the Top. I'm a Certified Meeting Professional and, like a good Concierge, I know Who is Who and What is What in the Meetings industry. I'm multilingual: I speak the language of Caterers, AV Techs and even CEOs. I can brainstorm, strategize, negotiate and implement every detail of your next event, so you can relax and enjoy it. Working together you'll be able to say Voila, it's a success!"
Each one takes approximately 20 seconds and you have about 1 minute. The goal is to stand out from the crowd, so be memorable. Be passionate and persuasive. Who better than you to speak about what you do? Speak about the benefits of hiring you over anyone else. What could you contribute? Ask open ended questions that lead to more conversation about you and your skills.
Your Final Summary
Usually at the end of an interview you will have about 30 seconds to summarize who you are, your qualifications, your skills, and why you are a good candidate for the job. The goals of your final summary are to reinforce what you have already told your interviewer and to be remembered when the final hiring decision is being made. This is your last chance to sell yourself so you want to do a good job of it.
An example of a final summary is: "Thank you for taking the time to interview me. As we have discussed, my management experience and problem solving skills are just two of the assets I would bring to your company. Specifically, I am able to work with diverse groups of people to identify problems in the manufacturing process, isolate those problems, and work with both labor and senior management to eliminate those problems. I bring a proven track record increasing efficiency and performance in manufacturing companies and have consistently saved my employer time and money. I like what I have learned in our conversation today and firmly believe I will be a strong asset for your company."
Once you have created your summary, you should rehearse it until you are comfortable speaking it and practice on your friends and relatives. You should rehearse, but not memorize your summary so it remains conversational.
Keep this in mind as you prepare for each interview; People will remember you the way you tell them to remember you. Make the two minutes you have to talk about yourself really count and you will be more successful when interviewing
