Master the Interview Basics: The Surefire Way to Ace Your Job
Interview
(Courtesy of www.msn.careerbuilder.com)
Wendy Doulton knows what it takes to land a job. In her 15 years of experience as a
recruiter, she has led talent acquisition teams at Yahoo Media Group, DreamWorks and
Google, and now serves as the principal of her own firm, Los Angeles-based Katalyst
Career Group. The most recent addition to her résumé? Star of Bravo's television special
"The Headhuntress," in which she gives struggling job seekers tough-love advice and
ultimately helps them triumph. We asked Doulton for her secrets to success for the job
seekers she helps: what they need to be doing, what they need to stop doing, and how they
can figure out what they want to be doing. Her guidance, in her now-famous candid
fashion, below:
CareerBuilder: What's the No. 1 thing a job seeker can do to wow a potential
employer in an interview?
Wendy Doulton: "When I interview people, I'm always really impressed by those who can
give me really good examples of why they're right for the job. They know themselves and
they can tell me why they've been successful and why people have hired them. They can
tell me the types of bosses they'd like to work for and the impact they've had on previous
companies. This is as important for a receptionist as it is for a CEO. A good assistant can
tell you how she makes her boss's life better: She can tell you she makes him seem
accessible even when he's not and she can tell you how she does it. She can tell you that
she saved $100,000 on the travel bill because she was able to change vendors and
negotiate a better deal. Those people know why they're good, and people want to hire
people that can prove they get results. Know your stuff. Know what you bring to the
party."
CareerBuilder: How does this affect the way candidates should prepare for
interviews?
WD: "The interview is what makes or breaks the deal. I think a lot of candidates prepare
for the interview in the wrong way. They need to be able to articulate why someone
should hire them. I think that is so important. It's impressive to sit there and hear
somebody talk about why they're good at something. It doesn't have to be earthshattering; they just need to be able to clearly explain why someone should pay them a
salary to show up every day. I think a lot of people focus outside of themselves instead of
focusing internally and getting very clear about why somebody should hire them. That's
the area candidates really need to focus on."
CareerBuilder: For new graduates or people in general who might not be so sure
"what they bring to the party" -- or how to explain it -- how can they figure it out?
WD: "For new graduates, I always say, 'Ask around.' Ask your parents, ask your teachers,
ask your friends, ask your colleagues if you're in an internship. Ask them for honest
feedback and listen to it. People will always give you honest feedback throughout your
whole life: 'Oh, honey, you should do this because you're so good at it,' or 'You shouldn't
do this because you hate people.' You get it your whole life. You get it when you're sitting
at a bar with your friends or your colleagues on Friday night and you're like, 'Oh, I hate my
job; I just can't believe it,' and your friends are like, 'Well, honey you shouldn't be working
there. You really want to be in PR. Why are you working at the manufacturing plant?' You
get feedback all the time. Look deep inside, but also ask people. And ... really be prepared
for what they have to say."
CareerBuilder: On the other hand -- what can a candidate do to completely ruin his
chances of getting hired?
WD: "The thing that drives me the most nuts about candidates is when they stalk you for
feedback after an interview. The phone at our office is ringing all the time, we're
scheduled back-to-back, but we always get candidates who expect you to respond literally
within hours of them sending you their résumé or them leaving you a message. The
candidates that start becoming the squeaky wheels do not get the attention. It's a fine line
between following up and stalking, and candidates have got to learn to master that.
Stalking is annoying in anything -- in dating or if you have a girlfriend who just keeps
bugging you all the time when you're at work because she wants to know what you're
doing this weekend. ... The more you chase after people, the less inclined they are to call
you back or to want to call you back. Until you get hired, you want recruiters to be on your
side, so you want to build positive relationships with them in a way where it feels like
you're somebody they want to help and want to call, and when you're stalking somebody
it just really puts them off. It's human nature. Follow up, don't stalk."
CareerBuilder: What's the proper way to follow up, then?
WD: "I think it's really fair in an interview to say, 'I'm really interested and I'd like to
follow up. What's your timeline? Where are you in the process?' or 'How often can I follow
up with you?' Set expectations for everyone. If you remember one thing, though, Doulton
wants it to be this: "In an interview, what's most important is to have a conversation that
is meaningful, not to give canned answers to questions you are anticipating. If you know
the value that you bring, if you know why you're there, if you know why someone should
hire your and what you've achieved, you will turn the interview into a conversation,
instead of you fretting over an answer to where you want to be in five years' time.”