第119页 the surefire way to boost your score

Preparation = Self Confidence = Successful Interviews = Job Offers


Step 1: Understanding Today’s Interviewing Techniques

Unlocking the Secrets to Successful Interviewing
    the secret to success in any interview is preparation.

What Is Behavioral Interviewing?
    Behavioral interviewing is an interviewing technique employers use to determine whether a candidate is a good fit for the job. The technique involves questions that determine your behavior—in particular, your past behavior—as an indicator of your future success. In other words, the answers you give about your past experiences will be used to predict your future performance: If you did it before, you can do it again. This includes both positive and negative behavior.

A Brief History of Behavioral Interviewing
    In the 1970sindustrial psychologists developed a new way to predict accurately whether a person would succeed in a job. On the basis of the principle that future performance can be predicted by examining past behavior, candidates were asked questions that requested proof, often in the form of examples, that they had done what they claimed to be able to do.
    In today’s job market, in which employers have so many applicants to choose from, they must make accurate hiring decisions and rely on more effective ways to screen candidates.

#If the interviewer asks a question beginning with “Tell me about a time when”or “Can you give me an example?” you should immediately think: “Story.”#

Using Behavioral Answers
    What you tell them is the only evidence the hiring manager can use to judge you at this point. Therefore, the more relevant and recent your stories are, the more of an impact they will have on the interviewer. When no experiences are related or if they happened more than 10 years ago, your score will be low. If you fail to tell your stories in an interesting and convincing manner, you may be rated low even though you may have the past experience necessary to perform well in the job.

#Your stories and the way you relate them will be the key to convincing the interviewer that you are the right person for the job.#

Your Ability to Show That You Can Do It Again
    Candidates who prepare their success stories for behavioral interviews are able to answer the questions asked with greater ease and success compared with those who “wing” the interview. In fact, being fully prepared will even help you answer traditional interview questions. When you feel prepared, you will feel more confident and relaxed and will be able to connect with the interviewer more effectively. 
    The interviewer is listening for specific examples from you and stories about the way you performed in a similar job or role. If you were a marketing person and came up with an original idea for a new campaign, and if the campaign was successful and brought in new business, your story will have a great impact because the interviewer will be hopeful that you can repeat that success.
    Some interviews will focus more on situational questions such as “What you would do if you encountered a situation such as…?” Here you essentially can make up an answer. Keep in mind, though, that even these answers will be stronger if you can give examples of times when you handled similar situations. The more information you can give the interviewer about yourself, the more accurate and reliable the picture of you that is being formed will be.

Remember that even when you are not asked behavioral questions, you can still use your stories by saying to the interviewer, “Let me tell you about a time when I solved a similar problem for my last employer.”

Stories Demonstrating Your Skills
    Your examples are best told through a story format. The more interesting and relevant your story is, the more the interviewer will want to hear further examples.
    As we discussed above, a question that asks for “an example of a time” must address “a time” when you dealt with a situation. If you do not provide an example, you will fail to answer the question and will have missed an opportunity to relate what you have to bring to this job on the basis of your past successes.
    Unless you have thought about this type of questioning ahead of time, you may find yourself caught off-guard and be unable to respond with the strongest answer on the spot. The challenge of answering these questions is to select the right story: the one that shows off your skills and abilities in the best possible manner. The problem is that you may have had many years of work experience and have solved lots of problems.

The Elements of Your Story
    One of the first rules regarding answering behavioral questions is that they require a complete and specific example or story. The interviewer will have a much easier job listening to and following your stories if they are laid out in a chronological, easy-to-follow sequence of events. The most successful stories include the following elements:
    Beginning: What the problem was 
    Middle: What you did about the problem 
    End: How it turned out

#Remember, anyone can say that he or she is a good problem solver, but not everyone can give a specific example of a time when he or she solved a problem by providing specific details and facts as proof.#

Step 2: Identifying the Key Factors of the Job
Rules of Behavioral Interviewing
■ Your examples must be specific.
■ Your examples should be concise.
■ Your examples should include action.
■ Your examples must demonstrate your role.
■ Your examples should be relevant to the questions asked.
■ Your stories must have results.

Common Problems Encountered in Answering Behavioral Questions
■ Too much time is given to setting up the story.
■ Not enough information is provided in the middle of the story. The action is simplified, making it sound like an easy task or problem when in fact it was very difficult and involved a great deal of effort above and beyond the norm.
■ The story does not have an ending. What was the outcome? The interviewer is left wondering, “What happened next?”

Model Proportions
The beginning—20 percent or less: the situation, task, or problem
The middle—60 percent or more: the action, the steps taken to solve the problem: ideas generated, tasks performed, challenges overcome (your role in the process)
The ending—20 percent or less: the results: cost savings, bonuses, awards, promotions (the outcome)