Interview Tips For The Jobseeker - How Important Is It To Stand Apart From Others In An Interview And How Difficult Is It? (Paul Shearstone)

Any professionally trained interviewer can verify these questions are the most asked by people involved with job-hunting. How important is it? Absolutely vital! … How difficult is it? Not hard at all.

In the early 1980s I interviewed a young man who, in our meeting, began to quote information pertaining to the company he was applying. He talked about the previous year's corporate gross revenue figures, the number of employees country wide, projected new product launches and other related information. Needless to say, I was impressed. He got the job.

In retrospect, although I tried to be unbiased, when comparing him to the other candidates, his knowledge of the company [The Company I worked for and Loved] colored in his favor, the whole interview. My impression was he had spent a lot of time researching the organization, which showed considerable interest and effort on his part. Not one of his competitors had done so.

Months later, I asked him where he had done his research to find so much about the company. He smiled and said, "Remember our meeting was scheduled for 2pm that day and you were running 15 minutes behind?" I nodded affirmatively. "Well, as I sat in the reception area waiting for you, I noticed, among the magazines on the coffee table, a Corporate year-end report in which, among other things, contained the company's complete history. Fifteen minutes gave me plenty of time to 'research' the company." [And then he grinned]

This story is true although the important lesson here is, he did something so simple, that in the end, made such a huge difference. He beat out 20 other candidates - many of whom had more impressive credentials than he. The fact remains, when the moment counted, and with little effort, "He was Impressive!"

You may think me a little adamant as to the importance of this point. The fact remains that 'Little Things' can make 'All the Difference'. For other examples of this we need only look at Olympic athletes.

The runner that crosses the finish line 1/100th of a second faster than the next, wins the Gold. A Gold Medal can mean the difference of millions of dollars in future endorsements.

One might ask; Is this Gold Medal winner ten times faster or better than the second runner? No, he is only 1/100th of a second faster - the length of a pencil. Decades of training and practice to become a Gold Medal winner, a celebrity and a multi-millionaire all came down to 7-inches - When It Counted!

For us, the other important factor to remember is that when interviewing for a new job, there is no Silver Medal, second place, so to speak. We either get the job or we don't!

The Bottom Line:

Although it is easy to see the task of standing apart in an interview is a little daunting, it is, nevertheless, absolutely integral to anyone's success in today's Unique Value-Add driven marketplace, whether it is products, services and/or especially when it relates to us. In the end, we are all trying to make a sale. Potential employers must buy-off on the value and uniqueness of us.

The good news? Standing out in a 'Huge' way is rarely necessary and often, we find standing out a 'Little' is not all that difficult.

Good Job Hunting!