Avoiding a job interview disaster, and other tips for job seekers

Hello, job seekers! Welcome to my newsletter focused on helping you land your next job. Whether your background is in the finance industry or media, there are tips and insights that can make every job search more successful. Be sure to join the conversation with the hashtag #GetHired.

? Interview prep survival guide:

Several career experts and recruiters have told me that job applicants need to do more work preparing for interviews. Why? They stumble over routine questions that most interviewers will ask, such as identifying strengths and weaknesses.

More than 100 of you responded to my post on the subject, offering your own interview prep strategies, including Desmond Hillsman. He said researching the company and position helps him prepare for interviews. Emmanuel Tenkorang wrote that he looks at the company’s website to find out about its culture and to look for any insights.

Know your audience

While you’re researching the position and company online, you should also try to learn about the person or people who will be conducting the interview, said Dawn Graham, who is career director at the MBA program for executives at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. If you don’t know who that is, go ahead and ask. “I think it’s ridiculously important to understand the audience.”

Practice your elevator pitch

In addition to preparing for standard interview questions, Graham said you should go into the conversation knowing what you want to tell the recruiter or hiring manager about yourself. “Come prepared with what you want to say regardless of the question asked so you leave that on the table,” she said.

You should keep in mind that the answers to those questions shouldn’t necessarily be about impressing hiring managers. Instead, the answers should explain how you’ll solve the manager and company’s pain points, said Graham, who is also a licensed psychologist and author of “Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success.”

Any questions?

In addition to coming up with prepared answers to interview questions, you should also come ready with questions about the job or company. “I think this is such an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate additional strengths,” Graham told me. She said you can show your interests by asking about a company’s culture and priorities, for example.

How do you prepare for job interviews? Join the conversation.

? The follow-up:

Job searches include a lot of waiting — either after submitting an application or after an interview. In the last edition of #GetHired, we discussed ways to deal with the wait. Dozens of you offered advice, including Sharmon Simonetti. “I completely agree that you shouldn't get too attached to any one prospective job,” she wrote.“Keep those resumes flowing until you are actually employed!” Join the conversation.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

Speaking of the questions you should expect during an interview, University of Texas at Austin Professor Art Markman says hiring managers want applicants to answer three questions. Hiring managers want to know what it’s like to work with you, writes Markman in Harvard Business Review. Additionally, they want to know that you’re capable of learning as your job evolves. They also want to see that you take initiative, which can be accomplished by showing up prepared for the interview. Here’s what people are saying about this advice.

What benefits should you expect from an employer? More and more employers are offering student loan repayment plans, paternity leave, telecommuting, standing desks and telemedicine amid an increasingly tight labor market, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2019 Employee Benefits Survey. According to the report, 60% of employers are offering workers standing desks, for example. SHRM also found that the proportion of employers offering student loan repayment programs and part-time telecommuting increased 4% and 5%, respectively. Here’s what people are saying about these findings.

Focusing on “soft” skills may future-proof your job prospects. While many think that those holding down low- to medium-skilled jobs (retail workers and truck drivers) face the greatest automation threat, Axios argues that professionals like software engineers and lawyers also face considerable risk. Even with these expected losses, research shows that employers will still demand skills that require a human touch, such as critical thinking, creativity and communication. Brushing up on those so-called soft skills could offer one path to avoid displacement. Here’s what people are saying about the report.

? Up next:

We’ll be discussing salary negotiations in the next edition of #GetHired. Do you have a strategy for bringing up compensation with a potential employer? Or, do you have questions about how to artfully bring up the subject? Tell me in the comments below. Better yet, tell me about it in a video posted to your profile with the hashtag #GetHired. You may see it featured in next week’s newsletter!

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to add your own thoughts, tips, ideas and questions in the comments below. Also, be sure to keep the conversation going on LinkedIn with the hashtag #GetHired.