How I got the job that I wanted in 35 minutes using NLP

I love my job, I really do. You go to different companies, learn various technologies, and meet new people.

But sometimes I have no energy for “all that Jazz”…

Why?

Well, exactly because of that. You go to new companies, meet new people…

… That winter morning was one of those days when I less appreciated the opportunity to meet new people and learn new technology, and the worst?

 …to market myself

I’m not a salesman…

No offense, but I hate salespeople…

I feel that they lie to me even when they don’t!

However, this is the nature of the job interview – marketing.

So, this time instead of marketing myself by doing anti-marketing and expecting that they will love me anyway, I decided to try something new. I decided to try the NLP approach.

Here what happened…

Equipped with my battle-chic casual fashion collection items in blue & grey and a disk-on-key with writing examples from the twenty years of my writing career, I felt fully armed and ready for any development.

The sunny weather of that winter morning mirrored in windows of fancy buildings of the industrial zone, as if the Creator himself smiled at me and reassured me that everything is possible and all the limits and blocks are only fruits of our imagination.

 I meet my interviewer, say hello and we start the meeting.

I’m trying to examine him in order to understand who is the persona in front of me?

What are his fears?

What is his pain?

What are his wishes?

He seems to be a very polite and well educated young fellow. He projects the image of the genius behind their revolutionary and innovative technology. I don’t even know yet what the technology is. I just read it in his body language and tone of voice.

His Hebrew is fluent, but his non-Israeli name adds another piece to the puzzle .

I know very well that the first step is to establish “rapport” with him, which means “a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well”.

Well, that’s easier said than done. What do I have in common with him? I’m a woman, I’m older, and I absolutely can’t stand small talk.

So, what do you do in such situation? You think of plan B.

There are a few ways to achieve a rapport. Verbal conversation is only one of them.

Another is to mirror body language.

While he gives me a short intro about the division and the project, I busily imitate his body position, mirroring him.

And every time I say something, I use his name, creating a friendly atmosphere.

After a short introduction he asks me to tell about myself and my professional experience, my writing portfolio…

At this stage I start thinking: Ha? Me? Telling about myself? Love it! That’s the fun part!

But then I remember that I’m supposed to talk less and listen more. To learn your customer’s language so you can speak in his tongue to win the deal.

I explain that since I have 20 years of experience it makes sense that he first gives me details of the project and then I will present only my relevant experience.

He says: “with pleasure!” and starts telling me all about the project and the new technology it employs.

I realize that the mood of interviewer and interviewee has gone, replaced by a discussion about a joint project, between two good friends.

Normally at this point in an interview I would fall asleep with eyes open and wait patiently for my turn. But how do I do that now, after achieving good chemistry and having to listen to every word he says in order to find the key to his brain.

I’m listening very carefully to what he says and trying to make secret lists in my mind.

I’m learning his language and planning how I’m going to start a dialog with his subconscious. I’m paying attention to the way he explains the existing problem.

I remain totally silent, which is one of the more challenging tasks for me.

Like a snake before an attack, I’m preparing my venom and then when there is a break in his speech, I’m ready with that one short question emphasizing the perils of the current situation and explaining how destructive it will be for the company to go on like that.

If I had to fight a battle with his brain in logic or mathematics, I would probably lose. But I’m not doing that. I’m talking to his feelings and subconscious and he doesn’t even notice it.

When it’s my turn to talk, I’m using the vocabulary and the body language that I picked up from him.

I can see in his eyes “she understands me!”

It’s less important what I say, as any experienced writer has written many user guides.

It’s the vocabulary that makes the difference! I’m literally speaking his language.

He smiles and says that there is no need for further questions.

I leave the office and realize that the whole process took just 35 minutes and I almost didn’t speak.