How to Interview with Virtually Anyone, Regardless of their Style!

As your business / career coach, we’re both in this together, and we both have similar goals… I would like to see you accept a new position or be a part of a new business that satisfies all of your wants and needs, and you want that same position! And as a reminder, as a recruiter, I am certainly a for-profit enterprise. If I am sending you into an interview against five other candidates, I want YOU to get the offer, not any of the other five! So I will always do everything I can to prepare you for that set of interviews, because I want you to beat the competition. Beat them soundly – make it a no-brainer!

But let’s break this down to its simplest components. This is very much like professional dating – the candidate that gets hired will likely be the one that the employer feels the most comfortable with…”the best fit” – as if you were a shoe! That doesn’t necessarily mean the smartest, or best-educated, or tallest…it means the most comfortable.

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So…you have to anticipate what makes them comfortable. Much of this is like making a gallon of paint at the paint store. You may have an idea of what color the employer is hoping to end up with, but what individual hues will combine to make that final color….for example, how important product knowledge vs. personality vs. experience vs. street-smarts is. How can you anticipate what colors to focus on?

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The most important thing to do in an interview is to put yourself in the mind of the interviewer. What specifically are they looking for? What qualities will be important to them? What elements of your background will they care about? Why are they looking to fill the empty desk? Most likely because the bulk of the work that needs to be done by that desk is being done by the manager. The moment you convince that manager that you are able to take the workload off their hands, you are halfway into that desk.

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What questions would you ask candidates for this job if you were the employer? If you were the manager, what would be important for you to find out about the candidate? What fundamental skills are critical? Are personality traits important in this role? Technical skills? What would you consider to be important skills if you were interviewing candidates to work for your own company? How do you find out who is really right for the job? Everyone has different opinions on what is right – but it all ends with one word, as cliché as it is….CHEMISTRY!

Clearly the aforementioned questions have many answers, each of which may be interchangeable and certainly flexible dependent on how the interview is progressing. But a very effective preparation technique is to actually handwrite each of the questions down on a legal pad, and then more importantly, handwrite the answers! You will find that if you write them down, you won't go rambling on and on about how your grandmother was instrumental in your interest in finger-painting, or how your Cub Scout leader taught you management skills. And you will also focus on making a brief, sensible, and articulate answer.

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Remember, the interviewer often cares little about the actual answer, but more so how you go about answering the question, how articulate and to the point your answer is. Typically the interviewer will tune you out after the first couple of sentences, especially if you are not specifically answering the question you were asked. (Picture Charlie Brown's teacher Mrs. Donovan saying "Wah-wah, wah-wah, wah wah wah wah)

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This goes for almost every human interaction you will have in life...anticipate what it is that your partner in the conversation is looking for, do your best to satisfy that within your parameters, and this will likely lead to a positive response, getting you closer to your goals of the meeting/conversation. And in the case of this posting, that goal is to get the offer for the job you've been waiting for all along!

Please reach out to me directly at [email protected] if you'd like a boost to your current career, or a shift into something completely different. After all, business and career coaching is what I have a couple of decades of experience with, using my many years in executive search as a compass to navigate the often treacherous waters of a job search! Connect with me, you'll be thrilled you did!

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Networking in the Win Again Clubroom

The Win Again Clubroom platform is revolutionizing virtual networking because of the “live event” experience it emulates and the ease with which you can meet others and take your businesses and careers to a whole new level!

See why we've had 1000+ impressive athletes, entrepreneurs, business owners and executives attend our Clubroom events which have led to over $1.5 million in deals!

If you haven't been to the Clubroom, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to move table to table, speaking with whoever you want, whenever you want, not being stuck in breakout rooms here!

Develop valuable relationships that become collaborations - it's been such a great way to expand our networks!

For those of you who have, feel free to bring a friend or three who you believe could use an upgrade in their circle of connections!

Read more about it here: https://www.winagainacademy.com/the-clubroom

Our Next Clubroom Event

Raise your hand if you feel you have enough people in your network.?

I usually think I do. But...are they the right people?

One thing I do know...

If you want to meet more of the right people, join the?Win Again?community and?be one of the more than 1000 amazing folks who have attended a previous Clubroom event?as part of the incredible virtual interactive platform that blows away all others.

Join us on?Tuesday October 17th, 1pm ET,?and be a part of our next?Business and Sports Networking event in the Clubroom, just use the link below to register, and we'll see you there.

Register here for Business and Sports Networking in the Clubroom:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/business-sportsnetworking-creat7118102026009399296/

30 Seconds with Mark

Be a lion, not a lamb.

The lion inside of you is the gut feeling that guides you the right way.

Listen to your gut and you'll do great.

Get out there and make your mark this week!

Be sure to check out the Win Again YouTube channel for more quick tips!

Win Again Assessments

Are you ready to launch a new chapter in life, and need the guidance, tips and strategies to truly catapult you forward?

Then let's partner up!

I'm certified in offering valuable assessments that feature Axiology, the study of values.

Wait until you see how they highlight not just your strengths and how to leverage them, but also some of the things that you could use some work on.

Ask to see a sample report, you'll be amazed at how thorough and accurate they are!

Whether you are a graduating student, a seasoned professional, a retiring executive or member of our military, or a current or retired athlete, there are assessments that fit your background and future careers and businesses.

Check out a few of the most valuable and insightful assessments here: https://www.winagainacademy.com/assessments

Reach out to me directly at [email protected].

WIN AGAIN! - The Job Search Playbook

WIN AGAIN! The Job Search Playbook, is filled with over 150 pages of my proven WIN AGAIN methodology, where you’ll discover how to define your true identity outside of being an athlete, plan your path towards an ideal job and business and work towards it. You’ll turn strangers into allies and grow your network as you position yourself for meetings and interviews, negotiate offers, and anticipate your prospective client's or employer’s needs.

WIN AGAIN helps you transition from the playing field to the boardroom. Yes, there’s competition in the corporate world, but you’re used to competing.

You’ve already got an edge!!

You can join the WIN AGAIN social media pages, its LinkedIn Group, Facebook page and follow on Twitter to be able to access exclusive content just for you.

ABOUT ME

Combining my passion for sports and a desire to help others succeed, I founded Win Again, where current and former athletes can discover their identity beyond sports, develop the structure needed to succeed again, and receive the tips, strategies and actionable advice that allows them to WIN AGAIN and be elite in their next great career. Over the past 20 years as a business advisor and career coach, I have guided athletes and executives, holding them accountable during their transition.

The Win Again Clubroom events, "Make Your Mark" podcasts, and MYM Live webinars highlight athletes who are making a positive impact post-playing career, and my book “Win Again!” is a job search playbook for athletes, equipping them with strategies needed to land their ideal job or boost their entrepreneurial ventures.

As a graduate of Colgate University and a longtime Manhattan resident with my wife, kids, and Duke, I enjoy playing ice hockey, softball and golf, along with the guitar and piano.

Reach out to me anytime and let me know how I can be of service!

If you've read this far, many thanks for sharing your time with us at Win Again and have a great rest of your day!

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