Overcoming Objections Before, During and After the Interview.

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The Mr Job Tracker Job Search Learning and Coaching Program. (Resume writing, interviews, everything your Job Search needs) Helping you to get the job you want .... faster. Mr Job Tracker (thinkific.com)

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Along the road to getting your next job, you will meet many kinds of barriers. Some of these come in the form of objections that Hiring Managers might raise, which could stop you moving further through a particular recruitment process. Sometimes these barriers are spoken and obvious, sometimes implicit, sometimes subtle, and sometimes illegal. You may encounter these objections in a face-to-face interview, or at other times you may be able to anticipate objections before they arise.

Your challenge is to identify these barriers and try to set them aside in a way that enables you to remain under consideration. Sometimes you will not be able to achieve this but, with the right responses, you might be surprised how you can overcome some objections and stay in the race.

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Some tangible objections:

Lack of industry experience. The job is too senior for you. The job is too junior for you. We cannot meet your salary expectations. Not being a good fit for the team.

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Some intangible objections:

Too old. Too young / not mature enough. Not showing enough motivation. Did not research the company enough. Job history unstable.

Gender.

Race. The list could go on. The point is that there may be many reasons why someone makes the judgement that one candidate is more suitable than another. On some occasions those judgements can be counteracted in an appropriate way. Let's look at the sequence of when those judgements may occur.

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Objections Before the Interview.

Some of these can be anticipated in general and then anticipated in relation to a particular job advertisement. For example, for candidates in an older age group, one can assume that there may be some prejudice against you because of your age. On the other hand, some aspects of a job advertisement when examined in relation to your background will identify some skill gaps that could be raised as an objection.

In relation to the age objection, which will never be stated for legal reasons, you might "de-age" your resume and LinkedIn profile by removing early career experience and removing dates from your qualifications.? Another response to age prejudice is to emphasize the depth of your experience, your ability to learn things quickly and inclusion of favorable referee information in your application.

In relation to skills gaps, you have the choice of not mentioning these at all in your application or talking about the "elephant in the room". You could say that "although I do not have skills in ABC, I make up for it in terms of XYZ other skills, I am a quick learner and in fact I am studying to bridge that gap right now with online training". You can almost always find basic free online learning opportunities on most subjects.

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Objections During the Interview.

This is the hardest of the three categories because it requires active listening and quick-thinking. Some suggestions here may provide insights and approaches to handle these objections.

Remember that convincing someone that you can do a certain job is simply another form of selling and although as a job applicant, you do not necessarily see yourself as a salesperson, it is sometimes useful to think about it this way. If you search on the Internet, you will find many sales models for overcoming objections. Here is a simple model that you might consider.

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Listen ~ so that you are sure you understand what the real objection is.

Validate * ~ and clarify the objection by feeding it back to the interviewer and seeking further information.

Respond ~ by attending to the objection with evidence or information.

Check ~ to see that an understanding has been reached.

Repeat ~ the above loop if necessary.

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*? Validate – Here you will indicate respect for the interviewer and the importance of the objection by acknowledging it. This also, works to compliment the interviewer and diffuse the possibility of getting into an argument about the issue.

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Here are two examples using this method.

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Firstly, in relation to a clearly stated objection:

Interviewer: Your experience is impressive but selling machinery via distributors to farmers is a lot different to our part of the industry selling stock feed to farmers. I think we need someone that understands our industry segment better.

You: I think you're right (validation), it is a significant gap in terms of learning product knowledge and the fact that machinery sales are a big capital investment and stockfeed is more about the ongoing relationship and service quality (feedback). Is that right or are there other issues I should understand about the gap in my experience? (checking)

Interviewer: Yes, but there is also the bio-engineering element of our product which makes for an extremely complicated and very important knowledge set.

You: I can see why that is important (validation). Would it make a difference if I committed to studies in the biochemical area? I could find some courses and run them by you to get your opinion. Do you think that would keep me in consideration? (response).

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This second example is of a possible unstated objection:

You (thinking): The interviewer keeps coming back to questions about my ability to close the sale, possibly reflecting a concern about my sales assertiveness.

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You: I wonder if I can elaborate on one particular aspect of my experience that I think is pertinent to my understanding of the job?

Then you proceed to talk about your selling skills and give an example of when you used those skills in a particularly challenging sales situation.

In the above instance, you are providing evidence to overcome objection without identifying the issue. This is very different to saying, "I can see you are concerned about my ability to close the sale", a statement which could expose a potential weakness about which the interviewer may have had no concerns.

Sometimes, it may be appropriate to draw out an objection by saying:

Is there anything else in my background about which you want further clarification?

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Are there any reservations you have about my ability to do this job at the performance level required?

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Objections After the Interview.

I always recommend that you follow up in some form, after the interview. Very few candidates take advantage of this opportunity.

I also recommend that you reflect on the questions you were asked and the answers you gave as soon as possible after every interview. This is a learning experience, but it may also identify a stated or implied objection that you did not recognize during the interview. There is an opportunity then to write a follow up email along the lines of:

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Dear ….....

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Thank you very much for taking the time to consider me for the position of XYZ. I enjoyed our discussion, and I would like to restate my enthusiasm for the job.

I have been thinking about what you said in relation to the ABC problem, and I have thought of an example from my background that explains more deeply my capability in relation to that issue.

(Here you will follow up with a short paragraph explaining your experience with the ABC type of problem and possibly give the interviewer an example of how you handled that issue.)

I look forward to a further opportunity to learn more about the position.

Yours Sincerely

Jennifer Musgrave

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Overcoming objections is an important part of the selling process in any commercial transaction. It is the same when you are going for a job opportunity. There will be barriers for you to overcome, sometimes you’ll see them and sometimes you won’t. Thinking through the issues and anticipating the barriers could be the thing that helps you tip the balance in your favor.

That’s all for now? ….? Have a great week.??????????????????????????????????????????? Phillip Powell

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The Mr Job Tracker Job Search Learning and Coaching Program. (Resume writing, interviews, everything your Job Search needs) Helping you to get the job you want .... faster. Mr Job Tracker (thinkific.com)

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