Be yourself during the interview and find the right company candidate fit

							Be yourself during the interview and find the right company-candidate fit


Your résumé was impressive enough to be picked up from a pile of hundreds
for a second look. You have the required experience and skills, so now
they'd like to meet you and see what lies beyond the carefully
orchestrated résumé you worked so hard to complete.

Bing: Tips to calm your nerves

So why isn't the job just handed to you on the spot? You're qualified for
the position. Your presentation was flawless. But the important question
is, who are you, really? How does your résumé translate into personality,
work ethic, company culture and the ability to work effectively with the
existing team? This is what the interview is really about.

Many job hunters are bogged down by the myth that they should go into an
interview as a rigid, professional, almost inhuman version of themselves.
They think they should put up a front, leave their real selves at the
door and suck up at every available opportunity. Did you ever think that
the company brought you in because they want to get to know the real you?
Be genuine, be honest and yes, be yourself, as scary as that might sound
at times.

The direct approach wins.
Sarah Connors, staffing manager at Waltham, Mass.-based staffing agency
Winter, Wyman, offers a great example of how far honesty can take you.

"When I was first out of college and not sure where I was going to start
my career, I had an interview for a sales position," she says. "The
interview was going quite well, and I was selling the hiring manager on
why I had what it takes to be a great sales person. He asked, 'What makes
you the best person for this job?' I stopped mid-interview and said, 'You
know, I think you could find better. I am brand new to the area, I've
never done 100 percent cold calling, and I'm just not hungry enough for
it right now."

Oh no, she didn't. Well, yes, she did, and it didn't turn out so bad.

"He was shocked," she admits, "but also impressed. He told me he had
never had someone be so honest in an interview and wondered if I would be
interested in meeting with the operations side of the company instead. I
interviewed with operations the next day and had a job offer the day
after."

Show enthusiasm and build rapport.
Craig Vived, CEO at Denver-based professional staffing firm Vivalta Inc.,
says the interview is essentially about two things: confirming the
credentials and skills a candidate has stated on his résumé are accurate
and gauging whether the company and the candidate would be a good
personality fit.

"Consider how you will handle any objections the hiring manager might
bring up," Vived suggests. "For example, if the interviewer is concerned
you don't have enough experience doing X, reassure him or her that while
it is true that you don't have a ton of experience in that area, in your
last job you didn't have a lot of experience doing Y and you learned very
quickly, exceeding your previous boss's expectations."

Show enthusiasm for the position, and let your personality shine through,
he suggests. After all, who wants to bring on board a highly qualified
applicant who is uninterested in the actual job and doesn't really want
to be there?

"Remember, it is just as important for you to be yourself and strike a
rapport with the interviewer to ensure you are a good cultural fit, as it
is to answer every question to perfection. You never want to come across
as mechanical and overly rehearsed."

Change your interview mindset and relax.
Laurie Haskell, assistant director in the Office of Career Planning at
San Francisco's Golden Gate University, says, "You want the employer to
hire the real you, not a phony you."

If you are hired under false pretenses or due to a cooked-up personality,
imagine trying to live up to this fantasy, day in and day out, if you do
get hired, she says.

Haskell says there are two key ways to be yourself during an interview
without crossing professional boundaries.

"Change your mindset. Most interviewees focus on the fact that, during
the interview, they will be evaluated by the employer. Try to think of
the interview as a two-way experience -- it is just as important for you
to evaluate the job and the company," she says. "Once you truly believe
this, it is easier to be yourself, because you have nothing to lose."

The second key is so simple, but often overlooked. Just relax.

"A guided visualization done in the days before an interview ... or a
deep breathing exercise done just prior to the interview can help,"
Haskell says. "It is hard to be yourself when you are nervous and tense.
Being relaxed also makes it more natural to show your true self via body
language, eye contact and facial expressions."

Haskell says creating this shift of power in today's tougher-than-tough
job market can seem daunting, but your ability to do so will go a long
way for the effectiveness of your interview, and your chances of being
hired.

Act like the best-behaved version of you.
It's easy, really. Be honest and genuine. Listen, show enthusiasm and be
respectful. Be you, albeit the version of you who doesn't curse like a
sailor or make offensive jokes only your friends will find fascinating.

You will be amazed by how much more successful the interview is when you
are not working so hard on remembering this interview Joe Schmo you
rehearsed in front of your mirror. Answer questions to the best of your
ability, but never exaggerate. Be open and willing to admit failures and
celebrate accomplishments. Companies want to hire people with brains,
emotions and personality. Otherwise, they'd cut the interview process all
together and haul in the robots.

In the words of Joni Daniels, an organizational expert, speaker and
consultant based in Baltimore, "Bending yourself into a pretzel in order
to make the other person want you tends to backfire. It's easier to
honestly connect when you can."