Prepare For Interviews That Convert To Offers

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tool that guided you through a series of high impact interviews that lead to a competitive offer?

The candidate who is both qualified and develops the best rapport with the members of the hiring team is the candidate who lands the job. Building rapport goes beyond just being friendly. It also involves being engaged throughout the interview process as someone the hiring manager can imagine being successful in the role. To set this vision of future success, you’ve got to be prepared, asking smart questions and demonstrating your interest in the success of the organization every step of the way.

That’s why we’re providing you with a guide that you can print and take with you to interviews to help you document your conversations, guide your discussion, keep track of your notes, assess the opportunity, evaluate your offer and more!

When this lesson is complete, you will be prepared for success in your next series of interviews.

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Course Curriculum

Step 1: View our course video
Step 2: Begin by reading pages 63 and 75 – 98 in The Top Candidate Playbook and complete the exercises within
Step 3: Download the Interview Companion and Track Your Progress Spreadsheet (attached below)
Step 4: Print and start completing the Interview Companion before you participate in your first interview and use it as a guide throughout the process
Step 5: Utilize the Track Your Progress Spreadsheet to keep track of your applications and interviews and thoughts on each opportunity
Step 6: If you need help completing  this assignment, view options below under Personalized Support
Step 7: Keep your notes on one place by going to My Coaching File > Coaching Journal > Job Search | Course Notes
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Personalized Support

private LinkedIn group: join in and connect with other online coaching program participants to share thoughts, ideas and opportunities
resume reviews: connect with Nicki Massman and request your free resume review
graphic design services: request a quote to turn your traditional resume into an infographic or custom designed resume
career coaches: view a list of career coaches recommended by your peers, each with their own unique specialty services
where to look for opportunities: view our list of job boards, places to network, associations to join, executive search firms and more
for students & young professionals: take a look at the resources we’ve prepared just for you
for future entrepreneurs: start here when you’re thinking of freelancing, consulting or starting your own business

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Get Strategic About Getting Your Foot In The Door For An Interview

If there is a company and opportunity that you really want, imagine being in the hiring managers shoes and having them hear your name from 8 different sources that they  respect and trust. This is the “secret formula” that one recruiter uses to land the jobs she wants when she’s on the hunt. She says, “You can’t help it.  If eight people recommend someone for a position, and they are people highly respected by the hiring manager, that hiring manager can’t imagine hiring anyone else.” Keeping this philosophy in mind, how many people do you know at the organization you want to work for or who are friends, former colleagues or clients of the hiring manager who can put in a good word for you? How do you know who they know? You can look up common connections on LinkedIn and Facebook and other forms of social media. Would you like a form to rate the quality of your connections? Take a peek at page 62 in The Top Candidate Playbook.

Sources Of Salary Information

• Glassdoor – tip: a figure will pop up, but that may be completely “off” for what you can expect to make for your location and the type of company you are hoping to work for. If you scroll down that page a little, you’ll find examples of salaries by company. See if you can find a salary similar to the organization you’re hoping to work for to give you a sense of the range of what they pay. And, of course, if you can find the title for the company you are applying for and can view the salary range, that will give you a really good idea of what you can expect to be considered fair compensation at their company.
• Indeed.com
• Payscale.com
• Linkedin.com
• Business Associations – The Digital Analytics Association, as an example, has a discussion thread in their members section where participants have shared numerous sources of salary information for specific analyst types of roles.
• Fearless Salary Negotiation – book
• Know Your Value – website by NBCnews
• Salary Database – requires registration, but it’s free (geared toward women, but an incredible resource no matter what your gender)
• Friends / Colleagues  – why not ask someone you know who works at the company or a company similar to the ones you’re pursuing what type of salary range they  think you should expect for the work you’ll be doing if hired. They’re usually more than happy to help you. This is not asking a blunt, “What do you make?”, but instead asking for their opinion on what they think you can expect to make. And then, of course, they sometimes will tell you what they make and if they do, that’s another great data point.

Post Your Resume Where It Will Be Captured By AI (Artificial Intelligence) Technology To Expand Your Reach:

• Stella – 50 Fortune 500 got together to create a source for resumes to tap when searching for people with specific skillsets (highly recommend)
• NOTE: Dock.io – this resume repository changed their mission entirely since March of 2019 when The Top Candidate Playbook was published. At one point, dock.io was a repository for resumes similar to Stella, however, my understanding is that it was geared toward the recruitment software community who needed to tap an AI-search-for-candidates solution. You see, at one point, they were able to tap LinkedIn to access resumes and it was cheap. Then, one day, LinkedIn cracked down. New privacy laws may have had an impact, but LinkedIn now offers recruiters all kinds of solutions to find candidates with unique skillsets and those recruiters pay a lot for access to that information. At the same time, LinkedIn maintains control over the information that is shared.

Student Resources: 

• Tips and Tools For Students and Internships That Ignite Your Career