Career Guidance: To Get a New Job Stop Talking, Do Your Homework, and More!

Your career is your most valuable financial asset and managing it correctly can earn you millions of dollars in extra income throughout your lifetime. Part of managing it correctly likely means that every now and then you'll need to interview for a new job -- either within your current company or with another employer.

With that in mind, here's some career guidance from Market Watch on how to avoid the number one mistake when interviewing for a new job:

Thirty-six percent of the recruiters said the most common mistake job applicants make is talking too much, according to a survey of 212 of its recruiters worldwide by Korn/Ferry International, a global executive-search firm based in Los Angeles.

But being a big talker often indicates a different problem, said Scott Kingdom, managing director of industrial markets at Korn/Ferry International. "Talking too much is, in some ways, code for not listening very well," he said.

"You always do yourself a service by listening more than you talk. Listen thoughtfully, and when you talk have something meaningful to say on topic, on point," Kingdom said.

Yep. I've interviewed people who've just blathered on and on, telling how great they are, what they want in life, etc. without listening at all to anything about the position, the company or the skills we were looking for. I never hired a person like this.

Conversely, my last boss was known to be quite fond of hearing himself talk. If an interviewee would just be quiet and let him go on and on, that person would always be scored "excellent" by my boss. ;-)

My recommendation is to get as much information before the interview or early on in it (which requires you to ask and then listen) and then weave what you've learned into your responses, using that information to show that you're a great candidate for the job.

The article goes on to list the next most common problems as well:

• The next most common mistake: A lack of knowledge about the company or the position, according to 22% of the recruiters, who are located in various countries.

• Sixteen percent of the recruiters said an overinflated ego is the most common mistake in job interviews, while 9% said appearing overly confident was the top problem, according to the survey.

• Another 8% of recruiters surveyed said inquiring about compensation too early in the process is the top mistake applicants make.

My thoughts on these:

1. In today's environment, with the ease technology provides, there's no reason not to know a bunch about the company before you go into the interview.

2. I think you need to be "humbly confident." I usually state my accomplishments and are sure to include phrases that let the interviewer know that these were completed with the help of others. What he gets out of it: I can get things done, but I know it's not all just me. I'm working with and through other people (which is good!) and also giving them credit (so I'm not an "it's all about me" sort of person).

3. In the past, I've been burned twice by NOT asking about compensation upfront. I was offered both jobs I interviewed for, but the pay was below my current level -- something that would have eliminated the position from consideration at the get-go. Worse yet, these companies knew what I made, yet they offered me less. Now I try to get at least a pay range for the position. If I can't get one outright, I try and get an estimate by saying something like, "I currently make $XX per year. I would need a good/decent/substantial (depending on the situation) increase from this before I would consider making a change. Does this position offer such compensation?"

Comments

[claire]

Thanks, this is timely for me. I have been struggling with when in the process to ask for a salary range. I've certainly wasted my time and other people's time by not asking ahead of time, and getting to the interview and realizing that they're not paying enough for me to consider accepting the job.

This afternoon, I just sent an email to a contact person for a job I'm interviewing for next week, asking the salary range. I hope they don't take it amiss, but I also don't want to go to the trouble (and stress) of going to the interview, only to realize that they're paying only 60% of my current salary or some such thing.

[Matt Laswell]

Great points. I've been interviewing a lot of candidates recently, and I've seen many of those mistakes repeated.

The point about doing research into the potential employer is particularly on point. Many candidates that I talk to these days don't really know what my company does or what our product is. Huh? Wouldn't that be important to you when you're evaluating an opportunity with my company? Especially in high-tech, where I work, that's pretty important. As you said, it's not difficult to do.

I think there's a larger mistake at the root of the lack of research, though: applicants consider themselves passive participants in the interviewing process. Instead, a good applicant understands that they are interviewing the company just as much as the company is interviewing them. To that end, they should do research in advance so that they can get a feel for what the company and its products are about. They should also ask smart questions of their interviewers designed to answer questions like:
- What kind of professional growth is possible here?
- What's the work environment like? Do I fit?
- What's my potential boss like to work for?
- How is the company doing?

I always leave time for the candidate to ask me questions, because this is important. I'm stunned at the number of candidates who simply don't have anything to ask, or who just think up some wimpy motherhood-and-apple-pie question at the spur of the moment. Those candidates who demonstrate interest and some ambition through their research and questions score extra points with me.

--
Matt Laswell

[thc]

I interviewed someone a couple of weeks ago for a position with my firm. When I asked what he knew about our company he said, "Not much really...". He hadn't even bothered to check out our website and this is a six-figure job! Interview over.