In the latest in a series of original blog posts, we look at the specifics of what you need to put across at interview. Things always look more manageable when we break them down into smaller chunks -- the question is, how do we do this with a job application?
Approaching a job interview is a daunting prospect. What are they going to expect from you?
There are a thousand and one things you can do to prepare yourself for the interview, but the good -- or bad -- news is that there’s not a lot you can do about the interviewers’ expectations of you...
So, more importantly, what do you want from them?
Think about what you need: a precise idea of what you want from a job, so that you can go into an interview confident that this is the job you really want.
Broken down into manageable chunks, your application needs to consist of your responses to 5 important factors:
Performance ~ what exactly can you do? What skills do you want to be able to
showcase in a job?
People ~ whom do you want to be working with? Whether it’s the clients or
customers you want to serve, the colleagues you’d like to work
alongside, or your ideal boss, the ‘who’ of your intended job is
very important.
Place ~ where do you want to be working?
&
Pace ~ what speed do you want to be working at? (These ‘P’s go together --
they focus on the environment or atmosphere of your ideal workplace.)
Proposition ~ the most important factor: what is your pitch to the company? What
are your unique selling points? What do you have that other people
lack, and that this company needs?
If the situation at the job you’re applying for doesn’t match any one of these factors, you need to do some serious thinking: is this the right job for you?
If not, however impressive your CV or resume is, and however much experience you have, you may just be wasting their time -- and, more importantly, wasting yours!
