Career Transition > Interviewing Strategies

Let’s face it; the job market is tough right now. And for people over 50, the job market is doubly tough. If you’re a mature worker struggling to find a job, you’re not alone. It can be daunting trying to compete with the younger crowd and changes in technology.

What is Behavioral Interviewing? It is an interviewing technique employers use to determine whether you are a good fit for the job. This is accomplished by asking questions that pertain to your past behavior.

When I was asked to write this article on interviewing skills, I was thrilled. The subject of interviewing is one of my favorite career development topics.

There are many questions that plague job seekers. "What salary are you looking for?" is a big one. "Why should we hire you?" is another. And "Why did you leave your last job?" can leave you spluttering if you were fired and don't know how to answer.

Interviewing for a job is in many ways comparable to a sales person making a sale. If you were a sales person and were about to sell a product to a customer you would do some homework or research so that you could convince your customers that your product was the best product on the market to fill their needs.

So you've recently started searching for jobs in your field and have discovered an opening that matches your qualifications and career goals to a tee. The only problem is that you're not sure how to create a specific resume for this job. Don't be discouraged if you feel this way.

The absolute worst way to go to an interview is with the attitude of: “Please, please – hire me.” When you go to an interview with that attitude you appear desperate. And even though you actually may be desperate in a difficult job market, you don’t want to appear that way.

The temptations are there - warm, lazy, casual days, when the shoes of choice are "flip flops." Taking the summer off and getting back into the groove of things when the "kids go back to school" would be very easy. You think to yourself, "Nothing's happening during the summer anyway - everybody goes on vacation during these months."

Are you stuck in the notion that the job interview is just about the job duties - it's NOT! Here is what the interviewer is really looking for. "Can he/she do the job?"

The absolute worst way to go to an interview is with the attitude of: “Please, please – hire me.” When you go to an interview with that attitude you appear desperate. And even though you actually may be desperate in a difficult job market, you don’t want to appear that way.

As difficult as it is to accept - it's time to stop celebrating that grand moment in your life --- the diploma and the graduation ---- and get down to the really hard lessons of life.

It's difficult to believe that employers are still asking this type of question. Don't they read the newspapers or listen to the news? If they were informed, they would know the answer; i.e. jobs are very scarce and difficult to find these days, and unemployment is at an all time high since 1994 - in some areas reaching 14% - 30%. (California and Arizona)

Telephone interviews can be especially challenging because it is difficult to gain rapport with the interviewer when you cannot see each other's body language. Phone manners, clarity of speech, voice tone and the content of your answers increase in importance.

Congratulations! Your cover letter and resume took you through the first stage. Now you're getting ready for the next phase: the interview. A job interview is your chance to sell yourself to the employer. And, as with most things, planning ahead will help you make the most of the opportunity.