Is it YOU Or…? Interview Success Demystified

I see a lot of clients who get discouraged by constant rejections in the job application process or even get through to interview stage but there are no offers. The sad thing is – they start thinking that something is wrong with them, whereas essentially the reason is something completely different:

1)   There is a miss-alignment between the candidate and the role – that could be in the area of competency and technical skills, soft skills, personality fit, etc

2)   There is a miss-alignment between the candidate and the company – values, culture, preferred behaviours, vision, mission and goals;

3)   The candidate can be under-qualified or over-qualified for the role

4)   The candidate could be applying because of the wrong reasons – desperation, just need the job, being driven only by higher monetary rewards, trying to resolve personal problems by changing jobs/careers, etc.

5)   The candidate may not know how to prepare adequately –due to lack of awareness around own strengths and weaknesses, motivations and drivers, life and work values, etc. How he/she is coming across in written communication, on video, in person..

6)   The candidate may not know how to position herself/himself strategically – what are their unique selling points, how do they add value to the company?

7)   The candidate may lack interview skills and experience

8)   The candidate may not understand fully the industry or the role

9)   The candidate may lack self confidence and presentation skills, due to previous rejections, or could suffer from general anxiety, worry and nerves, exacerbated by the pressure to perform…

10) The interviewer may be unprepared, tired, not trained in interviewing techniques, etc

11) The company is not very clear on the role they have available and/or the person specification…

12) Well done for reading thus far! ?

…AND YOU GET THE GIST – THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON….

So, rather than keep being sucked into this whirlwind thinking (that may be keeping you up at night?) and wondering where YOU did wrong…give yourself a break! It is all about alignment – get in touch so I can show you what I mean. Remember – the result of an interview is the reflection of how you did in that interview (and all of the above influences), NOT of who are as a whole person and it IS NOT a measure of your self-worth!

While in the tech world it’s undoubtedly a way to do things, can it be applied to life, and in particular, career choices and a longer-term career strategy?

Opting for a portfolio career or a gig career doesn’t mean that you have to live and work unconsciously and be tossed around by the waves of external circumstance and pure chance. Why not be clear on what you want, what you love and what makes you fulfilled and then pursue that? I will tell you why not – because it takes time and effort and involves assessing parts of your persona or character that you’d rather not, and often it takes you out of your comfort zone. You definitely cannot do this with a hack!

I sampled various articles and publications with titles like ‘The 9 things you can do to instantly turn around your career’ or ‘7 Secrets to success that are often overlooked’ etc, you get the gist. Some do offer genuinely interesting and fresh advice, but it seems call it a ‘hack’ to get more traffic to their article which devalues their content. Others supposedly offer new ideas – hacks, tips and tricks – but they appear to be tried and tested strategies ‘re-branded’ as hacks.

Sure, hacks are easy to apply (probably!) and may bring short-term relief and improvement. However, they totally ignore any deeper issues, limiting beliefs, entrenched habits or patterns of behaviour that require implementing a lasting change. And lasting change they do not bring. Let’s look at an area of life where people want speed or a hack, like weight loss More often than not, the weigh will return (yo-yo effect) just as quickly. When you treat just the symptom, the root cause will remain untouched and the quintessential problem unresolved.

Going back to that generational issue, I would like to ask Generation Y and Z whether they all want quick fixes, quick solutions, or hacks? This is what a young client recently told me, ‘I don’t believe in self-discovery. I look at my career the way I look at dating, you try and fail until you figure it out and find the right one.’ I am all for learning from failures, I truly am, but why switch through dozens of careers if you can learn what you want with just one or two. My young client didn’t realise that jumping around in her career, following opportunities without a clear direction and self-awareness would most likely result in a CV full of short bursts of employment or projects. No matter how much we are in the gig economy era, recruiters will still look with a suspicious eye at a CV which has a dozen or so stints of employment. This can seriously jeopardise your career prospects and your fulfilment in life.

If we avoid the deeper work on ourselves, we just skim the surface of life, deluding ourselves that this trick or that hack can sort us out. Taking shortcuts will inevitably prevent us from experiencing some of the most rewarding moments in life, deep learning which brings true fulfilment and growth. If you are using hacks as a starting point to explore the possibility of change – good for you! Don’t stop there, go deeper. Embrace life and growth with an open mind and open heart and your life will love you back.

Jelena Radonjic

Career Fulfilment Coach

www.whatwork.co.uk

Filed Under: Flow and creativity, Knowledge, Self-Discovery, Tools and Resources, Uncategorized