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Why Improve My Interview Technique · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Why you should improve your interview technique may seem like a no-brainer to some of you thinking about getting a new job.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And to others, you might be asking, how does my interview technique really matter?
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Surely I will get a job based on my skills, experience and attitude, not how brilliantly I answer questions.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Which approach is right?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we set out nine key factors that go into interview technique.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: How much interview technique really matters in an interview, and at the end of the podcast, we give you a couple of options on how to improve your interview technique.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and I've sat in over a thousand interviews as a hiring manager, hiring at all levels from juniors all the way through to CEOs.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're new to this podcast, enhanced.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers and business owners improve their performance.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like this podcast, please visit us at enhanced.training and share this podcast with friends.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: So back to interviews.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Interviews are time-pressured, highly competitive meetings in which the candidate must convince the interviewer they will be the best person to solve the employer's problems, and the interviewer is trying to find out which candidate can best solve their problems.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because interviews are pressurized, competitive situations, very much like exams we sat at our school, your interview technique does actually play quite a large part in your success or otherwise at interviews.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: We will explain exactly how much and why in a bit.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: First, let's go through what we mean by interview technique.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So just so we're on the same page, we refer to interview techniques as the set of skills and approaches that go into communicating clearly and effectively how you can solve problems for and add value to a potential employer.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: In purely economic terms, if an employer is not sure that you can add enough value, you won't get hired, even if they really like you.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So nine factors we include in interview technique are firstly confidence.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is so important because if you are not confident in what you can do, why should the interviewer be?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Second, demonstrating how keen and excited you are to get the job that you've applied to.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is again super important.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you are not excited about the job and joining this team, they are not going to be excited about hiring you, no matter how good you are.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: 3.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: How you explain the problems you can solve and the value you can deliver.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: 4.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Being clear and concise.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Both make it easier for the interviewer to understand what you have delivered and what you will deliver for them.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: There is nothing worse for an interviewer than trying to decipher the meaning of a rambling story that doesn't really answer the question asked.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've had to do this quite a few times.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, how well you match what you can do to the employer's problems when answering the interviewer's questions.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: 6.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: The quality of your examples to provide proof or create as much confidence as you can that you can do what you say you can do.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: 7.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Show that you have a good range of core skills, such as understanding and solving problems, communication, the ability to get on with others, teamwork, likability, calmness under pressure, etc.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Number eight, showing how you'll fit in to the organisation culturally speaking, i.e.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: how well will your personality fit in with the personalities in the team.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is about being yourself and choosing the right company through your research to apply to.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: As you can see, there is quite a lot that goes into interview technique.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: All of the above, apart from maybe cultural fit, can be worked on and improved before you write your CV and before you go to interviews.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take a look at how important interview technique really is in getting a new job.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Improving interview technique may be a no-brainer to many candidates.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: For the other candidates, let's go through why improving your interview technique is so important.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, improving your job-related skills and experience takes quite a bit of time.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you have got to interview stage, it means your CV will be in the top 10-20% of CVs received and you have suitable job-related skills and experience to do the job that you've applied for.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone at interview should, in theory, be able to do the role.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So what is going to differentiate you from the other candidates at interview when everyone is on s is similar-ish on paper?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: You guessed it.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: The next biggest factor is interview technique.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, sixty percent plus of the difference between candidates is their interview technique.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: The good news is your interview technique can be improved fairly quickly.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Spend a couple of hours a day working on it for a few weeks and you will transform your chances of getting a new job.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: In a survey of 1,500 mid-level professionals, each were asked how long they spent preparing for interviews with the following results.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: 28% spend between 5 and 9 hours preparing for a job interview.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And only 12% spend 10 hours or more preparing for a job interview.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now comparing this to my experience of sitting in over a thousand interviews, from junior positions to CEOs, I would say that about 10% or so of candidates are well prepared and have good interview technique.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: 40 to 50% are okay, and the remainder are poorly prepared or have poor interview technique.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And this applies to all levels.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And you might be thinking that you know the more senior you get, the better interviews you get, because you've simply been to more interviews.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you're absolutely right.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: But don't forget, your competition are in the same position as you.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: As you get more senior, the expectations on your interview technique also rises.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: How good your interview technique is only really matters in comparison to your competition.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So as promised, a couple of options to help you improve your interview technique.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, you need to learn what to do differently, and then, as with not all skills, you need to practice it so you get good at it.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Three different ways to learn what is needed include firstly, read a good book on interview techniques.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: My favourite is Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions by Martin John Yates, which is a great book.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Books give you a lot of knowledge but leave you to work out how to put this into practice.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, take a course to learn interview techniques.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I'll definitely recommend taking a look at our How to Waste an Interview for a proven job-winning methodology.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: The course is packed full of exercises and questions to give you structured and progressive preparation for junior roles through to CEOs.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Just go to enhance.training and click on courses.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: 3.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, trial and error.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: You will need to go to a lot more interviews and reflect on what went well and what didn't go well.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Keep trying out different approaches until one works.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of my early learning was through this approach, and I would definitely recommend a course or a book rather than taking a trial and error approach.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: It really will save you a lot of time.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Whichever route you choose, the work you put into your interview technique will be paid back with less interviews, less rejection, better job offers, and better career progression.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: The work you put in to your interview technique really is worth it.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this podcast, share it with friends and visit us at enhance.training and take a look at the resources and courses to help you get your next job much more easily.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.