How Do I Get Employers to Pick Me?

Winning job offers is difficult in today’s highly competitive global job market. Your competition is investing heavily to get every possible advantage. To win, you must think about the job opportunity as if you were the employer.

The job opening exists because you need to hire someone to perform the key tasks and work well in specific situations. You start by generating a list of things the person must do and problems they must be able to solve to help you and your team offload some of the work and succeed.

Example: A job opening exists because the employer needs help! The employer needs to create a marketing plan but does not have anyone on staff who is great at statistical analysis. The company has the data. The CEO wants a complete report asap! The hiring manager posts the job detailing the required and desirable qualifications and starts accepting applications.

The employer wants and needs to hire the person who can do the tasks, enjoys doing the tasks (motivation), and will fit in with the rest of the team.

Trained recruiters and hiring managers will ask you questions to find out to what extent you can do the job, want to do the job, and will fit in with their culture and team.

Use Interview Ready to quickly create a set of targeted, behavioral interview questions for each job opening and identify your best stories. Each question contains follow-up questions to help you clarify your answers to make them as compelling as possible.

Practice your answers out loud to gain confidence and overcome any rough spots. Repeat until your answers are fluid, rich in detail, and compelling. The more you remove any doubt or hesitation, the easier you make it on the hiring manager to choose you over the competition.