You Don’t Have To Be The Most Qualified To Get The Job.
Sometimes it may seem like everyone else is more qualified than you and that is why you never get the job. One thing that people sometimes forget is that part of your interview and the decision making process is you and your attitude, not your skills. There may be people who are better or who have more experience than you and are interviewing for the same job. You may have people that are less qualified but are fast learners and you could have people who are equally as qualified but are good creative thinkers and fun for the interviewer to be around. You never know who the competition is, but what you do know is how well you did. Making a great impression on someone and building a bond with the interviewers can speak wonders to an employer and help you get the job.
If someone who has more skills than you, but is arrogant or unfriendly, and you go in with enough of the right skills and are able to develop a bond with your interviewers, you may beat out the over qualified person because you fit in. Fitting in socially with a company is almost as, if not just as important as your skills themselves. You can have the most qualified person in the world in a role, but if they are rude to other employees or to full of themselves, they could disrupt the entire office making everyone else less productive. If the person running the interview gets any sort of feeling that you may not fit well into the company’s culture, then you may have removed yourself from the running. Fitting in not only helps to keep the office running smoothly, but doesn’t disrupt the rest of the workplace.
If that person would get hired, sure their role may increase in productivity, but everyone else’s productivity and performance suffers. The person could go in with an attitude and start treating people like they are beneath them. They can also make everyone else feel inferior and no one in the higher ranks may have a clue that the rest of the team’s morale is dying off as many people are afraid to speak up. Because the more qualified, but arrogant person may ruin the morale of the rest of the team, this is why the person who was a little less qualified but could do the job and can be a great fit socially within the company may get the job.
Often times a hiring manager will be down to just a few candidates to choose from. Creating that bond during the interview and doing things like following up with a thank you for an interview letter can help you stay in the mind of the hiring manager. More importantly, when the decision maker cannot decide between the candidates, you may be chosen because you are the one who can get along with people in the company and built the bond with the interviewers. So what are some things that you can do to help build a bond and make a good impression?
Try to not be nervous.
If coffee makes you jittery, drink water or something that won’t make you more nervous than you are already. Although it is a formal meeting, try to think of it as a conversation with a friend or co-worker so that you can help to put yourself into a better mind frame. You still need to be professional and remember that since you have never met the person before they are not your friend, so keep it like an interview, but picture the person as your friend.
Use your manners.
Remember to thank the person for the interview. Don’t slurp coffee or chew with your mouth opened and make noises if you are at a lunch time interview or if you are offered candy or snacks. You also want to spit out your gum before you go into an interview and either leave your cell phone in a safe place like your home or your car, or turn it off during the interview. One of the most important things to remember is that you are in a place of work, not at home. Do not put your feet up on chairs and if you have a brief case, place it next to you on the floor if no one else has one on the table or desk. You are at a formal meeting and need to impress the person. Manners and being polite go a long way.
Use your surroundings to make conversation that is relevant to the interviewer.
If you are interviewing in the person’s office, look to see if they have anything in common with you. If there are pictures of a city you have been to or like going to on the walls, ask about them or mention them. If you see sports team merchandise there, bring up something positive about a game they played. If you notice they enjoy hobbies or playing sports and you like the same ones, you may want to ask them how long they have played for or bring up your own stories about that sport with an example when answering questions during the interview. You do need to be cautious though because even if the person is interested in the same things, you could scare them off or reveal things you shouldn’t with your stories. Use your own judgment during the interview on if you think it could help build a rapport with the interviewer or if it can hurt your chances of landing the job.
Building a relationship with the people who interview you and showing that you will fit socially into the company is a huge part of the interview. Even if you aren’t the most qualified person for the job, you may be the person they are looking for because you can do the job and also fit in with the company.