Seven Secrets An Interview Skills Coach Wishes Job Hunters Knew About The Interview Game – What You Don't Know Is Holding You Back.    As an interview skills coach, I see forlorn clients coming into my office every day, dismayed and beaten down from being rejected from one interview after the next. It really pulls at my heartstrings to see them so defeated. I wish they had called me sooner so I could have helped them avoid all that pain. But here is some good news for you. Here are my top seven fastest-acting and best interview tips so you can avoid what they were going through.    543 words.

Seven Secrets An Interview Skills Coach
Wishes Job Hunters Knew About The Interview Game

What You Don't Know Is Holding You Back

Bill Cole, MS, MA
Founder and CEO
William B. Cole Consultants
Silicon Valley, California

I'm an interview skills coach. I see forlorn clients coming into my office every day, dismayed and beaten down from being rejected from one interview after the next. It really pulls at my heartstrings to see them so defeated. I wish they had called me sooner so I could have helped them avoid all that pain. But here is some good news for you. I am going to give you my top seven fastest-acting and best interview tips so you can avoid what they were going through. Ready? Here we go.

Interview Skills Coach Strategies:

1. Script Your Answers. You must practice the answers you want to give. You cannot make them up or wing it in the interview. Going in with hope as a strategy is a recipe for disaster.
   
   
2. Perfect Practice Is Key. Practice your answers in the car as you drive. Practice at home. Practice with a mirror. Do not practice just in your head. It must be out loud, so you can evaluate your spoken performance.
   
   
3. Target Your Content. Match your interview answers exactly to the job description. That includes your resume. Make a fresh resume for each new position, slanted toward that position. Generic resumes result in generic responses by the interviewer.
   
   
4. First Write, Then Speak. First script all your answers, then practice them using a memory system to represent each answer. If you will be telling a story about your industriousness, condense the entire one-minute story to one word: Industry. That will be enough to jog your memory.
   
   
5. Realize That Some Nerves Are Good. Candidates who believe they should strive to have no nerves become more scared once the nerves inevitably show up in an interview. And believe me, nerves WILL show up. It's how you view them and handle them that makes or breaks you. Don't expect perfect nerve control, and when they arrive, don't get bent out of shape. Take them as a sign of positive activation that it is your body getting you ready, and press on.
   
   
6. Center Yourself. Beyond knowing that having nerves happens to everyone, you need a method of calming yourself and staying in the moment mentally, so you can listen effectively and respond in an intelligent manner. Breathe deeply, sit tall, talk more slowly and be more deliberate about your movements. As your interview skills coach I will teach you dozens of other stress control techniques, but this is the most important one.
   
   
7. Ask For The Job. Probably 90% of job candidates simply thank the interviewer at the end of the interview and leave. Instead, you should make a final statement that summarizes that you are a perfect fit for the job, and tell them, in no uncertain terms, how much you want the job. That way you end on a high note, with passion, and walk out leaving a very, very positive final impression.

Now you are armed with some ready-made strategies you can use to get fast traction on your interview practice and performance. If you need more help, I would be happy to act as your interview skills coach to assist you in polishing your interview skills, style and performance skills.

This article is an excerpt from the Interview Success Guide, an indispensable tool you need to make your interview campaign a big success. This is a 216-page blueprint containing over 400 questions you could be asked in an interview, listed by category. There are over 1200 interview task reminders, questions and guidelines in checklist form so you leave nothing to chance. This guide gives you a step-by-step approach to mastering the interview process. Everything you need to do, from the moment you begin your job hunt to when you accept the position, is covered. We have thought of everything you could possibly need to know to conduct a comprehensive, smart job hunt campaign. Learn more about The Interview Success Guide.


To learn more about how interview coaching can help you improve your abilities in media situations, oral test and exam situations, and job interviews visit Bill Cole, MS, MA, the Mental Game Coach™, at: www.mentalgamecoach.com/Services/InterviewCoaching.html.

Copyright © 2012 Bill Cole, MS, MA. All rights reserved.

Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on peak performance, mental toughness and coaching, is founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps organizations and professionals achieve more success in business, life and sports. He is also the Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association (www.mentalgamecoaching.com), an organization dedicated to advancing the research, development, professionalism and growth of mental game coaching worldwide. He is a multiple Hall-Of-Fame honoree as an athlete, coach and school alumnus, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published book author and articles author, and has coached at the highest levels of major-league pro sports, big-time college athletics and corporate America. For a free, extensive article archive, or for questions and comments visit him at www.MentalGameCoach.com.

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