The same technique can be used to demonstrate your competencies. Again, return to the skills summary page in Chapter 2. Find examples of how you demonstrated three of those essential competencies and describe them here. They need not have been used in a work setting. All that's important is that you have an example or
anecdote about how you used them in the past.
Competency 1 .. 3__________________________(name of competency)
Q statement:
Q Statements for Your Gift
Refer again to your skills summary page and see if you can be
even more specific about how you've used your gift. Again, it's not necessary that you used this skill in a work setting, only that you can demonstrate it through some concrete example.
Your gift:3__________________________
Q statement:
Excellent work! Believe it or not, you are almost ready for your interview. The next chapter will give you a few more helpful hints on preparation before you stride into the interviewer's office.
Research: What Separates the Hired from the Not Hired
An Interview Is Like a First Date
Have you ever been on a first date with a guy who talked only about himself? With a woman who never asked you any questions about your life or your interests? This person just blabbed on about himself or herself until the end of the evening, when you were relieved that it was finally O-V-E-R. Unless you were interested in getting to know an egomaniac, it's likely that the first date was probably the last.
An interview is a lot like a first date, in that displaying interest in the other person (in this case, the company) actually makes you more attractive to the person. It's flattering if you ask the person questions that allow them to "brag" a little bit. It's a pleasant surprise to the other person if you show that you actually know a little bit about some of the things that are important to him or her.
Why Research a Company?
This chapter will present a deep well of resources from which to plumb information on just about any company, large or small. Besides enabling you to "flatter" the interviewer, there are at least six central reasons to research a company before you step into the interview:
1. To find out whether or not it's a place you want to work
2. To discover what skills the job or the company most values
3. To ferret out as much as you can about the company culture and mission in order to align some of your competencies to fit the company's style and goals
4. To impress the employer when he or she asks: "Tell me, what do you know about our company, and why would you like to work here?"
5. So you can make intelligent queries when the employer asks you: "So, do you have any questions about our company?"
6. To give you an advantage because your competitors for this job are not researching the company to the degree that you're going to
All the Information Is Right at Your Fingertips
Think you'll never find out anything about Company XYZ because it's too small, it's highly secretive, or it doesn't have a Web site? Think again. There are people who have full-time jobs gathering information (including information about extremely private topics, like salaries of certain employees) on just about any company you can imagine.
You can locate facts and opinions about companies in a number of ways:
• From company Web sites
• Through other research on the Internet
• From proprietary, or "for-fee," databases
• From public, or "free," databases
• From one-stop job centers around the country
• In public libraries, from their books, periodicals, and computer databases
• From the interviewer, during the interview itself!
Can you think of any others? When you put your mind to it, there seem to be countless ways to gather information if you have just a couple of hours and the inclination to hunt for it.