Interviewing Tips: Your First 60 Seconds

by Mitch Byers :: July 24th, 2008 :: Posted in Interviewing to Win |

“Quick, tell me who you are and what you do in less than a minute.” This is the topic of Barbara Rose’s article, Learn to Sell Yourself in 60 Seconds. A three step strategy is used to develop an effective “elevator pitch”:

1. Say who you are
2. Say what you do
3. Say why you do it better

Rose suggests avoiding generalities like, “I enjoy helping people.” [More...]

Job Interview Tips #51: Incorporate the Law of Six to Get Hired

by Mitch Byers :: July 7th, 2008 :: Posted in Interviewing to Win |

In a recent job interview seminar, a participant asked the following question: “Should I send an email or a thank you note?” My response was, “Send both.”

The reason for sending both correspondences is based on the Law of Six, an effective sales conversion model. The goal of the Law of Six is to convert an influential buyer into a client. In the job interview process, you can personalize the Law of Six to convert your influential buyer (the hiring manager) into a client (your boss).

The Sales Cycle
We all have a built in resistance to change. An effective sales person understands how to maneuver around or penetrate our protective shell. In the sales cycle, The Law of Six presupposes that a buying decision is made after six or more encounters. Our resistance becomes softened with each encounter until we reach a tipping point – we agree to try the product or services or sign the service contract.

It is natural for us to we work through a number of events to assimilate information and then make an informed decision. A hiring manager works through a similar cycle. They need an appropriate amount of information and time to make their hiring decisions. After all, accurate hiring decisions are one of their most critical tasks.

The Interview Cycle
In sales, the Law of Six is used to preplan six points of contact. Using the same formula, let’s see how we can work with the Law of Six during the interview cycle. Plan on utilizing at least six points of contact from the following list with every hiring manager to penetrate their protective shield.

1. The Hiring manager reviews your resume.
2. Complete a telephone interview with the Hiring manager. Often, a recruiter or human resource representative completes the first two steps before forwarding your resume to the Hiring Manager for review.
3. Complete your first face-to-face interview with the Hiring Manager
4. Send a follow-up email to all who were part of the interview process.
5. Mail a letter to all who were a part of the interview process.
6. If appropriate, or requested, email or mail a sample of your work. This may be a project plan or strategic plan, a work flow diagram, a spreadsheet, an informative PowerPoint presentation or a written example of your work. Be careful not to share proprietary information from your current or former employers, especially if they are a competitor of the incumbent company.
7. During the interview, ask about their time frame for making a decision and appropriate next steps. Follow-up with a phone call on the agreed upon day.
8. If required, complete your second face-to-face interview with the hiring manager or other decision maker
9. Repeat steps 4 and 5
10. Continue to follow-up every 5 to 7 business days until a hiring decision is made

The Law of Six requires your commitment and follow through. Here a few examples to get you started.

Email
Following your face-to-face interview, send an email to the hiring manager highlighting one or two of your core competencies. As an example, “Cindy, thank you for visiting on Tuesday regarding the project management position. I appreciate you sharing details of the upcoming logistical projects and the challenges in South America. The work completed for South American governments, complemented with my 14-year career in logistics will provide the ability to hit the ground running. I look forward to our continued conversations. Sincerely, David.”

Letter
A brief, but thoughtful and well-crafted letter is also mailed following your face-to-face interview. A few days later, the letter arrives at the desk of the hiring manager. Their name is spelled correctly and you did not botch their title: Director of Operations of the Americas. In your email, you mentioned your South America exposure and 12 years logistics experience. The letter will also highlight areas of expertise that are relevant to the position. Your letter might provide an overview of one or two of your most successful projects and how the results benefited the company. As an example, you were entrusted with an 18-month, $23.6 million manufacturing and distribution project that incorporated the launch of upgraded logistics software. The project was envisioned to provide a 14% to 18% increase in productivity and reduce back office head count by 10%. Your expertise in the industry and strong vendor relations pushed the company beyond projections to realize a gain of $19.5% productivity gain, reduce back office 12% and increase potential manufacturing capacity up to 16%. The goal of your letter is to help the hiring manager “see” you being successful in a professional environment.

Implementation

• As you plan your Law of Six activities, also incorporate a tracking mechanism. You may have four or five job opportunities in play and it will be easy to unintentionally skip a touch point. Tracking your activities on a spreadsheet will assure your plan provides maximum benefit.
• Request a business card from each interview participant. You will need email addresses and proper titles to effectively implement your campaign.
• Your phone follow-up on the agreed upon date is an important component of the Law of Six. During the interview, ask what time fame is appropriate to follow-up and then respect their answer. Also, ask if it would be better to call in the mornings or afternoons. They will appreciate this small gesture and you will increase your odds of reaching them.

The Law of Six is a powerful concept to enhance your job search. It is a step-by-step guide to keep you in touch, stay on top, and not get lost in the shuffle. The Law of Six is one of many important strategies to incorporate in your job search. Numerous other interviewing strategies can be found in the Third Edition of InterviewRX and SalaryNegotiationsRX.