All of us have been there.
We've gone through three or four interviews, and we've told our spouse that we have this new job in the bag.
Then, we don't get called for several days.
Just as our suspicions start to rise like bad stew in the back of our throat, we get a nice letter in the mail.
"Dear So-and-so, We have decided to hire another applicant.
Thank you for applying at Mega Corporation.
Good luck in your future endeavors.
" Oh, that is enough to break your heart.
So you call your buddy on the inside at Mega Corp to find out the inside scoop.
Turns out the guy they hired doesn't have a Master's Degree like you do.
He has never been the manager of a department before, and he has been unemployed for the last six months! Why would this corporation pick someone much less qualified than you? You had everything they asked for in the want ad, you had the advanced degree, the experience as a manager, and you thought you did well in the interviews.
To answer this question, we have to understand hiring from the management's point of view.
First of all, when they place that ad, they put in things that they would like to have in an applicant.
But good managers don't hire just based on degrees or qualifications.
They are looking beyond the checkpoints they listed on the job board.
There is only one qualification that will make a knowledgeable manager hire an applicant.
There is only one question that must be answered "yes" in the interview.
"Can this applicant make us money?" If you can answer that unspoken question in the interview, you will get hired every time.
However, if there is any doubt, the manager will continue to seek out applicants until he or she finds one who can answer "yes" to that question.
This is why a well run company never allows HR to make the final hiring decision.
The folks in HR are only allowed to throw out applicants who don't measure up to the printed requirements.
By the way, always avoid HR and go straight to the hiring manager, the one who has the power to say yes.
How can we instill confidence in the hirer that we can make money for the company or firm? The best way is to research the company and the department.
Use your network.
After you get to know what the manager needs, write a plan outlining how you will help the company and department grow either the top line through sales, or the bottom line through efficiencies and reducing waste.
Monetize yourself.
In your plan you need to show that you will bring in around four times more money than the cost to hire, train, and pay you.
This is an average that many managers shoot for.
This kind of research and planning will boost you ahead of all the other applicants.
Never go to an interview under prepared again.
With insider knowledge and a well thought-out plan of action, you make yourself into an instant star.
Blow back the manager's hair by showing your initiative, your planning abilities, and by demonstrating your expertise in your written plan.
We've gone through three or four interviews, and we've told our spouse that we have this new job in the bag.
Then, we don't get called for several days.
Just as our suspicions start to rise like bad stew in the back of our throat, we get a nice letter in the mail.
"Dear So-and-so, We have decided to hire another applicant.
Thank you for applying at Mega Corporation.
Good luck in your future endeavors.
" Oh, that is enough to break your heart.
So you call your buddy on the inside at Mega Corp to find out the inside scoop.
Turns out the guy they hired doesn't have a Master's Degree like you do.
He has never been the manager of a department before, and he has been unemployed for the last six months! Why would this corporation pick someone much less qualified than you? You had everything they asked for in the want ad, you had the advanced degree, the experience as a manager, and you thought you did well in the interviews.
To answer this question, we have to understand hiring from the management's point of view.
First of all, when they place that ad, they put in things that they would like to have in an applicant.
But good managers don't hire just based on degrees or qualifications.
They are looking beyond the checkpoints they listed on the job board.
There is only one qualification that will make a knowledgeable manager hire an applicant.
There is only one question that must be answered "yes" in the interview.
"Can this applicant make us money?" If you can answer that unspoken question in the interview, you will get hired every time.
However, if there is any doubt, the manager will continue to seek out applicants until he or she finds one who can answer "yes" to that question.
This is why a well run company never allows HR to make the final hiring decision.
The folks in HR are only allowed to throw out applicants who don't measure up to the printed requirements.
By the way, always avoid HR and go straight to the hiring manager, the one who has the power to say yes.
How can we instill confidence in the hirer that we can make money for the company or firm? The best way is to research the company and the department.
Use your network.
After you get to know what the manager needs, write a plan outlining how you will help the company and department grow either the top line through sales, or the bottom line through efficiencies and reducing waste.
Monetize yourself.
In your plan you need to show that you will bring in around four times more money than the cost to hire, train, and pay you.
This is an average that many managers shoot for.
This kind of research and planning will boost you ahead of all the other applicants.
Never go to an interview under prepared again.
With insider knowledge and a well thought-out plan of action, you make yourself into an instant star.
Blow back the manager's hair by showing your initiative, your planning abilities, and by demonstrating your expertise in your written plan.