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April 09, 2007
Cues for Connecting With a Job Interviewer
In his submission to the eSight Networking Forum a
couple of weeks ago, eSight member Jeremiah Taylor
wrote this comment:
“In all situations, an engaging, outgoing personality
is a great way to connect with people. So,
when interviewing, use your personality
like a tool. The more positive the conversation the
less your disability matters! Employers want to hire
individuals who have the necessary skills, but they
also want to hire individuals who are positive,
pleasant and fit into their work environment.”
Jeremiah’s comment caught my attention because, I, too, believe a job seeker needs to learn how to quickly establish a connection with an interviewer. Of two candidates, both with similar skills and experience, the person who can make the interviewer feel
comfortable during the conversation has a much greater chance of getting the job -– even when disability is thrown into the mix.
In preparing for a job interview, however, I often
overlook this task of tailoring my presentation to the
way the interviewer prefers to hear and learn new
information.
Quickly deciding how to “speak” the interviewer’s
language while describing your strengths is not easy,
but it can be learned. You need to make some
assumptions about the interviewer’s style, key values
and motivations -- largely based on observation of
physical clues (the person’s appearance, demeanor,
energy level and body language) as well as word choice and intonation etc.
The following two articles give you tips about how to
take a more educated guess at “reading” a hiring
manager (and his or her company). Those tips can help
you establish a meaningful dialogue during an
interview -- a conversation which will help both of
you decide whether you are a “good fit” for the job
you are considering.
Go to: “How to ‘Speed-read’ Hiring Managers.”
Go to: “Match Your Temperament With the Corporate
Culture of Prospective Employers.”
As these articles show, “reading” an interviewer’s
style, values and motivation is not easy.
That’s especially the case when, due to a visual impairment or other disability, you may not immediately recognize clues which are helpful in making spur-of the-moment assumptions about the person interviewing you. Those cues sometimes point to the most effective way for showing how you can help ease a pain or attain a gain for the company or organization.
Our new discussion question on eSight’s Networking
Forum is this:
As a job candidate, what cues do you use to quickly
decide how to best connect with an interviewer?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Jim at April 9, 2007 06:51 PM
Comments
Although I am visually impaired, low vision, I amy still often miss the cues that Jim is refering to. However I do believe going into just about any situation whether you're dealing with a client or having a job interview or talking to someone you do not know well in your network, it all comes down to the same thing. Yes personality plays a good part, yes preparedness and rehearsal play an important part as well. But your self-esteem and how you feel about yourself and your capabilities plays the biggest role.
If you slouch in, shake hands limply, mumble answers or get defensive within in the first five minutes you've blown the interview no matter what your skills are.
Having a healthy positive self-esteem exudes confidence about your ability to do the job , handle the barriers as well as your worthiness.
Being confident but not arrogant , having ' manners' give you the aura of being a consummate professional in your field . Atititude and I mean your's not the employers' is the key.
If you exude confidence, enthusiasm, are dressed professionally , are articulate about what you can do and how flexible you can be and are well mannered as well as use your personality to personify the above , you'll have a good interview and you may indeed get the job.
It comes down to that golden rule you learned , treat others as you wish to be treated.
You may not get that job , but you will be remembered and they may refer you to someone who will hire you.
You really do hold the choice in your hands.
Posted by: Liz S at April 12, 2007 05:42 AM
As a visually impaired person it is hard to catch body language or other cues like mentioned in this article. I try to be dressed appropriately and answer the questions in a positive way and to my best ability. I would like to know if a job developer goes with you is it right for them to force a employer to give a blind or visually impaired person a job? If there is hesitation on the employer's mind isn't best to try to work them out instead of making more of a problem if the job developer forces something that might not be th right match? I want work but I don't want the job developer to make it rough for me after they leave the scene and cause the employer not to know exactly what to do even if I try hard to work with them on accommodations.
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Posted by: kerry Smith at April 20, 2007 02:20 PM
I don't think anyone can ' force' anyone to hire you , Kerry. You want to be hired because you possess all the qualities the employer wants, not because someone is forcing him/her to hire you.
Not sure if it is wise for a job developer to attend the interview with you, as an amplicant you should be able to do that on your own I would think. The developer might take you and sit in the waiting area while you interview and might give you pep talks before and after the interview, but I don't think it's kosher being in there with you. If you're applying for the position you need to sell ' you' not the job developer.
Posted by: Liz S at April 21, 2007 01:01 PM