I’ve been following the stories on the heroic pilot, C.B. “Sulley” Sullenberger and the incredible landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 which was ditched practically in the “backyard” of the Career Solvers offices in midtown Manhattan. Several of the reports mention Sullenberger’s veteran status as a pilot and one news reporter commented that Sullenberger has accrued 19,000 hours of flight time over his career. This fact reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book, Outliers, where he comments that many of the most successful people in the world have gotten to where they are today, at least in part, by accumulating 10,000 hours or more of experience and that experience, coupled with strong communication skills and luck are all contributing factors to success. Sullenberger’s performance today certainly qualifies him as an Outlier in my book. He was skilled enough to know how to handle an emergency, he successfully communicated the situation to the crew and passengers, and he was lucky enough to be on a runway that made the landing in the Hudson River possible. So what does this have to do with job search? Well, a lot of people think that some people are born interviewers….great schmoozers who can talk their way into any job. But I don’t see it that way at all. The great interviewers are the ones who practice their interview strategy and hone their communication skills. Luck does play a part in landing a job, but frequently the luck won’t happen unless you have put in the practice time. And while I’m not suggesting that a job seeker needs to put in 10,000 hours of interview practice to land a job, I am recommending that job seekers take interview practice seriously. Here are a few ways to be better prepared for your next interview.
- Write out your job-related success stories. Craft your stories using the CAR strategy. Think about the Challenges you faced on the job, the Actions you took to address those challenges, and the corresponding Results.
- Review your CAR stories and look for the themes within these stories. For example, do your accomplishments revolve around your ability to create and lead strong teams, improve a process, save money, or turn around at-risk operations.
- Review interview questions and try to match your stories of success to different interview questions. This strategy enables you to link your themes and proof of success to the questions you may be asked and make a more compelling case for your value-add when you are in front of hiring managers.
- Conduct a videotaped mock interview with a trusted friend, colleague, or career coach. The biggest benefit of the taped role play exercise is that it allows you to review what you said and make decisions on where your answers need editing and polishing.
The old saying, practice makes perfect may be a bit cliche, but in life and job search it is often true.