Jin Liou, Lead Lighter, October 10, 2001
Interviewing Coaching for Success
Classes cover:
- An initial mock (trial) interview, video-taped for review
- Understanding the individual components of an interview
- Building on the first impression
- Crafting the stories for the background and job qualifications
- Practicing answering questions with stories and examples
- Building listening expertise
- Discussing focused career goals within potential company
- Asking the interviewer thoughtful questions
- Putting it all together
- Extra focus: spreading your brand online
Methodology
In the first session, we have an informal interview with some of the main questions interviewers initially ask of the prospective employee. A video is produced that the client takes home; we focus on the answers to the questions as well as on the body language and confidence the client conveys in the interview.
A great part of the training is devoted to crafting the stories and examples clients use to make their points memorable; after all, they are competing with many, very qualified people also interviewing for the same job.
Then we focus on the overall impression the client will make by looking at:
- Clothing
- Body language
- Language (accent improvement and clear enunciation practice)
In addition for the international (foreign-born) clients, we analyze the differences between a US interview and the one common in their countries and talk about adaptation points.
Clients leave the training with the knowledge that they portray an image of confidence when they interview and that they are in a good position to be hired.
Length
The length of the sessions depends on the urgency of the training. Ideally 6 sessions will give clients a good foundation on which to build, but fewer, and very directed, focused sessions will also bring excellent results. Most of my clients really focus and work on their self-presentation as well as on their stories, so we can put the whole interview together quickly. At the end of the sessions, we make another video and analyze how to hold on to the improvements and make them work in the interview.
