First 60 Seconds: Win the Job Interview before It Begins

290 Pages·2009·4.933 MB·English

by  OverDrive, Inc., Burns, Daniel

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In today’s crowded job market, The First 60 Seconds will give you 6
the tools to best impress in that crucial first minute. You’ll also find out
strategies to constantly differentiate yourself from the competition. From
preparing a credentials package to connecting with the interviewer, you’ll
learn how to successfully set yourself apart every time. 6
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Author Dan Burns has provided consulting and employee placement services
to Fortune 500 companies for the past fourteen years. He’ll show you how to
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tackle:
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3 The 60 Days Before the Interview
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3 The Next 60 Minutes (after the First 60 Seconds)
3 The Close and the Follow-Up o
3 The 60-Month Career Plan
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Whether you’re a new job-seeker or out on the market after years of steady
employment, The First 60 Seconds gives you the best tools to win your next
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great career opportunity.
B 3 Job Hunt During the 60 3 Build Your Case in the Next 60 Minutes
Discover
U Days Before the Interview 3 Win with the Close and the Follow-up
careers $12.99 U.S./$13.99 CAN/£6.99 UK R How to: 3 Impress in the Crucial First
ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1676-3 N 60 Seconds of the Interview 3 Make Your 60-month Career Plan
ISBN-10: 1-4022-1676-9
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www.sourcebooks.com DAN BURNS
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Copyright © 2009 by Dan Burns
Cover and internal design © 2009 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by Brand Navigation
Cover Image © iStockphoto/flavijus
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval
systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that
the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional
service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a
competent professional person should be sought.—From a Declaration of Principles
Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of
Publishers and Associations
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered
trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not
associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.sourcebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burns, Dan.
The first 60 seconds : win the job interview before it begins / Dan Burns.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Employment interviewing. I. Title. II. Title: First 60 seconds.
HF5549.5.I6B87 2009
650.14’4--dc22
2008051385
Printed and bound in the United States of America
DR 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Lori, Katie, and David
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people, without whom this book
would never have become a reality:
• My editor, Peter Lynch, and all of the great people at
Sourcebooks. Thank you for your belief in the idea and the
conviction to see that idea develop into this great book.
• All of the mentors whom I have been privileged to work with
and learn from. I will forever cherish our relationship and
know that your wisdom and guidance continues to influence
me in everything I do.
• Everyone whose path I crossed in all of my business endeavors,
specifically those who gave a young man a chance when no
one else would, with particular regard to my good friends in
Chicago and Dallas.
• My friends, family, and two beautiful children, for their
continual and unconditional love and support. You are all the
best!
• My father and mother, Leonard and Anita Burns, who provided
a supportive and nurturing environment and who instilled in
me the value of hard work, the importance of family, and the
belief that anything is possible.
• Most importantly, my wife Lorraine, my better half and best
friend, who not only does everything possible to bring strength
and stability to our family but also stands by me and with me
down whatever path lies ahead. You are the best.
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Contents
Introduction: It All Happens in 60 Seconds ..................................................................vii
Section 1: The 60-Day Plan
Chapter 1: Overview of the 60-Day Plan ...........................................3
Chapter 2: Assessing and Understanding Your Job
and Career Market ............................................................8
Chapter 3: The Company Profile ......................................................18
Chapter 4: The Job Profile ................................................................23
Chapter 5: Your Personal Profile .......................................................28
Chapter 6: Your Professional Experience Inventory ........................36
Chapter 7: Preparing Your Credentials .............................................43
Chapter 8: Presenting Your Credentials ...........................................60
Chapter 9: Arranging the Job Interview ...........................................71
Chapter 10: Honing Your Communication Skills ............................81
Chapter 11: Preparing for the Interview ..........................................89
Chapter 12: Dressing Up Your Image ...............................................98
Section 2: The First 60 Seconds
Chapter 13: What You Can Accomplish in 60 Seconds .................109
Chapter 14: The Final Countdown ................................................111
Chapter 15: The First Look .............................................................119
Chapter 16: The Greeting ...............................................................125
Chapter 17: The Relationship .........................................................129
Chapter 18: T he First 60 Seconds: Final Thoughts
and Considerations ....................................................136
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Section 3: Managing the Next 60 Minutes
Chapter 19: Setting the Stage for the Interview .............................145
Chapter 20: Summarize Your Qualifications ..................................155
Chapter 21: Continue Developing a Relationship with
the Interviewer ...........................................................166
Chapter 22: Understand What’s in It for You ................................172
Chapter 23: I’m Available! What’s Next? .......................................179
Section 4: The Close
Chapter 24: Post-Interview Communications ...............................187
Chapter 25: The Offer Letter and Employment Agreement ..........201
Chapter 26: Your First Day .............................................................219
Section 5: Your 60-Month Career Plan
Chapter 27: The Future Begins Now ..............................................227
Chapter 28: Goals and Plans ..........................................................234
Chapter 29: Prospecting for Career Growth
and Opportunity ........................................................246
Chapter 30: Preparing Yourself for Your Next
Career Opportunity ....................................................258
Chapter 31: The First 60 Seconds for Life ........................................262
Epilogue : The First 60 Seconds for Life .................................................................... 267
List of Exhibits .............................................................................................................270
Index ............................................................................................................................272
About the Author .........................................................................................................276
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INTroDuCTIoN
It All Happens in
60 Seconds
A hiring manager makes a decisive qualification
of a job candidate within the first 60 seconds
of the time they meet.
That’s it. You have 60 seconds to make the sale of your product and
service (you) and close the deal on your next career opportunity. Are
you ready?
Over the last fifteen years, I have used and developed my skills as a hiring
manager in a variety of business disciplines. Additionally, as an owner
and manager of a successful IT management and consulting firm, I had
the opportunity to work closely with hiring managers to help them make
their employment and hiring methods more successful. Our firm had been
successful in helping clients hire more than one thousand employees and
consultants. I wish I could say that those one thousand hires were the result
of an identical number of candidate job interviews, but unfortunately that
was not the case. A successful hire was sometimes the result of two or more
individual and different candidate interviews. As a result, our company
was involved in coordinating and overseeing more than fifteen-hundred
interviews over a fifteen-year period.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to hire employees in an effective
and efficient manner. It is simply more difficult to find the best-qualified
job candidate from a growing universe of available candidates. Job
seekers share a similar concern in that they feel it is increasingly difficult
to compete for opportunities.
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viii The First 60 Seconds
The Job Seeker Has Taken the Job Interview
Process for Granted
For any hiring employer, the process of identifying, selecting, and hiring a
new employee is as challenging as ever. More time, resources, and budget
dollars are allocated to the task, and the tools and options available for
identifying and hiring new resources continue to proliferate. Employers
always look for the best possible prospective employee among a field of
candidates that in many cases is so extensive and diverse that managing
the process effectively has become quite difficult. Hiring managers are
charged with filling open positions in the most timely and cost-effective
way possible, while at the same time following the rules and guidelines
of the HR department and company management.
For most job seekers, there are three primary activities in the job
search process. The first activity focuses on the identification of new
job opportunities. Second is the submission of a résumé or credentials.
The third activity focuses on the job interview itself. We typically
spend a great deal of time and effort on the first two activities right
away, identifying and narrowing the field of opportunities and then
submitting résumés. What usually follows is a substantial and frustrating
waiting period.
When an individual receives a response from an interested potential
employer, the focus shifts to the interview. Typically the interview lasts an
hour, and the candidate expects that hour to be sufficient for the hiring
manager to find out or obtain everything necessary to select a candidate
for the position.
Our fast-paced lifestyle supports this assumption. While trying to
manage a career and pursue new and exciting opportunities, the employee
is still required to work a full day. Add to that the challenges of our
personal lives—whether we’re striving to be a responsible and involved
parent, visit the gym, or play as a weekend musician—and there’s not
enough time in the day to focus on our career future. If an individual is
out of work, between jobs, or looking for that first career opportunity, the
added stress makes the situation even worse.
The result is troubling. When you pursue new career opportunities,
you try to get your name out there, submit résumés to a few job openings,
then wait for the call. When you don’t get the job, you’re disappointed,
and you wait, frustrated, until the next call comes.
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Introduction ix
This is not the way it should be. We think that if we submit a résumé
and get the interview, there’s a good chance we’ll get the job. Most of
us don’t think about it, but much more should be done—and it doesn’t
require an excessive amount of additional time or effort.
If you want to be successful in reaching that next stage of your career,
you need to respect the hiring process and do everything within your
power to navigate through that process in an effective and efficient
manner. You need to focus not only on the job interview, but also on
everything before and after the interview to ensure your success in the
process. You cannot take the interview process for granted.
It’s Extremely Difficult to Differentiate
When you submit credentials for a position, you’re not the only one
interested in the job. Likely you are one of dozens or maybe even
hundreds of candidates interested in the position. If you’re fortunate
enough to get an interview, you’re only one in a field of candidates
being interviewed.
Sure, you try to prepare a complete, concise, and professional résumé.
Maybe you’ll even prepare a cover letter or introductory email to go along
with the résumé. The credentials go out in the mail or are submitted via
an employer’s online submission tool, and you’re done. That you ever
hear back on a submission is an amazing occurrence, given the unknown
path that the credentials take. You show up for the interview and hope
you have the opportunity and ability to set yourself apart from the other
candidates being considered.
Following this typical approach, you are most likely doing the same
thing as everyone else, and for the hiring manager, it can be impossible to
differentiate one résumé from the next. Getting selected for a job in this
manner is, at best, a chance happening.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Get the Job before the Interview Even Takes Place!
The first 60 seconds of your meeting with a prospective employer are
important, but you don’t really want the success of your job interview
to hinge on a quick 60 seconds. It’s important to look at the job
interview as just one part of a longer-term, larger scope, and multi-
faceted process.
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