Page 147 - How To Sell Yourself

146 How to Sell Yourself
“What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made professionally?” Turn it around. “I once trusted a person more than I should have. His actions hurt both me and my business associates. It taught me to check people out.”
“Don’t you honestly believe you’re overqualified for this posi- tion?” If you believe the interviewer’s perception is wrong, you might try, “Not unless you’ve got a lid on the job, the salary, and the responsibility that I’m not aware of.”
A job interview is a one-on-one situation, and just as the inter- viewer is sizing you up by the signals you send, you can size up the company by carefully observing his signals. Is he open, consider- ate, and courteous? Or is he closed, uninterested, harsh, or even hostile? It won’t take you long to figure that one out. And if the latter is true, you’d probably rather not work for the company he represents. In fact, he may soon be out of a job.
It works!
For several years, I’ve done many programs for the training arm of Arthur Young, now Ernst & Young. As I was working on this book, I got a letter from Alice Rice, one of the breakout leader trainers who had worked with me on dozens of occasions. Here’s what she wrote:
Dear Arch,
I began working with Colleen (a job search consult- ant) in February of 2001 when I determined it was time for a career change. After about three weeks of working to prepare a resumé, build my campaign, and identify pro- spective employers, Colleen decided it was time for a mock interview. I had been trained by the best for the best in presentation techniques. To my surprise, I was nervous and anxious about the 20-minute video we were going to tape to allow a critique of my interviewing for a new job.
As Colleen was asking me questions related to “your best experience,” “what you are most proud of,” “what can you offer my company,” etc., I kept some very simple thoughts in mind. All of these came to me through my training with you. From the time we met in May of 1988,