How do you convince someone you deserve a job you’ve never done before? This question has plagued college graduates and career-changers, who have learned to expect a polite “we’re looking for someone with more experience”. How can anyone get experience if no one gives us a chance to…get experience?
Instead, we learn to dress smart, pursue high-status internships, expand our professional network, print resumes on card stock, or whatever in vogue “hacks” are floating around currently – all standing-in for the experience we’re lacking.
What if, instead of using gimmicks to draw attention away from our inexperience, you instead addressed the issue that makes experience so important: can you actually do the job? Experience isn’t a 1:1 predictor for success, we’ve all had terrible coworkers with a wealth of experience. You should establish yourself as the obvious choice for any job by focusing less on the interview itself (and the pageantry involved in “gaming” the interview) and instead showing an understanding of the outcomes that this job is seeking to achieve and confidently committing to those issues.
They have a problem
One of the most common mistakes when interviewing for a position you feel unsuited or under-qualified for is treating the interviewer like they’re doing you a favor. If you want to start your interview in the worst way imaginable, act like you’re not even sure if you should be there in the first place. You don’t want the interviewer to see you as seeking charity, because that’s definitely not how they’re thinking about this interaction.
Think of them as a customer in desperate need of a service. We know they’re in need because otherwise you wouldn’t be seated across from them. Something undesirable will happen if they don’t fill this position. The in-need department will fall further behind, they’re going to have to work extra to make up for the missing staff, things are going to fall further into disarray – whatever it is, you can be sure it’s something. Everyone that’s ever been in your employer’s position has walked into an interview with these silent prayers:
- “Please let us keep this one.”
- “I wonder if they can help us hit this deadline?”
- “We need a higher caliber of employee.”
- “I’m desperate, I can’t keep doing the work of two people.”
Their presence in that room, across from you, tells you something. They’re looking for help, and you might be the person to give it to them. And as far as they know, you are that person. They want you to be that person, if for no other reason than they can stop looking.
Understand how this position is going to help your boss
The only question that matters is: “How are you going to make my life easier?” And unfortunately, you won’t be asked that directly, so it’s your job to figure out the right answer without being asked. How does this job fit into the organization? If the perfect person was hired for this job, what would they get done? Before the interview starts, start out by asking your potential boss about their responsibilities and the priorities that they’ve set for the department. Ask them to tell you about the company and how your department fits into the larger organization.
If you get this job, it won’t only be for what you can do*,* it’ll also be for what your boss won’t have to do. Are you going to help them hit their performance goals? Are you going to keep them from getting annoying calls from customers? Are you going to take care of the projects that they’ve been procrastinating? This is another reason why looking at them to “give you a chance” is the worst approach. They’re not in the “taking a chance” mindset, they’re in the “giving you work that won’t bounce back to them” mindset.
Before the day of the interview, ask if you can get a copy of the company’s business plan or a list of objectives in the company’s three year plan. What big objectives is the company trying to hit? Try to put together enough information to get a picture of what sorts of problems/pain points your future boss is trying to solve.
Make a bold commitment
You know they have a problem. You have some idea of what you can do to solve their problem(s). Now your job is to find a way to show them that you’ve been paying attention.
“Based on what I’ve learned about the company and our conversation, it seems to me you’re looking for someone who can commit to [specific outcome]. I believe I’m the best person you’ll find because [reasons] and I’m willing to be held accountable to hitting that benchmark.”
They have a problem, and you have something that can solve that problem – namely a particular set of skills. It’s that simple. If you find a way to cut to the heart of your boss’s anxieties and pain points by focusing on their key objectives and goals, you’ll show that you have the one thing better than any amount of experience – an “x-factor”.
Interviews are as much about psychology as they are about the fancy “tell me about a time when” questions you’ll be asked. People make hiring decision based on “feel” and “x-factors” far more than they hire the clear-cut best person for the job. On most days, I’d say that’s a negative not a positive, but it’s something you can use to your advantage. By understanding the fears and anxieties of the person making the hiring decision and speaking into those areas confidently, you’ll give them relief and comfort that with you by their side, they won’t have to worry anymore.
You’ll differentiate yourself from all the other candidates who look, sound, and act just like you. You’ll turn yourself from a “if only you’d give me a chance” person to a “I’m the only person that has taken the time to understand what you’re wanting to get done” person.
Good luck out there.
-Patrick