Personal Branding and How to Improve Your Chances for an
Offer…not just an Interview.
Your personal brand goes well beyond a resume, a LinkedIn
profile, a Twitter page, or Personal Blog.
From a first impression to a lasting impression, the interview process
is what separates the “boys from the men” so to speak and says a lot about your
personal brand.
The way you dress: Right or wrong, politically correct or not,
you will be judged by how your dress.
Ensure you know your audience, the workplace, and culture prior to the
interview. Believe it or not but wearing
“joggers” or “chino’s”, or Lulu “yoga” pants with flip flops is not recommended
nor a great way to express yourself at any stage of an interview. In more corporate settings, the decision to
not wear a tie or a more conservative outfit in your initial meeting is also
something to consider. Although I can’t believe I’m actually
including this, any “ink” or inappropriate “rings” of any kind should not be
able to be viewed by your interviewer.
The way you prepare: The single most important piece of feedback
we receive from clients on who receives and offer vs who doesn’t, comes down to
who is the most prepared. If you think
you can simply “show up” for an interview…..you’ve wasted your time, the
client, and ours. Keep in mind that
when we present a final group of between 3-5 qualified candidates for an
opportunity, their level of experience, qualifications, cultural fit with the
organization, remuneration expectations, etc. are likely to be virtually
identical or very complimentary to each other. If you want the role, you need to separate
yourself from the rest of the group.
Simply reading a company web site and job description will not get you
the role. You may want to consider
reading press releases, industry news, finding out who their competitors are,
research who you are interviewing with, come prepared with qualified questions,
etc. As an example, if you are applying
to a Digital and Social Media Manager based opportunity, be prepared to discuss
what potential changes you can recommend based on their current digital and
social media footprint.
The way you finish. Simply put…if you don’t’ ask for another
interview, clarify any areas the client may want you to further explain, or do
a “soft close” so to speak, be prepared to walk out the door and never
return. We fully support that part of
the interview process is to “interview the client” per se, however nothing will
change the fact that they want to see a commitment from you. To compliment your commitment, it’s
imperative to make a follow up call and debrief with your recruiter on your
interest level and how the interview went.
If you are not interviewing through a search firm, you need to take the
initiative and either phone, email, or send a follow up “thank you” card (yes
people still do this and it’s very well received), in order to further show
your interest level. Even if you decide
the role isn’t for you, politely decline and leave things on good terms.
Following these three recommendations really relates to
simply being prepared….as you should be with most things in life :)
Allan Welyk
President & Director
ELEVATE Search Group
6th Floor - 777 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7
Phone:(604) 678 5627
Email: allan@elevatesearchgroup.com
Web:
www.elevatesearchgroup.com
Follow Elevate: www.twitter.com/ElevateSearch
People. Solutions. Culture. Results.
Elevate Search Group collaborates and partners with companies to identify, recruit, and retain top-tiered professionals within all levels of leadership and non-leadership careers within business development, sales, marketing, operations, human resource, and supply chain management. Our client profiles range from local, regional, national, and global organizations.
600-777 Hornby Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 2H7
604.678.5627
People. Solutions.
Culture. Results.
