So you got the interview: Congratulations!
Now all you need to do is get past the interview and start working.
If you’re like some people, the interview may be the hardest part. Let me tell you a story about one of the biggest interview mistakes I ever saw.
I used to be involved in business with a guy I will call “Tom” (not his real name.) Tom was one of those people who threw off ideas the way a dog throws off water. Sadly, he didn’t always do so well when it came to the execution. He was one of those tall, handsome guys who just oozed charisma. He also had a case of foot-in-mouth disease that had to be seen to be believed.
This particular story goes back over ten years now, back when people were just beginning to start seeing the potential of the internet and everyone was still on dial-up. Tom had the bright idea of creating an internet directory for local hotels. It may not sound like much of an inspiration now, but it was a fairly new idea at the time.
So he pulled in some favors and got the chance to do a presentation at one of the biggest and most prestigious hotels in the city.
Sounds great so far, doesn’t it?
Well Tom managed to blow this opportunity in a SPECTACULAR fashion.
This was a tourist destination city, one of the top ten in North America, so there were at least half a dozen first-rank hotels and well over a hundred in the city itself. Not bad numbers for a city of less than half a million population.
The problem, came with Tom’s delivery. Every time he used a hotel as an example he used the oldest and most famous hotel in the city; NOT the one we were making the presentation for.
Needless to say, we didn’t get the contract.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know exactly what happened. He forgot the first rule of freelancing; show how you can benefit the buyer.
This hotel manager didn’t want to know how things could benefit his competition, he wanted to know how we could benefit HIM.
When you go into an interview you need the same mindset.
You have to show how what benefit you’re going to give the person you want to hire you.
I know we’ve been hammering this point home over and over so much that you may feel your head’s level with your shoulders by now.
But it’s an important thing to remember.
We’ve talked before about preparing for interviews and asking questions while you’re in the interview. One thing that you have to always focus on when making up your questions and doing your preparation is that you’re asking questions relevant to this job.
One thing about freelancing, especially on oDesk where buyers are anonymous until you start the interview process is that you never know when you might be dealing with someone’s direct competitor.
It just so happens that my partner works in the IT industry. One day I got an interview request from oDesk and of course I followed up.
After the interview I was talking with my partner, and discovered that the company I had just interviewed with was their direct competitor, so you never know when you may be dealing with that kind of situation.
After all, think of it from the buyer’s perspective: If you’re going to be so helpful for their competitor why don’t you go work for them?
Don’t make the mistake Tom made.
It’s all about the buyer, and there is no more important time to keep that in mind than when you’re in the interview. This is where they make the decision to hire you, and you want to do everything you can to make sure that they do make that decision, rather than moving on and deciding to hire someone else.
Great advice. Always remember who you’re selling yourself to and adjust your gameplan accordingly.