For an employer with a job to fill, the selection process is a matter of weeding out the candidates who are wrong for the job, until only the right one is left. For you to be that successful candidate, you have to keep from being weeded out, and that means you must not come across in a way the boss believes is negative.
Consider the boss's problem. He/she must take a group of, say, ten candidates and determine which one will become the new employee. The solution: Find reasons to weed out nine of the candidates, and hire the one who's left. (Unless, of course, none of them makes the cut, in which case the boss must find a new group of candidates and start the game all over again.)
It's a process that takes valuable time, and is costly to the company. The employer is often more interested in solving the problem quickly than he/she is in being objective and fair. Show even the smallest evidence of a negative in your background or your character, and you could find yourself disqualified.
When the boss is all done, there's one successful candidate, and nine who are unsuccessful.
Generally, the person who gets the job, even if there are only two or three candidates to start with, is the one who steadfastly refuses to give the boss a reason to weed him/her out. Bosses tend to play it safe, reasoning that if a candidate has no negatives, chances are he/she can do the job with little risk. You must convince the employer that you have what it takes to do the job, and no negatives that might stand in your way.
Before you can convince the boss you're the right one for the job, you must know what he/she is looking for. Don't try to sell yourself, in an interview or a letter, on the basis of your background or abilities, until you have reason to believe the boss sees them as assets. If the boss sees them as liabilities, you lose.
Don't ever forget, the employer is looking for reasons to disqualify candidates. There are ten of you, but just a single job.
If you make the case that you're an independent thinker, you could be cutting your own throat, because this company has strong centralized management. They want employees who will execute ideas that come from the top. Tell them you think independently and they'll believe you're a maverick. Result: you're out.
Volunteer that you voted as a Democrat, and you may find you"re talking to a staunch Republican who thinks you're nothing but a liberal spendthrift. So you're out.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with being an independent thinker or a Democrat. If they hired you, you'd do a fine job. But until you know something about the preferences of the company and your interviewer, keep such extraneous information to yourself. It means nothing about your ability to do the job, but it can get you disqualified.
Don't volunteer anything about yourself until you know the employer will perceive it as an asset. Until you know what he/she is looking for, keep your own counsel.
If you don't reveal something about yourself, it just doesn't exist, and you won't have to fight to explain it.
Consider the boss's problem. He/she must take a group of, say, ten candidates and determine which one will become the new employee. The solution: Find reasons to weed out nine of the candidates, and hire the one who's left. (Unless, of course, none of them makes the cut, in which case the boss must find a new group of candidates and start the game all over again.)
It's a process that takes valuable time, and is costly to the company. The employer is often more interested in solving the problem quickly than he/she is in being objective and fair. Show even the smallest evidence of a negative in your background or your character, and you could find yourself disqualified.
When the boss is all done, there's one successful candidate, and nine who are unsuccessful.
Generally, the person who gets the job, even if there are only two or three candidates to start with, is the one who steadfastly refuses to give the boss a reason to weed him/her out. Bosses tend to play it safe, reasoning that if a candidate has no negatives, chances are he/she can do the job with little risk. You must convince the employer that you have what it takes to do the job, and no negatives that might stand in your way.
Before you can convince the boss you're the right one for the job, you must know what he/she is looking for. Don't try to sell yourself, in an interview or a letter, on the basis of your background or abilities, until you have reason to believe the boss sees them as assets. If the boss sees them as liabilities, you lose.
Don't ever forget, the employer is looking for reasons to disqualify candidates. There are ten of you, but just a single job.
If you make the case that you're an independent thinker, you could be cutting your own throat, because this company has strong centralized management. They want employees who will execute ideas that come from the top. Tell them you think independently and they'll believe you're a maverick. Result: you're out.
Volunteer that you voted as a Democrat, and you may find you"re talking to a staunch Republican who thinks you're nothing but a liberal spendthrift. So you're out.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with being an independent thinker or a Democrat. If they hired you, you'd do a fine job. But until you know something about the preferences of the company and your interviewer, keep such extraneous information to yourself. It means nothing about your ability to do the job, but it can get you disqualified.
Don't volunteer anything about yourself until you know the employer will perceive it as an asset. Until you know what he/she is looking for, keep your own counsel.
If you don't reveal something about yourself, it just doesn't exist, and you won't have to fight to explain it.
About the Author:
Bruce J. Bloom is the author of the popular job search manual "Fast Track To The Best Job." Formerly president of a New York ad agency, he's an authority on how and why hiring decisions are made in today's challenging job market. Read about his new e-book, "Multiple Job Offers In 75 Days" Click here for article submissions.
