One of the biggest mistakes applicants make is to judge themselves and say too little about them – because they are convinced that they must sell themselves. And they think that good selling means showing that they are fully convinced of their own abilities. But what is the aim of the application? The recruiters need to be convinced by you. And above all, they want to see it for themselves.
The promotion of products and emotionalization of customers by salespeople who are or appear to be convinced of their products and services may work in the sale of inexpensive consumer goods. But even there it is now considered bad selling.
When it comes to investing – and employees are an expensive investment – different rules apply: Recruiters need to be convinced that the investment is worthwhile and will yield a return in the medium to longer term. They want to see that applicants have the skills to do the job successfully.
You tell – recruiters interpret
I discussed this with a customer as part of a job interview training. He kept insisting that he was very experienced in his field and had a lot of the knowledge required for the job. I tried to point out to him that anyone could claim this. He, with his 15 years of experience, rightly claimed that he was very experienced. The applicant with 5 years of experience will make the same claim and she is also right from her point of view. As a recruiter, I cannot make a distinction based solely on the applicants’ assertions. Only when both applicants tell me exactly what they have done and what specific knowledge they have will I be able to conclude as to which of the two is more suitable.
Stories are the raw data in recruitment
Unfortunately, I was unable to convince my customer and was already in despair. Finally, I managed to get my idea across with an analogy:
My client worked in marketing and had a lot to do with data. I asked him to imagine the following: He wants to gain insights into a certain topic and asks his employees to provide him with the relevant figures. Sometime later, he receives a number-based analysis on the very topic he is researching. Of course, he won’t be satisfied with this: he wants to draw his own conclusions from the figures, so he needs data and not an analysis.
Your stories are the data in the interview. Stick to the following role allocation: As the applicant, you use storytelling to provide the information that the recruiter interprets in terms of job relevance.
Or as marketing specialist Seth Godin puts it: «In order to be believed (…) you have to tell a story, not give a lecture. (…) The process of discovery is more powerful than being told the right answer…» (Book: «All marketers are liars tell stories»).