As an Executive search firm, we have the honour of interviewing many candidates across different genres, great academic qualifications, robust work experiences, global career positions etc.
But, there is one thing across all of these, that sets one person apart from the crowd!
It’s something to do with charisma, it’s a little about the way that person makes you feeling like emulating him/her, and a lot about them making you feel like you’ve been buddy s forever. Whatever the exact ingredients, if we all could get the recipe correct, many more of us could have been millionaires!.
That’s what you call the ‘X’ Factor!!!
So how can you use your X-factor in the job interview to help you win recruiter’s votes?
1. Let your talent shine & be seen/heard
Recruiters for top-level jobs want to hire talent. They are never going to pick the person who is mediocre. And yet many of us are uncomfortable allowing our talent to shine. We tend to get overly modest and are embarrassed to talk about personal success and the results we’ve achieved. But in the recruitment game, being humble won’t get you a job.
There is a big difference between being excited by your successes and goading about them. We can easily limit ourselves by worrying we will appear too loud. But the exuberance of someone who has just won an award is charming. The trick is to let this energy and emotion sparkle in an interview. Be delighted with your national award, tell your interview panel how honoured you were to be recognised for your hard work, let your enthusiasm show.
Be able to explain your role in the success.. Again, your energy here is key – you need to show you are an inspirational leader.
2. It’s all about you on that day.
Love it or hate it, interviews are all about your performance on that day. There are no retakes, no edits.
Many recruiters work on a points system in interviews. Questions are developed to see if you fulfil what would be required of you and then you are scored to see if the answers you give meet or exceed those requirements. On that day, It doesn’t matter what you had written on your application form. The scores at the interview is what counts..
Take stock of your nerves: A bit of adrenaline is useful, too much gets in the way. If you know interviews make you freeze it’s worth taking action, and measures to control anxiety.
Most interviews will have set questions, take a while to think what you would ask if you were interviewing for the job. Practise your responses including for the obvious ones like why you want the job, where you see your career developing etc.
3. Make that Connect!
In order to have the X-factor, you will need to give a little bit of yourself. Without the human side, some candidates can appear like an answering machine
Be honest about your mistakes, but say how you learnt from them, show you are resilient and resourceful and most importantly try to give something that connects with the recruitment panel.
Your CV, application form, covering letter or resume should all reflect the language that the recruiter is using. This helps you connect with the recruiter and lets them know you will fit in. This is all about tailoring what you say to fit the audience.
Speak the same language – make sure you connect with your written application
Speak adult to adult. This is a job interview, you haven’t been sent to the headmaster’s office. Don’t be cowed by some perceived hierarchy, talk as if you are talking to your peers.
The overall thing to remember about X-factor is that everyone has a different perception and opinion of what it means to them. That means you really can’t fake it. So when someone hears you are going for a job and offers the platitude ‘just be yourself’, that really is the best advice in the world. Just be yourself, offer some of your personality, let your talent shine through and you can’t go wrong