QUESTION FROM A SUBSCRIBER:

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Dear Michael,

Recently, I had a telephone interview for a project manager job. I was well-prepared with intelligent questions about the company and the position, and I thought the interview went okay, but I did not get invited for an in-person interview. I now have another telephone interview coming up with a different company. Is there anything I can do to come across stronger and make the cut?

Thanks,

Robert


RESPONSE:

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Robert,


Thanks for your inquiry.

You did the right thing with preparing intelligent questions. You may have interviewed okay and just had a lot of competition. When many qualified candidates are applying for the same position, sometimes it only takes a small advantage to come out ahead. In Olympic races, the difference between first and second place is often less than a second.

In your upcoming telephone interview, try to keep the hiring manager talking about themselves and their needs. If the phone interview is 30 minutes, shoot for 25 minutes of keeping them talking about themselves and their needs. Bear in mind you are selling, and in sales you always want to “lead with need.”

When the conversation momentarily comes around to you and your abilities, you might consider using an online career web portfolio to strengthen your presentation. This type of tool can help you differentiate yourself from the competition and obtain a personal interview.

A career web portfolio is a web-based showcase of your key career skills, talents, and accomplishments. It gives you a universally-accessible, compelling presentation of your most significant strengths and achievements.

During your telephone interview, you and the hiring manager can browse your career portfolio web site at the same time. You can use your online portfolio to illustrate key points about yourself during the conversation and demonstrate your value to the company.

When the hiring manager sees graphs, charts and other images in connection with the phone interview they did with you, you’re essentially using advertising psychology to create an even more powerful impression.

Psychological tests have proven that people remember 11% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 27% of what they see, and 52% of what they hear and see. As you co-browse your career web portfolio over the phone with prospective employers, you can show and explain your achievements. This approach can yield over 400% more impact than reading text copy alone, with the result being more interviews.

Although any good web designer can create a career portfolio web site for you, we recommend a company called Power Talent. They’re experienced at creating career portfolio web sites and they have a staff of people dedicated to doing this. Plus, they will work with you one on one to come up with a compelling presentation. To find out more about career portfolios and Power Talent, go to this web address:
http://www.JobSearchInformation.com/portfolios.htm


This article was provided by JobSearchInformation.com.  For additional career resources, please visit http://www.JobSearchInformation.com.