By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
EP 3105 Don’t try to sell yourself with a long list of skills. This strategy fails you. In this straight-forward, no-nonsense episode, we share the one key shift you must make to get the results you want.
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Hey, welcome to our explainer. Today, we’re going to talk about a huge mistake that a lot of people make during job interviews. This is a mistake that can completely change the interviewer’s perception of you.
We’re talking about a complete mindset shift that, honestly, could be the difference between getting the job and not getting the job. Let’s start with a very simple question. Imagine you are sitting in a chair across from the hiring manager.
What are you actually selling? Really take a moment to think about it, because your answer to this question will pretty much determine your entire interview strategy. Now, if you’re like most of us, your gut reaction is probably my experience or my skills, you know, my qualifications and my appearance, and that feels like the right answer, but actually that’s the number one mistake people make and it completely misses what the interviewer is really looking for. This is the biggest difference.
You see, most candidates get stuck on the left side of the screen, listing only their qualifications. But those who got the offer were right, they were selling their work. Getting that little pivot is the whole key.
So let’s break down what it really means. OK Let’s talk about what I like to call resume recitation mistakes.
You know what I’m talking about, right? At this time, the interview becomes a live reading of your resume. You’ve listed your skills and reviewed your work experience, and you’ll probably bore the interviewer to tears. It feels natural to want to sell your qualifications, doesn’t it? I mean, you worked really hard for that degree.
You invest time into this certification. You have ten years of experience, but here’s the thing. The interviewer already knows all this.
Why do so many interviews?
They read your resume. Just repeat it to them. No new value is added at all.
Okay, let’s flip it over and look at it from the other side of the table. Why does just listing your qualifications seem so mundane from their perspective? What’s going on in their heads when you do this? Oh, this sentence says it all. No? It really comes across as bragging when all you talk about is how qualified you are.
Without any substance, the interviewer will ignore your voice because you’re not answering their real unspoken question, which is what can you actually do for me and my team? Which brings us to the big solution here. You need to start selling what you actually do rather than selling yourself on paper. This is the powerful transformation we are talking about.
Go from just listing qualifications to demonstrating real tangible impact. So, what exactly are we talking about when we say results? It’s actually very simple. Results are the measurable, tangible results of your work.
It’s not like I manage a team. It is said that I increased the productivity of my team by 15%. No, I was involved in the marketing campaign.
I helped increase sales leads by 20%. See the difference? This is your effect. Think about it.
Employers hire people to solve their problems and create value. So when you talk about your past results, you’re giving them cold, hard evidence that you’re the one who can do that for them. You speak their language, the language of influence.
Now let’s look at why it works so well from a psychological perspective. It’s not just about giving them evidence. This is to help the interviewer’s brain connect the dots and really start to imagine you being successful at their company.
This is where the real magic happens. When you say, in my last job, I streamlined a process that saved the team 10 hours of physical work every week. When hiring managers hear this, they’ll think about more than just your previous job.
No. In their mind, they already imagine that you can save their team 10 hours a week. You’ve just realized your value, which is incredibly powerful.
LinkedIn’s #opentowork post
So how do you actually do this? It’s easy. Just use this simple three-step formula. First, state the results achieved.
I increased customer retention. Next, detail your actions by creating a new feedback system. Finally, to highlight the impact, it reduced customer churn by 5% in just six months.
Achievements, actions, impact. This is your game plan. Well, let’s wrap it up with the most important things.
First, your goal is to sell results. You are more than a list of skills. You are a collection of achievements.
So focus on these accomplishments and be very aware of the impact your work has had. When you do this, you’re actually helping the interviewer see that you’ve earned the position before you even receive an offer. Ultimately, every interview is an opportunity to tell a story.
You can tell a boring story, a story about your qualifications that, honestly, are already on your resume, or you can tell an exciting story about your results, a story about impact, about accomplishments, about the value you will bring. The choice is yours. So what story do you want to tell?
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About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
People hire “Big Game Hunter” Jeff Altman to provide no-nonsense career advice around the world because he makes so many things in people’s careers easier. These things may involve job search, recruiting more effectively, managing and leading better, caregiver transition, and advice on solving workplace problems.
He is the producer and former host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 job search podcast on iTunes with over 3,100 episodes.
Don’t act desperate!
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