Job Seekers: How To Interview After COVID-19

1. Build Rapport With Your Interviewer

During your interview, make sure you build rapport with your interviewer (and with anyone else you meet during the hiring process).

Companies are focusing on cultural fit more than ever. One hiring mistake can throw off an entire office dynamic and decrease productivity. That's why interviewers will judge you based on whether or not they think you'd be a good teammate in addition to a high-performer, especially when times are tough.

Be positive, respectful, understanding, and interested in what the interviewer has to say. Ask genuine follow up questions to show you're listening.

Also, remember that the interviewer could be new to interviewing and might feel awkward. Try to make him/her feel more comfortable by smiling, mirroring his/her body language, and thanking him/her for the opportunity. Little things can go a long way in terms of making a great first impression.

2. Demonstrate Why You'd Be A Great Investment

You are a business-of-one. In the hiring process, you need to demonstrate why you'd be a great investment for the employer. What skills do you bring to the table? How will you save or make the company money?

Even though the company is hiring, it will still likely have some PTSD from the COVID-19 crisis. Perhaps the company lost a lot of money or had to cut costs drastically to stay afloat.

As a potential candidate for the job, you'll need to justify your cost of employment. Most job seekers don't know that it costs an employer between 130% to 140% of their salary to hire them.

So, think about the problem you can solve for the employer, and how the job you're pursuing saves or makes the company money. Then, share examples from the past that demonstrate your ability to do this using your skills and expertise.

3. Explain How You'll Deliver Value As Soon As Possible

In order to explain how you deliver value, you need to know exactly what you do and how you do it. During a job interview, let the employer take a peek inside your brain, to help them get a better idea of how you would perform certain tasks that the job opportunity entails. You can accomplish this by answering behavioral interview questions with the STAR technique.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, you'll also need to explain how you'll deliver value as soon as you start on the job. It takes time for new hires to get up to speed and start adding value when they join a company. During that time, the organization is technically losing money on the employee because he/she is still learning the ropes. Show them that you have a plan in place to get up to speed quickly by sharing a 30-60-90 day plan during your final interview.

Use the information you learned about the job, the company goals, and the team structure to create an onboarding plan for yourself. This will show the employer you're serious about the opportunity, you've done your homework, and you're excited to start contributing to the company as soon as possible.

Preparing for your next job interview? Download our FREE list of common interview questions today!

With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, job seekers need to change how they interview. After COVID-19, the key to getting hired is by conveying these three things to employers.

Your career will survive this crisis. You just need to stay proactive (and remember to work it daily!).

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