Go for the gold, there is no silver in the job hunt

It isn’t the candidate that is the most qualified, but the one who is best prepared for the interview that will walk away with the job offer.

The saying, “close is good enough” is acceptable in horseshoes and hand grenades. Even in the Olympics, you can still capitalize on a Silver or Bronze medal. But when it comes to the job hunt, there is only the Gold. There is only one job and everyone else is just a first place loser. This may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. Career Tracker can be tender at times, but we can also be tough! Now buck up and read on 🙂 

For this reason, you need to practice your interviewing skills as if you were preparing for an Olympic competition (except for a matter of weeks instead of your entire life). Know exactly what you want to convey to an interviewer and practice your answers out loud. Practice on family, relatives, and friends and +1’s. Reciting your answers in your mind may sound good to you but it doesn’t do the same thing as actually speaking your answers out loud. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. 

Job hunt must have

Can you answer these questions succinctly and without thinking? The candidate that can answer the below questions in a polished, natural manner will have a much greater chance of landing the job:

• Why do you want to work for our company?
• Tell me why I should hire you.
• What makes you the most qualified for this position?
• Tell me what you want to do in five years.
• What is your expected salary?

Are we following up after every meeting and phone call?

Even if we are deep into the interview process with a specific hiring company, we should not stop networking or stop submitting applications. The job hunt isn’t over until we have a signed offer. The best thing you can do is land two job offers and leverage the offers against each other. This is not the time to take your foot off the proverbial gas. Go for the gold.

Key Takeaway: Practice out loud, practice out loud, practice out loud! Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for a job! They’d love to help you. At a minimum, the fact that they know you are looking for a job is the type of positive pressure you need to stay motivated because you don’t want to let them down. Get people involved. Play the long game. Don’t bank on the consolation prize and go for the gold.