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whoa tough scary stressful job
interviews in many ways are similar to
public speaking and for the same reason
because just like public speaking
job interviews create a lot of
nervousness a lot of stress and just
like with public speaking when we get
stressed when we get nervous our
communication ability are speaking
ability even our thinking ability they
all get worse and so it's very easy to
go into a job interview feel nervous who
and do a terrible job to it terrible
performance in the interview now many
ways job interviews can be even more
stressful because if you're interviewing
for a job it means well you need a job
or you want a job and so because of that
desire for the job or that need for the
job you can have even more pressure and
even more stress for yourself also with
job interviews there's competition you
know you are competing against a lot of
who want the same job you know your
answers need to be better than their
answers that can also create a lot of
pressure and stress and this could make
a big difference in your life right this
could be a dream job a great job for you
but if you don't get it if you fail the
interview then you get into a job you
don't like your whole life could become
kind of unhappy and miserable if you
succeed in the job interview you can get
a great job make more money and have a
happier life so it's very important job
interviewing is a very important skill I
river and say my first serious job
interviews i was graduating from
University which already create some
stress right and I realized I wanted to
get a job i went to the career office at
my university and they helped students
graduating students like me get job
interviews see companies would come to
our University looking for new employees
especially young employees from college
and you could sign up to interview with
different companies most of these
companies were big companies you know
IBM AT&T large multinational companies
and so I thought well you know I need a
job i want to make decent money and so I
signed up for a lot of interviews and
during a couple weeks i had several
interviews now I prepared for the
interviews I read some books about job
interviewing and answering questions and
I knew that you had to give a strong
positive answer for each question and I
knew what the common questions would be
we all kind of know some of the common
questions two examples what's your
greatest strength what's your greatest
weakness right we kind of expect those
two questions and so you know of course
i read that ok when they ask you about
the weakness that's the dangerous
question right that you always give a
weakness that's really a strength right
today so then I I thought of and
memorize some good answers for my job
I'm ready I'm ready I know how to do
this going to pass these interviews
going to get a lot of job offers and so
of course you know we went in and yes
they did they ask me what's your
what's your greatest weakness and I said
something like you know my greatest
weaknesses that I sometimes I just
worked too much I work too hard and you
know I forget that I need to rest i need
sounds good right i thought yeah that's
a good answer as it as a positive answer
well after the interviews I waited and I
waited em and I waited and I waited
and I waited and I got zero job offers 0
second interviews nobody wanted me
hmm but my answers they were so good
right wrong terrible dancer socked
because here's the thing every other
person was doing exactly the same thing
everybody gives the same kind of answer
to those questions with your greatest
oh my greatest weakness is that I'm just
right that's basically what that answer
it's just a bullshit answer and bullshit
means something that's not true that's
kind of a deception alive not useful all
that together the slang word bullshit
one of my favorite slang words my
answers were bullshit because the truth
is I was not a super hard worker i was
just telling them what I thought sounded
I didn't even have much job experience
at that point I was bullshitting to
bullshit using it as a verb is to
delight to say stuff that's not true
usually to make yourself sound good
sounds bullshitting and so do most
most people in job interviews they're
just bullshitting the whole time the the
saying the same kind of answers to try
you have to think of this you have to
reverse it imagine you are a job
interviewer see I understand this now
because I'm a business owner so now I
hire people to do jobs so now i'm on the
other side and I can see oh my god
there's so much bullshit all these
people they're just bad that also helped
not true ok so you can imagine this guy
is he interviewing and you know some
middle-aged I like my age now he's
interviewing these kids and all these
kids coming in saying the same
oh yes you know my greatest weakness is
just like I work too hard you know I
just get to focus sometimes honey and of
course you know this guy's thinking is I
oh my god I've heard this a thousand
same answer every time right and he's
just he's thinking to himself oh my god
you know they're all the same and he's
just hoping he's hoping for one person
to walk in that door who's real
that's the first thing he's looking for
just gonna be real and an open and
direct and confident that's what he's
so how do you do it how do you do it
well took me many many years to figure
out how to be good at job interviewing
it's a big topic so i'll do more shows
about this topic because it's a huge
conversations course we have a whole
interviewing i recommend that course by
the way we also talked about job hunting
how to find great jobs how to do resumes
that are great lots of stuff business
English conversations with an S at the
end business English conversations
dot-com so okay future shows i'll tell
you how to give some good specific
answers to questions let's talk about
the big picture first the big general
what is it exactly how should you think
of it i'll tell you you should think of
a job interview as a sales presentation
sales presentation you are selling
yourself you are giving a presentation
to sell yourself what do all good
they persuade they know how to persuade
they are persuasive and let me tell you
now because I I know how to sell now
because I had to learn it with my
business I know how to do it well
the number one thing you need for
selling is understanding you have to
have a deep understanding of the person
you're selling to you have to understand
what they want you to understand their
needs most of all you have to understand
this is the mindset you must have when
you go into a job interview before the
interview right a week two weeks before
the interview you need to know what is
the interviewers problem or problems
what are their biggest problems and how
can I help to solve them if you don't
know that you're not going to do well in
the interview you've got a very low
chance if you do know that you can
answer well you've got an excellent
chance of getting a job offer and let me
tell you every hiring manager has
how do you find out about the problems
you contact them before the interview
and you ask them see to so many people
that are afraid to do this and job
searching they just do the same thing as
everybody else send in my applications
and in my resume and then wait and pray
up please please call me for an
interview and then when they finally get
an interview they do nothing they just
oh please I hope I do well that's that's
crap that's not what good salesman do
the salesman do research first you have
to understand the company and the person
what do they want what do they need what
you must know this so how do you do it
to be different so they notice you right
there maybe have hundreds of people
sending resumes you need to be different
need to stand out as different and
better one way you can do it is by
showing them that you are interested to
find out what they need what they want
what are their problems so you write
them or you call them on the phone and
you say hi my name is aj uh I'll be
interviewing you next week interviewing
I you know before the interview I would
like to just know a little bit more
about the position if that's okay with
you I especially like to know you know
just what are you looking for what
what problems are you hoping to solve
what problems have you had in the past
with people in this position now I
guarantee some not everybody will answer
some will say well I'm sorry can't
answer that now you have to wait to the
fine whatever at least they'll remember
your name though they'll still know all
that's the person who called me who made
an effort right away you have us an
advantage over everybody else even if
they won't answer the question but still
after you call i would write or maybe
right first and then call don't just do
okay this is another thing that good
salesman know and good marketers know
ok it's never one time that's why when
you for advertising right let's say
coca-cola huge massive billion-dollar
advertisement per year just one right
just on the big like say the super bowl
in America they show one advertisement
and then everybody goes and buys coke
of course not they know that they need a
campaign to sell people coke to convince
them to buy coca-cola they know they
need a lot of repetition of repetition
so they're gonna show lots of ads every
day newspapers billboards television
radio what you need to be the same in
so yeah you're right I'm first one
I'd like to know more what are your
problems what are you looking for with
what kind of projects will I be working
write them a couple times before the job
and you asking those questions if they
say i'm sorry i can't tell you then
write them back soon okay i understand
i'm just trying to understand a little
more about your needs because I want to
be sure i'm a good fit for you that I
can help you so that I'm not wasting
your time in a job interview this again
shows that you are concerned about that
and then of course you try calling same
thing now some some hiring managers some
they'll give you some information that's
good now you know what they're looking
now you know what their needs are you
can be more persuasive the whole thing
is that the basic ideas this most people
when they do a job interview are
thinking about themselves they're
it's all me me me me I want a job I want
my strengths are this this is why I'm so
good I I that's what most people do in a
Mimi I I that's bad selling bad bad bad
selling great selling is you-you-you-you
a great job interviewer you hopefully is
focused on helping the interviewer
helping the company contributing solving
problems and so you focus on them even
during the job interview you need to
politely be the director of that
interview so that you're focusing on
them so even an everyday say what's your
most people just answer blindly my
greatest strength is whatever I work
that's a terrible answer here's a better
what's your greatest strength well you
know i i'd like to answer that question
but i'd like to know a little more first
about what skills and strengths are you
what strength do you feel will
contribute the most to this job
answer with the question most in a job
interview most of them will then give
well you know actually we're looking for
someone who can think fast and make
decisions now you give now you can
really give them a great answer you say
oh you're looking for someone who can
think fast and and make quick decisions
well you know in my last job I was very
decisive i had to make decisions about
our budget right whatever right you see
that you see the difference the answer
blindly just about Mimi I I it's a so
it's a weak answer is the same as
everybody else but it's dead if you ask
the question what are you looking for
what strength would best serve this
something like that now you learn
something about them and then you your
answer is focused on how can you help
this is a critical super-important
mindset change you must do this first
that's why I'm not teaching you a lot of
questions and answers right now because
you must first do this going to change
your mindset for not I I you you how can
how can I help you the interviewer I can
what are your needs what are your
what projects are you doing what is your
team like how can I contribute to you
company you you I understand you
that's what you want that's who gets the
job if you can show that you understand
them even if you can show that you're
trying to understand them like if you're
a college kid is your first job they
don't expect you to understand business
they know you're full of a bunch of
bullshit from school epic dump its
yeah but they're looking for attitude
they're looking for how you think
they're looking for your mindset and if
you have a mindset of contribution you
have a mindset of trying to understand
them trying to help them trying to solve
problems trying to figure out what
they're thinking and what they need
man you will be so different than
everybody else you will get a lot of job
offers i promise you that just this
mindset change you will get so many job
offers and the more you do it the more
you get used to it you'll get better and
like I said this is what makes you
different this is the first thing I'm
going to teach you more in future shows
but this is number one not I you not I
that company the interviewer shift the
focus to them what they need what they
understanding them all right so I know
it's a challenging thing job interviews
so i will talk more about it it's
another big topic we've got some big
topics in this 40 in 40 project
writing is a big topic freedom of speech
and media propaganda is a huge topic
public speaking is a big topic
pronunciation is a big topic so movie
technique lessons at those are big
topics they all need several shows so
don't worry i'm going to give you more
in future shows but right now if you're
thinking about job interviewing think
anytime you need to persuade someone
it convinced them to do something
don't focus on you don't focus on
yourself focus on them and what they
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