Do You Want the Job? Make a Friend. | iCapitalMarketing.com | Careers, Business, Financial Success.

Do You Want the Job? Make a Friend.

I hate to be the master of the obvious, but having interviewed hundreds of candidates, I have found that most people either do not get this point, or they just are not very good at it. As is the case in the selling profession, priority number one when meeting a new prospect (potential employer in this situation) is to build rapport, or make a friend. There is basically nothing more important.

It is as simple as this. Hiring managers are going to hire people they like. If they like you, it is going to influence them. If faced with two choices, and let's say you even have a little less experience than the other person, the manager is likely going to pick the person he felt most comfortable with and whom he envisions a nice working relationship.

Building rapport and making friends with everyone you meet during an interview is critical, including administrative assistants, security, human resources, everyone. When they are huddled together after you have left, or turning in interview evaluations, 9 out of 10 times the person who was the most well liked and who had the best personality gets the nod.

Well that is not fair you might say. Why's that? As part of any job, the ability to work well in a constructive cohesive environment with other team members is critical and part of any job description, whether written or not. A smart manager knows that he or she can teach someone a specific skill needed for the job if they have the basic aptitude, education, or background, but they are not going to able to, or be interested in, teaching someone how to be likable.

Personally, I could tell within minutes of meeting someone for an interview those who understood the importance of making a friend, and those who did not see this as a priority. It was often easy to guess after meeting many candidates for a particular job, which would be the last one standing. As usual, it was the one who was most likable and who everyone felt most comfortable with.

Think about this from a salesperson / customer standpoint. You are not going to buy something (a product or service) from someone you do not like, and that is exactly what you are offering a company. I certainly believe that most people would agree that you want to be pleasant and liked, and that this would be of a benefit, but I am just not sure people are very good at it or have thought about it much. With sales meetings, you would never think of just sitting down with a potential customer and then immediately rattling off a feature of the product or service you are selling without building rapport first. You just don't do it. People are going to buy from people they like, trust, and feel comfortable with.

In life, studying how to be a likable, sharp, positive, influential, and motivating person should be as important as studying a specific skill. Of all of the valuable and useful things that could be taught in high school or college, this should be a core course requirement, but it's never discussed. So how do you do it? It is a little too big of a topic to cover thoroughly here, but I can give some basic items to think about.

Remember, you are selling you and all of your features and benefits. No matter how uncomfortable or awkward it may be, the number one thing you need to do is to force, if necessary, conversation with this person you have just met. If the initial greeting does not flow into this naturally, a great way to find something to talk about is to look around the person's office or desk. Is there something, anything, that you could say, hey, that's a neat pen holder, did you get that at the Grand Canyon? Or, that is a nice picture, were you on vacation? Look for something to compliment them on, or something you can ask a question about. Be sincere though in whatever you say, because if you are not, it will show. Practice it with your family or friends. You should practice this as much as you anticipate and practice interview answers.

Talking during an interview is of course important, versus being a dead log, but don't overdo it. You will not appear favorable if you sit down and just start blathering, although I guess it is better than the opposite of not saying one word. You have met the type that does not know how to be quiet, usually due to confidence issues or nerves, so they just talk and talk and talk, and it is usually regarding their favorite topic, themselves. That is a huge turnoff and it wears the other person out. So the key is to get the other person talking about themselves. You do this by asking questions. When you talk, the spotlight is on you, and when they talk, the spotlight is on them, which is where you want it.

There are many resources available on this topic for you to look into, but if nothing else, remember to invest no less than five minutes of small talk when you meet someone for the first time. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it can seem like forever. If you do not, you are putting yourself behind the 8 ball, which I'm not really sure what that saying exactly means, but let's just say it is not good. You must build rapport, no matter how uncomfortable it may seem. If you do not do it, all of that effort to get to interview could be for nothing. It is really that important.

If nothing else, be low key but enthusiastic, ask questions, and smile.

Article written and provided by iCapitalMarketing .com, a blog targeting the three interrelated components required for career, business, and financial success; Preparation, Hard Work, and Emotional Intelligence. The opportunity to thrive is limitless. Keep improving and increasing your value in the marketplace.

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