Happy Friday!

For those of you who don't know, I have a knack for getting job offers. I like building resumes, interviewing, and negotiating offers. Don't judge, you're weird too.

This quirk of mine turned into folks asking for advice over the years, which also turned into me writing a book, making an online class, and having a handful of folks who want to work with me every year to get a better job.

So in this newsletter, I'm going to tell you something about interviews that is obvious when you hear it, but can completely change how you navigate your next rounds.

Every company that extends an offer is basing that decision on two main factors: Can you do the job, and how much they'd like to work with you.

Guess what, how much they like to work with you is at least half of what they consider. Want proof? Ever see someone hired who is obviously underskilled? They were brought on because they're a good fit, and you all can coach them up! Ever see them pass on someone highly skilled? It's likely because nobody wanted to work with them.

This means you should focus on engaging your interviewer and building a relationship with them more than studying to deliver correct answers!

Want to know why that works well? The folks interviewing you almost never have any training to prevent their biases from influencing their decisions, almost never have answered their own questions, and are simply reacting to you in the moment.

Answers are good when they believe in you.

So here's how you can put this into practice:

• Tell stories (Forget the STAR format, it destroys engagement)
• Ask them questions after you give an answer, like, "Has this come up in the job?" or, "Have you seen that before?"
• Verbalize your internal choices, "I'm debating on whether to do X or Y, and here's why that's a debate..."
• Emphasize your process and approach more than the final result when answering a complex question
• Use options in your answer to demonstrate expertise, pragmatism, and prevent unfavorable bias, "Well, if I saw X then I'd consider Y, but if I saw A I'd probably consider B."

Seem like a lot? It is, but with a little practice, these types of techniques become fluid. A handy technique to help give you a little room to think through your approach is to take a deep breath and repeat the question back to them. This takes no thought to do, but it can buy you 30 seconds to a minute of time to think about how you want to approach the answer.

That's a lot for one little newsletter! If you want to learn more about how I help folks with getting their next job, you can check all that out here.

Sincerely,

Ryan

PS: Esther Derby and I are hosting a free webinar this month on how to get more satisfaction in your next job. I'd love for you to attend!

Register for the Webinar

Oh, and if there's something here you'd like to talk through more, just schedule a call.