Today we want to focus on how to best sell yourself in an Interview. For many people this is the hardest part of the job interview. You might have all the skills and experience but now you have to convince the interviewer to actually hire you.
For us it is natural to be modest and to try to stay out of the limelight. We usually don’t like braggers and we don’t want to be known as one. So that’s why it can be difficult for us to sell ourselves in Interviews. But remember - Interview situations are different than everyday situations so in this case you just have to suck it up and sell yourself! We have put together 7 Tips for you how you can sell yourself in an Interview to land the job.
1. Plan & Prepare
Before going to an Interview you should always make a plan and prepare. Don’t go in unprepared because this will leave a bad impression and will certainly not help with selling yourself. There are certain Interview Questions you will find in almost every interview so you can already practice your answer. But what’s most important is that you know what you are selling and who you are selling it to. In other words - know yourself, your skills, your strengths and your CV and also do your research on the company and the person interviewing you.
2. Be the solution
Selling yourself in an Interview is always going to look different depending on the company your are applying for. That’s because the most important thing about selling yourself is to be the solution the managers are looking for. Try thinking of what you can do for the company and not what the company can do for you. From the job description you can usually see what the company wants and needs from a candidate so all you have to do is to tell them how you can help them with this.
3. Know and Highlight your best qualities
If you have prepared for the interview you know what your strengths are and how you can help the company. Now you just have to sell yourself to the interviewer. Try to think of it like a sales pitch for any other product. When you want to sell a product you focus on the hard facts - and that’s what you do when selling yourself in an Interview. You highlight your best qualities without being a bragger about it. Try to minimize adjectives like “great”, “respected” and “high-achieving” because those are opinions and not hard facts.
4. Be specific and give examples
When talking about your qualities you should make sure to include examples. Otherwise it will seem vague and like an empty cliché that the interviewers have probably heard a hundred times. Be specific and tell them about previous experiences to back up your skills. Statistics and statements from previous jobs can help to highlight your achievements.
5. Be aware of Body language
An important part of convincing in an Interview is the Body language. The nonverbal language is sometimes telling the interviewer more about your attitude than your words. You have to make sure that you come across as confident and convincing. If you want to know more about how to sell yourself through Body language check out our Blog on this topic here.
6. Don’t chatter
You thought you had prepared for everything but then they ask you a question you haven't prepared? You might get a little nervous but try not to chatter because this might cause you to blurt out harmful information. Keep cool and try to think about the question for a second. You will find something else that you have prepared for and adjust it so that it will answer the question.
7. Be positive
When talking about past experiences you should always talk about them positively. You don’t want to complain or gossip about previous employers or coworkers. This will seem immature and might make you seem difficult to work with. Instead you can speak about what you have learned from these experiences and how you can apply this in the future to help the company.
So there you have it - How to sell yourself in an Interview. You should always keep in mind that you are trying to do something for the company. They want to hear from you how you can use your skills and experiences to help them solve a problem. And if you can help them with that you have a good chance to get that job!
