Interview Skills Take Work to Master
By Cord Harper, CEO of Endeavor Agency
There is no doubt interview skills take work to master. How would you rank your interview skills?
Our Client’s Interview Skills Story
“I thought I was pretty darn good at interviewing,” he said. “I’m not sure what’s happening. It seems like they all go really well. But I’m not getting the job.”
I originally spoke with this client six months earlier. He had just been let go. The new CEO came in and wanted his own CFO, a typical playbook. They gave him a severance, offered him outplacement which he declined out of pride. He was convinced that he would land something quickly that was just as good if not better.
Fast forward six months. He called back.
“How many interviews have you had?” I asked.
He thought for a moment. “I think 5 that went past the phone screen to an on-site. I only made the finalist round for one. Is that just the normal” he asked.
“Normal is hard to define,” I said. “What I can say is employers will usually select 4 or 5 candidates for on-site visits. If you’ve had 5 chances and didn’t land an offer then you are performing below the curve.”
“Can you help me change that?” he asked.
“We can,” I assured. It took a lot of work but we were able to help him improve his skills in many different areas. A few big changes but mostly a lot of small ones. Those add up, especially with stiff competition. He landed two offers soon after.
About Endeavor Agency
Endeavor Agency is the nation’s leading company helping individual executives, VPs, senior managers, professionals, and physicians find the jobs they truly want. Our additional resources, expertise, and career change specialists help our clients uncover more and better job opportunities than what they could access on their own.
Endeavor Agency helps rebrand clients to effectively communicate their value throughout the interview process and increase their odds dramatically of winning offers. Additionally, Endeavor Agency helps clients achieve better results in negotiating the terms of their employment agreements.
Endeavor Agency also provides executive coaching, outplacement services, and business consulting services. Endeavor can also help guide executives focused on the private equity and venture capital market segments.
