Nine Steps to Acing a Job Interview
by Penelope Trunk

Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 12:00AM
A good way to think about the process of getting a job is that a resume gets you in the door, and an interview is where you close the deal.
Here are nine ways to ace an interview and get the job:

1. Tell good stories.
2. Understand the behavioral interview.
3. Ask questions at the beginning, not the end.
4. Stop stressing about your MySpace page.
6. Present a plan.
7. Manage your parents.
8. Play to stereotypes.
9. Practice. A lot.

A story I used to tell in interviews is how I made my career choice during an argument with my ex-boyfriend.
Heath says there are three different kinds of plots we can create about ourselves.

1. The challenge plot. You overcame an obstacle to get to where you are. Heath’s example is someone who says, “I’m really good at customer-focused service.” It’s not very persuasive if someone makes that declaration. But this challenge plot makes things more persuasive; “I learned customer service working at an ice cream stand. In the summer the line was twenty people deep and it was a challenge to keep the customers happy.” Now the listener has an image in their mind of you being good at customer service.

2. The creativity plot. In this plot, the turning point in the story is a eureka moment - when an idea comes to you and changes everything. You could say, “My business is about selling textbooks.” Or you could say, “I had an idea to sell textbooks, but I couldn’t figure out how to market them as interesting to the consumer. Then it hit me that no one has a favorite text book, but everyone has a favorite professor. So I needed to use the professors to hook in the customers.”

3. The connection plot. This plot comes in when you are telling a story about bringing a team together. For example, “our toy company merged with another toy company and people were duplicating each others’ efforts to create a new doll line. I convinced the teams to combine designs and work together. We created a doll that dominated the collectible doll market that Christmas.”

Once you’ve practiced a bit, you can relish the moment someone says, “So, what do you do?” If you understand how to talk about yourself, this is an opening to connect in a meaningful way and make a lasting impression.


http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/26522