Don’t Try So Hard to Impress

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Brian Flourney in Boston wrote, “Doug, I’ve gone on 7 job interviews in a month and nothing. Do you have any tips?”

Hi Brian, You didn’t give me many details but it’s obvious that something is misfiring for you. Statistically, you should of landed a job.

For 3 years I was director of recruiting for a mammoth real estate company. I interviewed hundreds of people. Eventually, I found one area that messed up most interviewees: People tried too hard to impress me. Hey, you know how when you hear bad acting, like in an amateur play, it’s because people use phony voices? It happens in job interviews, too, especially when someone tries to present himself as perfect. I had one man go on and on about his accomplishments and how he had fantastic people skills but the people he worked for didn’t appreciate him, so they fired him. Snow job! His words said one thing but his tone of voice said he was faking.

Your best bet, Brian, is always be yourself. You’ve got skills, experiences and strengths to be proud of, no matter who you are. And, frankly, there are areas you’re not strong in. That’s ok. Because you know what? — if they don’t want the real you then you’d be unlucky if they hired you! Eventually a smart interviewer will be looking for what you are outstanding in.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 8th, 2006 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Don’t Try So Hard to Impress

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