Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Reframe Thinking

This continues our series about what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Carl lost his job two years earlier. He convinced himself companies rejected him because he was 62 years old. When interviewed by younger people, he reacted obnoxiously, told them they would not hire him, and exited interviews early. He needed to reframe his own thinking about his age, before he could reframe others. A company hired him within two weeks of reframing his thinking.

Questions That Invite Reframing

Everyone possesses obvious or hidden weaknesses. Meetings provide opportunities to reframe what decision makers think about those weaknesses. They draw their own conclusions if you don’t reframe their thinking. They may ask:

• “What are your biggest weaknesses?”
• “Tell me why you left…?”
• “Describe a mistake you made that cost the company money?”

Reframe Their Thinking About Your Weaknesses

Prepare to reframe other people’s thinking in four steps:

• List each of your weaknesses, both obvious and hidden
• Outline reasons why others may consider them weaknesses
• Prepare home run statements for each reason for each weakness
• Anticipate when you will weave home run statements into the interview

Let me illustrate:

• Obvious: age and obesity; Hidden: demotion in 2001
• Perceived reasons: poor performer, health costs, lazy, undisciplined
• Home run statements countering obesity
  • Performance: “I increased productivity on my last job by 87% in four months and 230% in 2 years.”
  • Health: “I have excellent health. I had three times the unused sick leave as everyone else  on our team combined.”
  • Lazy: exhibit great energy in the interview
  • Undisciplined: “I work through lunch and then grab unhealthy snacks during the afternoon. As a result, I weigh more than I want. However, working through lunch helped me increase productivity by 87%.”
• I will use the home run statements when asked
  • Describe productivity with “Tell me about your experience at ACME?” 
  • Outline unused sick leave with “Tell me about yourself?”
  • Exhibit your energy throughout the interview
  • Working through lunch with “What is your biggest weakness?”

Friday we will share how your dessert tray entices people to want to hire you