5 Ways to Really Sell Yourself in an Interview

By October 20, 2017For Talent

 Many talented, ambitious, and experienced people fall down at the interview stage because they are missing one vital ingredient, the ability to sell themselves.

An interview is not the time to be modest. This is your chance to show off your skills.

Here’s how you can sell yourself without appearing arrogant.

Be the solution

Companies hire staff to solve problems, for example, their marketing team has become ineffective or they need to grow their sales team. When you read the job description study it carefully. What problems are they trying to solve by holding interviews and how can you fix them?

Prepare examples of how you can fix their issues and mention them in your interview. Knowing a company’s pain points is a massive advantage. Practice telling stories about specific results that you have achieved.

Know the company inside and out

If you want to successfully sell yourself then you need to impress your interviewer with your knowledge. You should have researched the company in depth. Looks at their website, check out Glassdoor, search for any news articles about them, and look up some employees on LinkedIn.

You should know about any big changes in the company, any interesting campaigns they have rolled out or any funding they have received. Prove to them that you’re interested.

Be positive

Resist the urge to be negative about your former employer. Your old boss might have been completely ineffective but if you tell your interviewer that they might think you’re not a team player or even disloyal. Keep things positive. If they ask you why you’re looking for a new job just say that you wanted a new challenge. Remember you control the tone.

That goes for your body language as well. You can say an awful lot without opening your mouth so make sure that your body language is open and receptive not closed off.

Know when to shut up

When people get nervous they tend to blabber and when people blabber they reveal information that they shouldn’t. If there is a moment of silence within the interview you do not need to rush to fill it. Pauses and gaps in conversation are natural because your interviewer will be contemplating their next question or evaluating the answer you just gave.

If you feel like you need to say something simply ask them a question, for example, you could say, ”Would you like me to tell you about a time when I lead a team?” This is a great way to focus on the points you want to get across.

Always follow up 

After your interview, you should always follow up with the people you met. Send each person an individual email thanking them for their time and conveying your excitement about the opportunities you discussed.

This is a great way to help you to stand out from the other applicants and really make an impact. People always appreciate personal touches so if you can send them on an interesting article or quote that focuses on something you talked about even better.

Author Alice Murray

Alice Murray is a Content Creator at Jobbio with a passion for Employer Branding and Graduate Culture. She's a keen traveller and a self-proclaimed lazy runner.

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