Page 108 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

or

❏ You can “own” that thing that scares you most, prepare
for it, and welcome it as an opportunity to shine where
others typically fail.

If you can learn to love the most dreaded question and
answer it with poise and confidence, you will sail through
any interview. You will feel relaxed and in control—prepared
for anything. First, you must determine what your most
dreaded question is. This should not be too hard. When you
talk about your career, what area do you avoid? What makes
you cringe? Take a few minutes to confront that experience
honestly.
I have found that many people have trouble with some
version of these three questions:

❏ What are your weaknesses?

❏ Tell me about your former boss.
❏ Why were you fired?

Although your personal “most hated” question may be dif-
ferent, let’s answer the ones above and perhaps you will
learn to welcome your own hated question.
Before we move on, I would like to tell you about the
work I have done with past offenders about to be paroled.
As part of my consulting business, I have provided pro bono
workshops for soon-to-be-released convicts on the art of
interviewing. As a condition of their parole, they are
expected to look for and find steady employment. Most
applications require you to disclose whether you have been
convicted of a felony. Lying on a job application is grounds
for dismissal and, in some cases, is against the law. Further-
more, such a lie almost certainly will be discovered because

88