Page 122 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

The interviewer probably would respond with a clarify-
ing statement such as, “I’m concerned about whether you
could succeed with us because all your experience has been
in public and academic libraries, and this is a private, for-
profit company looking for a research librarian.”
Then you could say with a smile

“Ms. Jones, my years of library experience have
given me the opportunity to research a broad range of
subjects for people at all levels of interest and profi-
ciency, from the youngest readers to professors con-
ducting cutting-edge scientific investigations. I hear
your concern about this being a different environment
[Your active listening skills reflect back her concerns], but
I know that after a short learning period, I will become
familiar with your company, its products, and its
research needs. The important thing is that I under-
stand the research process and have kept current with
the latest in research technologies. I recognize that
each staff member here will tap the librarian for dif-
ferent kinds of information [feature] and that my lis-
tening skills will help me find the information that is
important to each one [benefit].
“In addition, I have a successful history of plan-
ning and implementing library programs. As you can
see, last year I was named the Academic/Research
Librarian of the Year by the Association of College
and Resource Librarians [Show commendation. Note
that these two sentences present features]. I feel strongly
that I could help your company develop its research
collection and encourage your staff to use it to its
maximum potential [benefit]. So, even though the
environment is different, my understanding of

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