No matter what job you are trying to get, may it be finance, sales, HR or marketing, you’re going to have to ‘sell yourself’ or ‘win them over’ throughout the interview(s). Selling can come with negative connotations at times, think of all them cold calls you get about an accident that you haven’t been in! They will do anything for a sale, but we are all salespeople to some extent. Learning how to self-promote yourself is key.
A person’s qualifications are important, but is it more important to be able to sell yourself and your qualities in an interview? Selling yourself is all about presenting your achievements and experiences and tailoring it to the company that you are trying to sell yourself to.
- Look the part
Theories suggest that it only takes 7 seconds to make a first impression, which means many hiring managers will form their first impression of you based on what you’re wearing. You need to ensure that you are dressing appropriately for the industry that is interviewing you. It is likely that you won’t know the ‘dress code’ for the company before your interview, so to be on the safe side, dress smart. It’s better to be dressed up than too casual.
- Prepare your elevator pitch
You should have a 30-60 second self-introduction prepared before your interview. Your goal is to educate them on how you can help and the qualities you will bring to the role. You can’t create one pitch and use that for every audience, it needs to be tailored for the job that you are interviewing for!
Use the job description and knowledge from researching the company to prepare your pitch. Use their website and social media pages to find out about the company culture and values to persuade them how you can fit into that environment.
- Prepare standard interview questions
“Tell me about a time where something went wrong and how you responded”. “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client”. No matter what job you are applying for, you are very likely to be asked a question like this. The answer requires you to come up with previous examples from past experiences. The best way to answer this question is to ensure you talk about the results of your actions and highlight your contributions.
Bill Cole, the author of ‘The Interview Success Guide’ states “Many people can tell a decent story, but almost everyone leaves off the impact the story had on you, the participants and the business”.
- Always back up your skills/achievements
It’s important to always describe your accomplishments, this will help when ‘selling yourself’. You want to make sure you stand out and prove to the employer that you are right for the job. When talking about achievements, try and quantify them. For example, instead of saying ‘I led a marketing campaign’, say ‘I led a marketing campaign, that resulted in 10 more clients within the first week’. Always back up your point with examples!
So, there we have it! Our key tips on how to sell yourself next time you go for a job interview/promotion. Remember, prepare beforehand, always expand on your achievements and tailor your answers to fit with the specific company!
Good luck!
If you read every word, skim read the best bits, or even just scrolled straight to the bottom – thank you for taking the time. SalesRec is a specialist Sales Recruitment company in London, you can find more information on roles and how we recruit on the website – www.salesrec.co.uk or follow us on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sales-recruitment-co/ for more blogs and helpful tips from the world of recruitment.
