Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Job Interview Preparation
Chapter 14: Closing the Deal
Getting to the Next Step in the Process. How to increase the chances you'll be going on to the next round
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The best job-hunters understand the power of marketing in the job-search, and comparing the job interview to a sales call is vital to achieving greater success -- in obtaining the job offers you seek. But the burden is not all on the job-seeker, because the employer also sees the job interview as a sales call -- and just as much as you are selling yourself as the product to be purchased by the employer, the hiring manager is also selling the employer’s value to you.
And anyone who knows even just a little about sales knows that the key to success is in overcoming objections and then closing the sale. This chapter shows you how you can do the same in the job interview -- and how using this technique will take you one step closer to the job offer.
First, if you are excited about the job and feel you had a strong visit, you should ask for the job offer. As we say in sales, try to close the deal. If you're offered the job, ask about getting a formal, written offer, and ask about when the company needs your decision.
Second, if job offer talk is still too preliminary, then make sure you ask about the next step in the process - and the company's timetable for filling the position.
Overcoming Objections
In sales, it’s a proven theory that if you can overcome all your prospect’s objections, s/he will have no choice but to agree to your offer. And while you are not doing the exact same thing for the same reasons, the logic holds that if you can overcome all the objections of the hiring manager, then you’ll be more likely to move on to the next step in the process.
Overcoming objectives can be done in a number of different ways, but the keys are to acknowledge the interviewer’s objection, understand the true cause of the objection, and respond with enough information to defuse the objection. It’s best to anticipate these potential objections before the job interview so that you’ll be able to practice your responses.
What do you do if no objections are raised? It might not mean that there are none, so it’s best to probe to uncover any -- again, because it’s much better to get them out in the open and address them than to let them sit, clouding your future. As the interview winds down, if no objections have been raised, you should consider asking a question such as, “Do you see any concerns that stand in the way of my succeeding in this position?”
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