Following on from my post : Its the Little Things – How to Make Me Your Customer, I thought I’d cover a post on how to make me hire you.

I’ve been interviewing people for positions I have open at my company. Six open positions, dozens of phone screens and interviews, and 20 in person interviews. I feel ‘almost’ like a pro!!! So what does it take to make me hire you? Here are just a few things you can do to “WOW” me:

1. Be prompt: This doesn’t apply to just arriving in time for the interview. But also in responding to my emails and phone calls! Show that you are interested in the position by promptly responding to ANY communication from a hiring manager.
2. Dress for success: I had someone show up for an interview in jeans once. Really! Yesterday, I interviewed a gentleman who was dressed impeccably! He had on a gorgeous suit and tie, subtle cologne, and his clothes were wrinkle free. I was able to focus on his talents and personality, vs. the horrible outfit he was wearing. Dress for the job you want!
3. Come prepared: Nothing irks me more than candidates who show up for an interview with little or no preparation.
   1. Research the company you are interviewing with. You should understand the brands, products, and history at a minimum.
   2. Have a few questions ready to ask. If you don’t know what to ask, then google “questions to ask a potential employer“. A couple I like: “What is your management style”, “What are the top three qualities an employee needs to be successful in this job?”, “How would my job performance be evaluated?”
   3. Check out my LinkedIn profile! Maybe we have a few contacts in common. What a great ice breaker 🙂
4. Do not look at your watch: Yes, it has happened. I’ve been interviewing someone, and they’ll look at their watch. Or check their phone. You can be the best candidate, with the best personality, but this ONE action will disqualify you immediately from the running if you are interviewing with me. (Note: There is ONE exception. If you have notified me in advance that you have to leave by a certain time due to a prior commitment, or because you are meeting with me during your lunch break. If you check your watch in this instance, that’s ok with me!)
5. Do you want the job?: Tell me! We are in a ‘buyers market’ for employers and there are more qualified candidates than ever going after the few positions available in the market. So make sure you let me know if you really want the job! If you don’t, then tell me so I can move on to the next person. I like to hear people reiterate that this is the job for them.
6. Be unique: This one is a little harder, but there are ways to accomplish this. Here are a few ideas that have worked for some of my recent candidates:
   1. Think outside the box for ways to format your resume. You don’t need to hire a designer, but consider putting your name in bold, large sized font down the left column of your resume versus the standard header.
   2. Consider sending your resume via Fedex or UPS. Especially if you have writing samples, creative samples or anything other than a resume you’d like to share with me.
   3. Send me flowers. (Just kidding!)
7. Thank me: There are a couple of ways of doing this.
   1. Don’t forget to thank me during the interview. This should be a NO BRAINER! But so many people forget to do it!
   2. Send me a post interview or post phone call email thanking me for my time.
   3. You could also go that extra mile like one recent candidate: After the in person interview with myself and two members of my team, the candidate left our office, and returned an hour later with a personalized letter for each of us, thanking us for the interview, and stating again his desire to be hired for the position, and highlighting his skills. We were floored!!! He made an incredible impression!

So – if you need a job, subscribe to my blog. I typically post my open positions or other jobs I know about right here. Happy job hunting!