---

Regardless of what you may think, all interviews require that you constantly remember that it is, was and always will be a combination of a “sales call and an audition.”  It is imperative that you remember the first act and final act is vital. Close, close and close often. Secure the order for the next phase before you leave, and wait for the applause (an answer). 

 

All who interview you are more than likely to be “sales people”, or wannabe sales people, or those who identify with the sales process.  Do not fall into the trap, sometimes purposely laid, of conversation vs. presentation, of “solution sales call” vs. a social visit.

 

Aggressiveness, that is not abrasive, is indeed your validation.  The interview is your audition for the road company to the client’s play. It is your demonstration of how you will act when you are by yourself in the field.  There are all three tenses going on in an interview, past (ACP+CIP), your present and the HA's future. The HA/HR's interview riskometer is set to evaluate your present presentation to your future presentations when you represent him/her.

 

You must EARN the offer. To keep the analogy going, the offer is their applause. You earn it through your performance.

 

Therefore your audition; that cluster of a positive attitude, carriage, enthusiasm, drive, assertiveness, preparation and “performance” all will determine the offer status more than the “credentials” we have so painstakingly prepared.

 

More opportunities have been lost to the above list, than to credentials, chemistry, culture, or experiences. Close and when you do close again, and again in your written follow-up to all ps or ftf's.