So you had a great interview and didn't get the job - interviewing successfully

Last night, I facilitated a roundtable discussion entitled on job interviewing.  Below are the discussion notes courtesy of Meg Sheridan, Principal of Crossroads, Strategies for Nonprofits.

Women in Development I to I Networking Experience, January 19, 2010

“So you had a great interview and didn’t get the job…interviewing successfully”
Moderator: Karen Caruso, Caruso Consulting Corporation

Before the interview
•    Let your network know you are looking. The more concisely you can describe what you are looking for, the more your network can help you.
•    Review salary ranges (Professionals for Non-Profits has salary surveys on line).
•    Look for a contact within the organization to gather unpublished information
•    Create different resumes for different positions
        o    Emphasize your past experience and tailor resume to the job you’re going after
•    Try to anticipate any potential concerns about your experience (why you may not be right for them) and have counter-evidence

During the interview
•    Determine what the culture is to see if it will be a good fit for you
         o    If you have a connection within the organization, that person can tell you about the culture. If you find out during the interview, you may be at a disadvantage
•    Interview back. The best interviews are conversations. Usually at the end of the meeting the interviewer will ask if you have any questions. Suggested questions:
        o    What’s a typical day?
        o    In addition to the job description, what else are you looking for?
•    Some typical questions from interviewers:
        o    What does our organization do? (to determine if you’ve done your homework)
        o    Walk me through the process of how you got the gift
•    Have 2-3 stories ready to tell in response to a question. People seem to relate better if you have a story to illustrate examples. Script it out with bullet points that you can use to answer a question or weave into a story.  Some potential questions that could be answered with a story:
         o    For events: Tell me about a near-disaster you experienced and how you overcame it
         o    For major gifts: When you didn’t get the gift, what did you do?
         o    What are you most proud of?
         o    Describe a project you initiated
•    Convey that you want the job without seeming needy. Ask:
         o    What’s the next step?
         o    Where are you in the process?

After the interview
•    Try to get feedback
         o    Are there any reservations you have about me before I leave? [some thought this was a  risky question, but others thought concerns could be addressed on the spot].
         o    Try to circle back to at least 1 of the people who you interviewed with and connected with.     Ask them to lunch; consider them part of your network.
 

General comments
•    LinkedIn
         o    If you want to connect with a person you don’t know, find a connector (someone who knows both of you) and ask that person to introduce you
         o    Check the key words you use to describe your experience; headhunters search by key words
         o    Get linked to search consultants. Don’t send a resume cold; be strategic. Suggest a candidate for another position and they will consider you a resource.
•    While you are looking for a job
         o    Take work where you can find it: part-time or project basis. If you land a job tell your employer you can start part time until your project ends.
         o    Consider volunteer consulting. Tell the organization you are in a full time job search but you won’t leave them in the lurch.
•    Average # of interviews with one organization to get the job is 3, but can go as high as 9.
•    Hard to get the real reason why you didn’t get the job. Some reasons candidates have been given:
         o    We were impressed by your credentials, but the other person was a better fit.
         o    [Suddenly] an internal candidate applied for the position
         o    Remember: you don’t know the competition; a different candidate could be a better fit for the culture.