Job Interview Soon? Don’t be a Clone!

Do you have a job interview coming up soon? Awesome! However, take a moment and put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. When looking at all the candidates who applied for this job, what does the interviewer see? If the job posting and applicant tracking system (ATS) perform as expected, the interviewer might be looking at a collection of clones! What do I mean? Remember, the candidates selected for an interview should all have, at a minimum:

• The same required education, degree, or training
• The same amount and type of work experience
• The same license, certification, or other credential, if one is required

All the candidates—including you—had to meet the same minimum requirements or else no interview, right? Additionally, if they prepared themselves adequately, they will all likely:

• Be professionally dressed (yes, even for an online video interview)
• Have submitted polished, professional resumes and cover letters
• Be polite and articulate

So, what makes you anything special?

This Problem is Nothing New

At its core, this is a problem that marketing professionals have struggled with for years! Consider the following example. When you purchase facial tissue, do you spend time researching all the products available and then stress over the decision of which brand to get? Probably not. For most people, a tissue is a tissue is a tissue. You likely either buy what you have always purchased or grab whatever happens to be on sale this week. For the manufacturers of facial tissue, your behavior is an absolute nightmare! They MUST find a way to convince you that out of all the tissue choices available, their brand is the one you want to buy!

To accomplish this, they spend millions of dollars on advertising, product design, and physical appearance. They try to persuade you that their tissue is softer and thus gentler on the nose, or it is more absorbent, stronger, and comes in attractive colors. Perhaps it also contains aloe or is packaged in a prettier box, is a convenient size, etc., and therefore, the one you should purchase. They look for and tout anything that favorably separates their product from that of the competition.

Differentiation

In the field of marketing, demonstrating to the customer that a product or service is different enough from the competitors’ offerings so as to clearly be the best choice is known as differentiation. This concept applies to you as well! In the context of our discussion, you are the “product” being sold, the “customer” is the interviewer, and the “competition” is all the other candidates.

Unless the candidates can be differentiated in some way, an employer might as well save time by simply picking a name at random and hiring that person.  OK, I’m kidding… sort of. By design, the job posting and applicant tracking system (ATS) are supposed to identify applicants who all meet certain requirements and are therefore all equally qualified, right? Therefore, just like the tissue makers, you need to find a way to separate yourself favorably from the competition. How can you adapt and use this marketing concept to your advantage?

Differentiate Yourself!

How do you stand out from your competition? As every line of work is different, look closely for attributes that are valued in your own career field. Identify these valued attributes, and if you have them, promote them. Here are a few general ideas to get you started:

• Is your education or degree beyond the bare minimum required?
• Do you have specialized or advanced training beyond the minimum required?
• Do you possess valuable skill sets, software proficiency, or specific knowledge that other candidates might not?
• Is your work experience more extensive than what the typical candidate might have?
• Do you have an applicable and preferred license, certification, or other credentials beyond whatever is minimally required?
• Have you attended professional conferences or seminars that other candidates may not have?
• Are you a member of one or more professional organizations recognized in your field?
• Are you up-to-date and familiar with current issues, topics, regulations, and trends in your field? (Do this by reading trade journals and online material on relevant websites.) 
• How is your GPA? If it is impressive, this may be particularly helpful, especially if you are a recent graduate with limited work experience.
• If currently employed, have you volunteered for special projects or served on committees? If so, be sure to talk about it. Sadly, many employees turn and run when management asks for volunteers, thereby missing out on unique and valuable opportunities!
• Many companies value having their employees involved in charity work and community service projects. Have you volunteered for any community causes (e.g., soup kitchen, recycling, charity fundraising, etc.)? If so, you may want to work this fact into your discussions.

Uh-oh. What if you realize there is very little that differentiates you from the other typical candidates? The final differentiator is, of course, how well you perform on the job interview itself.

Make sure to practice and hone your job interview skills. Practice answering expected interview questions out loud, over and over. Doing so will help the words come more easily when you are nervous and in front of the interviewers. In the end, even if you are identical in most ways to the other candidates, your preparation may at least help you make the best impression. Start now to look for ways to set yourself apart from the crowd! Help the interviewers see that among all the other candidates, you are the obvious best choice.

Put marketing differentiation to work for you!

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your experience and thoughts!
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