I always tell folks act as if you’re going to meet your significant other’s parents, you want to be yourself. You’ve got to be honest and true, but you’ve got to be your best self. So make sure you’re dressed appropriately for the culture. And you’re confident, you’re positive, and you’re happy to be there. And then kind of let it go. Just come and go with the flow.

There’s a lot of material, a lot of which I’ve shared with you and your students, on things you can actually to do prepare for the interview. Do that. One of the best things you can do is there are lists and lists out there of your typical interview questions. Practice them. Get with a friend, get on a video. See what your body language is like in an interview. Hear what your voice is like in an interview. Are you flat, are you monotone, do you make eye contact, do you smile? Are you someone approachable? Look for those kinds of things and practice that. Because even if they don’t ask those exact questions, if you’re comfortable enough answering those questions, chances are you can handle most everything they throw at you.

I think you have to show them how you solve their problems. I really do. I think you have to show them what you can do for them and why they should take you, and be their’s. Why should they do that? Why should they invest in you that way? So you have to give them evidence.

If you come off too cocky, some people actually like that. Again, you know, when you get into a lot of interview points, for every interview you go on, you’re going to get a different reaction, you know. So you have to really think about what’s base, basically good, and follow that. And be yourself as best as possible through that process. You want to be confident, I don’t think you want to be arrogant.

And plus, you never know what other job they’re going to have at that organization. That actually has happened to me where I went to take a temporary job, and from that temporary job I got a full, a permanent full-time job in another department because they saw my work ethic. They saw my attitude. They saw what I could bring to the table and they made a spot for me somewhere else.

So absolutely go to that interview and find out what’s going on. You never know who their cousin is either. The cousin may be looking for you and he sees it, and they had a dinner party last Saturday night and he talked about I’m looking for someone. And he passes you on. So you never know what’s going to happen. It’s all part of building the network and finding out what’s out there.

Oh, you must ask questions. This is about developing a relationship. This isn’t just about them pulling information from you. This is about finding out if this is good for both parties. Because ultimately you’re creating a team. Ultimately you’re creating a long term relationship, and if it’s one sided, it’s never going to be successful. They want to know you’re interested in them. They want to know that. They need to know you’ve done your research. So always go prepared to ask at least 5 questions about the company or about the person or about their mission and goal.

I think first and foremost, you have to write a thank you note. Less than 20% of applicants write thank you notes. So if you want them to think about you, go back and look at your resume one more time, the best way to get your name back in front of them is to send them a thank you note. And reiterate in that thank you note why you’re a good candidate, now that you know what they’re really looking for. It’s another piece of your sales cycle. So write a thank you note. Write a thank you note to everybody you met in the interview process.

After that, you want to wait 3 or 4 days, well, actually, at the interview you want to ask them what’s the next step in this process. And if they say we’re going to be making a decision in about 3 weeks, we’ve got 5 more candidates to interview. We’ll call you in about 3 weeks. Well, in about 2 ½ weeks, you might want to call and just ask how the process is going. And again, reiterate your interest and why you think you’re a good candidate and that you hope to hear from them in another week.

If they say we’re going to make a decision by this Thursday, when Thursday rolls around, you haven’t gotten a phone call, absolutely Friday morning call and say, hey, this is Jan. I had an interview with you on Tuesday. You said you’d be making a decision on Thursday, I was just wondering if you’d made that decision, if I’m still a candidate. And if there’s anything I can bring to the table to help you make your decision.

So absolutely follow up. Especially if you’re in an industry like sales or somewhere where they need someone who’s going to be really assertive. You must follow up. I always tell folks --

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