Just a few months ago, I was consulting a recent college graduate on her job search process.  With a graduation date coinciding with times of intense economic distress, the odds were stacked greatly against her – even as a dean’s list scholar and multiple-honors graduate from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.  I had been consulting her for a few weeks already, and by the time we met up at a local coffee shop in D.C., she managed to land a final round interview at a prestigious university in Chicago.

We went to work immediately, reviewing each part of her resume, researching information about her interviewers and their backgrounds, documenting industry trends that may become important discussion topics for the interview, etc. About an hour into our working session, a lady from the table next to ours interrupted us politely, introducing herself as a headhunter with 20+ years of industry experience.  The conversation was brief, but she left us with one of the most valuable interview tips that I have come across so far:

“When you get to the interview, don’t forget to ask for the job.”

The advice was so simple, yet powerful.  In the frenzy of covering every detail of the job interview, so many candidates easily overlook perhaps the most important part of the interview – asking for the job.  Paraphrasing our conversation with the headhunter, she basically explained that in the years of her experience of recruiting and referring professionals, there have only been a handful of candidates that shined through the pack.  And the single common factor that differentiated them from the rest was their ability to portray and communicate their desire to get the particular job they were interviewing for.

This has proven to be true in my experiences as well, when I interviewed numerous college graduates and even successful professionals with MBA’s from the world’s finest institutions.  The credentials on paper with that name-brand degree lost its luster the minute the interview candidate stopped showing enthusiasm for the job.  And in cases where the candidate was able to clearly communicate and show his drive to get the job and work hard, it made the hiring decision much easier for my team and myself.

This of course doesn’t mean that all you need to do is put up a good act just for the interview if you want a job.  The point is that so many people simply overlook the fact that when they are at a job interview, they have got to make sure to do what they came for – ask for the job.

So how do you ask for the job? There are many ways to do this, and most interview tips you can find are all indirect ways that lead to communicating that you are either a well qualified candidate or that you are enthusiastic about the job.  What I suggest, however, is that you be bold enough to say it – tactfully, of course.  It will stand out, and it will make a difference.  And trust me, it makes a big difference.  Make sure that by the end of the interview, the person whom you spoke to has no doubt about the fact that you, unlike the other 10 candidates that were interviewed, want the job.

So, what happened to the student I helped out?  She ended up getting the job in Chicago as one of two people that were hired from a pool of 300+ applicants.  What was the key to her success? The assertiveness and ability communicate her enthusiasm for the job.

If you have a hard time grasping the reason why this is so important, simply put yourself in the shoes of the person conducting the interviews.  At the end of 5,10,15 interviews spanning potentially days or weeks, you’ve heard the same combination of answers from all your candidates. Given they are all similarly qualified for the job, there is no question that the job will go to the person who actually wants it, or at least made it clear that he/she wants it.

Tagged as: College, Job Interview