1. Introduction
The purpose of your working life is a subject all of it's own and is covered
in another publication by the author, Christopher French in his book "Happiness isn't for Cissies!"
which is also available through this website. It is highly relevant
to anyone reading this as it provides a much fuller understanding
of just what it is we do with our lives, and why we do it, in order to make a living....and
beyond.
Please click here for a short introduction to "Happiness isn't for Cissies!"
However, here we are specifically concerned with the ways in which you can speed
up your career progression, at any stage of your career,
make it more enjoyable, and gain a better deal for yourself.
The importance of the career interview is little thought about, and almost always
under-estimated. It is utterly crucial in the development
of you as a person and in your personal climb through the ever wider number of paths
now open to you in the market-place. In economic downturns these skills are even
more important, and even more crucial to your success. And they are learnable!
2. Your Career Path
Let me first show you, pictorially, what is going on:-
This overview may look fairly self-explanatory but it basically plots two individual
employee’s career track through his/her 40 years of work. The main features of both
of these tracks that I wish to draw attention to are areas of the graph where the
track changes direction. These are the ‘tipping points’ that occur every
time a job-move occurs. You can see that the sharper these changes are, the more
overall progression is made throughout the career path. It stands to reason that
these ‘tipping points’ are therefore the keys to the future at any particular stage.
Fairly obvious so far isn't it? Or is it?
Your approach, your performance , your delivery, your judgment and your overall
handling of those tipping points are more than a key that will dictate your future,
and potentially your happiness, ....... they could also be a draw-bridge, which
slams shut in front of you and stops you in your tracks.
If you execute interviews poorly then the consequences in terms of choice,
working conditions, remuneration package, responsibility, opportunity and interest,
contribution, to name just a few, will be inferior, and will have long-lasting effects.
Before long, you will be in danger of reaching a plateau in the graph, beyond which
you are diminishing your returns on your own ‘personal capital’ and will very often
suffer boredom, disengagement and general work malaise.
Should you be an excellent interviewee, on the other hand, capable of handling
a wide variety of situations and people with ease, then the world can be your oyster.
You will not need to worry about recessions. You need be unconcerned with the latest
head-count freezes. You can be confident that the latest industry downturn will
not affect you. These are bold statements I appreciate, so, what makes me so sure
that this is the case?
The world will always have a place for the best sales people by its’ very nature……and
expert interviewing is nothing more than selling yourself...expertly!
The average career is likely to last for around 40 years at present. By the time
you reach retirement age, given the world’s changing demographic with people living
longer and longer, this is likely to change, and increase, possibly to 45 years,
maybe even 50 years.
It used to be, that once you had obtained a job after leaving school or college
that it was quite likely you stayed with that company until you retired. The marketplace
is simply not like this anymore.
So, let's look at this logically – it is likely that in your career you will have
approximately 10 - 12 occasions when you hit the market-place with your skills and
experience. Let's say each time you change job you apply for 5 different jobs. That
would result in roughly 50 to 60 first-round interviews. If you do well enough,
then, as your career progresses, you are likely to attend second and third round
interviews and so on. To this may be added internal interviews for a career move
inside your existing company. So, roughly we can say that you are likely to have
approximately 100 - 150 in your career life-time. Wouldn't it therefore make absolute
sense, indeed, wouldn't it pay you to be absolutely first-class at doing
exactly that ..........i.e. Honestly and Fairly Selling YOU ? ......