Recently in giving my new signature speaking engagement, Top Sales and Networking Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You Are Making, one of the participants asked a question about networking to find employment. Because the discussion was so interesting, and as serendipity would have it, a guest blogger came along offering more of a perspective.
If you are an introvert who is looking for a job in marketing, you’re not alone. While many people think being an over-the-top extrovert is the key to success in this type of work, there is room for people who are much more low-key in their approach to their work as well. When interviewing for a marketing job, consider these helpful tips to help you present yourself in the best possible way:
1. Don’t call the meeting an interview.
If the word “interview” makes you feel stressed out, then change the way you describe the meeting. Call it a conversation if that makes you feel a bit more comfortable, and do keep in mind that this is an opportunity for you to decide whether this opportunity is right for you as well as for the employer to consider whether you would be a good fit for the organization.
2. Get clear on what you can contribute to the job.
Unless you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you won’t be able to tell a prospective employer about what you bring to the table which makes you different from other candidates. The benefit of taking time to evaluate yourself is that you will see that you have valuable skills to offer, which will lower your stress level in the interview itself.
3. Prepare a few success stories to share.
One of the questions you will likely be asked in an interview is to tell the interviewer something about your achievements. It’s a good idea to think of a few examples in advance and plan how you are going to share them with the interviewer. If it helps to write a few notes or practice describing your achievements out loud before the interview, then go ahead and do this.
4. Ask questions to determine how you could fit in to the organization.
As an introvert, you are a person who enjoys thinking about and discussing ideas. If your listening skills are a particular strength, present yourself as the person who would be really good at gathering information at the start of a campaign and focusing on the big picture and then stepping back to allow your more extroverted coworkers to perform tasks which involve more interaction with others.
Rather than trying to present yourself as someone you’re not at an interview, focus on what makes you unique and how you can add value to the company when you are invited to an interview for a marketing position.
James Carter is a content writer at PaperWritings.com that provides online writing services. He specializes in writing different types of essays and research papers.
I like the idea of not calling a job interview an “interview.” It immediately puts you on the defensive – that you have to “perform.” A job interview is, after all, a conversation. You won’t even know if you want the job – so the company has to do some selling, too. But we don’t often see that it’s a two-way conversation. The company has to hold up their end of the bargain, too.
I agree with Jeannette. Job interviews could be called lots of things. Beside an interview is one of the worst ways to determine a potentially good employee.
I am so an introvert most of the time. I really despise interviews but then again no one can really like them. Who likes being judge? Thanks for the tips! Hopefully I don’t have to use them anytime soon 🙂