Have you wondered what are the benefits of using an interview coach? Is there any point in paying someone to help you through the job interview process?
It really depends on a variety of factors including:
- your financial situation
- level of job for which you are applying
- your previous interview success record
- how much you value investing in yourself and your career
Investing in your career and personal development has many benefits. It will improve your self-awareness, open your mind to opportunities, increase your confidence and improve your career prospects.
When you think about it, using for the services of a reputable, professional Interview Coach pays for itself. If you are failing at interview, then you are probably losing out on a salary. The sooner you are back in work, the better!
An Interview Coach will design personalised advice for you. This should lead to interview success and employment or promotion. The extra money you earn should offset your coaching fees.
A Professional Interview Coach understands the current interview process
Interviewing for a job is not normally a skill that’s taught. Most of us will muddle through the interview process not really understanding how we landed a job or why we were rejected.
We normally have a handful of interviews during our career and often a few years apart. The reality is that people who take the time to prepare and practice will generally perform much better.
If you are lucky enough to receive feedback after an interview, then you can use this to improve your performance next time. However, receiving feedback from a recruiter or hiring manager is limited.
Hiring managers or recruiters are not necessarily interested in your interview performance. They are mainly focused on giving you specific feedback on your fit to that job and that company. They may also let you know how they came to a decision. Their feedback is bias to their own criteria and the fit to the company culture.
A job interview coach has a very different agenda. Their job is purely to provide honest feedback, observations, advice and guidance to help you improve your performance.
They will also educate you on how recruiters make decisions. The coach wants you to do well in your next interview. So, there are some real benefits of hiring a professional interview coach.
An Interview Coach offers insight into the job interview process
Having a good understanding of how interviewers and hiring managers assess your fit to the job and the company will give you a massive advantage. Understanding how hiring managers make decisions will help you to prepare the right information to share during an interview.
Good companies take time to design robust and comprehensive recruitment processes. They spend quality time preparing the most objective, valid and reliable selection method for each vacancy.
Good companies want to significantly reduce the risk of discrimination. They want the interview process to be fair, objective and consistent.
An interview coach will be able to educate their clients on the behind the scenes activities. This will be incredible useful when preparing for the all types of interviews.
Recruiters turned coaches have been there and done it. So, they understand the requirements of the job, experience, knowledge, skills and characteristics.
Recruiters have put together the information about the job and how they will be measuring candidate’s answers before the interview.
So, when it comes to the interview they know what information a recruiter or hiring manager will need to assess your ability to do the job.
An interview coach will understand how companies assess, measure and make decisions and will share these insights. They will also know the common questions that get asked at interview and will be able to help you prepare effectively.
An Interview Coach provides opportunities to learn and practice interview skills
Hiring an interview coach will allow you to build up the skills required to interview effectively. They will support you through many types and formats of interview. Telephone interviews, Skype interviews, formal or informal interviews and many more.
The most popular style is still the behavioural competency interview. If you understand and prepare for a behavioural competency style you can handle any type or format of interview.
Going through a mock interview will allow you to practice without any pressure. It will allow a professional interview coach to observe you in action and give you valuable feedback.
As mentioned above, you are only likely to interview a few times every few years. Therefore, even if you know what to do there may be some skill fade. If you’ve worked for the same employer for a decade or so, then you may not feel confident going for an interview.
An Interview Coach will build your confidence by knowing how and what to prepare
If you don’t know what to expect or you’ve not interviewed for a long time it can knock your confidence. Having some dedicated time to prepare and practise will increase your confidence. If you have an idea of the types of common questions and know the techniques to prepare good examples this will help you take control of the process.
An interview coach wants you to do well in your next interview. It’s their purpose to ensure you are as prepared as you can be to handle any type of interview and any question.
Interview nerves are a big problem for many people. Hiring an interview coach is very different from getting feedback from a hiring manager. They are on your side.
It’s the role of a coach to provide some honest feedback and offer advice and guidance on ways of improving your performance.
