Your perspective of a job may be very different from the employer’s
➔ When you’re looking for a job, you probably have certain things weighing heavily on your mind. Am I going to like what I’m doing? Will they pay me enough money? Will I fit into the organization’s culture? Will I get along with my co-workers? Are there enough benefits associated with the job to make it worth my while?
All valid questions. All legitimate concerns… from your perspective.
The other side of the desk
Although you need to feel comfortable with the answers to those questions, you haven’t been offered the job yet. And what do you think is standing in the way of that offer?
The obvious answer is people doing the hiring. They have questions as well, and their questions are rooted in their own perspectives – which most likely are very different from yours.
Let’s start with the 600-pound gorilla in the room: “I’m paying your salary. What are you going to do for me?”
That’s not a functional question. (“I’m going to be your office manager.”) What you do is not their first concern. It’s more likely, “How can you help me?” The outcomes of your efforts are more important than the title or job description. Will you make the company more profitable? Will you make the organization more efficient? Will you make the company’s customers more satisfied? How will the organization benefit from you – not just performing the functions associated with your job – but how will the organization benefit from YOU!
Keep in mind, you’re most likely not the only person applying for this position. You need to demonstrate not only why you are the right person for the job, but the best person for the job. It’s a safe bet that no one is “uniquely qualified” and certainly, no one irreplaceable. A colleague recently reminded us that “cemeteries are full of people who couldn’t be replaced.”
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Think like a business owner. “How are you going to help me solve my problems, or make me (or my organization) more successful?”
If you can answer that question, you’ll have the inside track on landing that job.