Page 120 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

reverse, and thought that if I was buying somebody’s business
and it was purely a people business, the numbers were second-
ary. I was the founder of the company, I had built the company
and I was the chief executive. In his place I would be thinking, ‘If
I don’t believe that James is the right guy, that I can work with

him, that I can interact with him, if I don’t buy into his vision, his
integrity and his professionalism, why would I buy his business?
Because I am buying his business in order for him to continue

to run it.’
I remember feeling exactly as I’d done before job interviews.
Did I get up that morning and make sure my shoes were
polished? Absolutely right, I did. Was my shirt crisp, white and

The jc twist
Whether you are going for a regular business meeting, or

giving a press interview, or attending a job interview, the
approach is the same. What’s the di≠erence between an
interview and a first date? Aren’t you there on a first date
to sell yourself? If you are getting ready to go on a first date,
what is the mental preparation you do? It’s exactly the same.

When you open the wardrobe, do you just throw anything
on? Never. You are very particular about which shirt you are
going to wear, which shoes you are going to choose, how

your hair looks. Even if you’re a guy you are going to check in
the mirror three times before you leave the house. In every
meeting, every interaction that you have, the way you decide
to put yourself on display is sending out a message.

108 get the job you really want