Page 91 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

The jc twist

There’s a balance to be struck here. You want to be well
informed, but take care not to overload the interviewer with
statistics and details about their own company. They want
you to be interested, not obsessive. Use the information you
have gleaned to raise points for discussion in the interview –

this shows interest and intellect.

In an interview what really impresses me are those candidates
who have shown initiative. I really admire people who have
invested their own time in finding out whether they would be
an ideal fit within the company, because – after all – it is not just

down to the employer.
How many times have I asked someone who has come in for
an interview, ‘What do you know about Hamilton Bradshaw?’

and they have answered, ‘Not a great deal,’ or they start o≠ but
dry up after a few seconds? At least fifty per cent of the time.
There is no reason on God’s earth for you to be caught out like
this at an interview, absolutely no excuse.
For me personally, when I ask that question and discover

that the candidate has very little knowledge about Hamilton
Bradshaw, in my head I am thinking, ‘You have blown at least
fifty per cent of your overall score.’ If you wanted this job, if this

job meant enough to you, that is the very least you should have
done. The fact that you didn’t bother doing it – and what that
tells me about you both as a professional and as a person – does
not impress me.

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