Page 98 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

The information you acquire from your research provides you
with a level of currency. You will make even more progress
if you can improve its value. So, if you have found out who a
company’s main competitors are, and how those competitors
perform, you can convert that knowledge into a question in

the interview: ‘I noticed, James, that one of your competitors
is X. They happen to be twice the size of this company. What
is it about what they do that has enabled them to achieve

that?’ This is an excellent question that demonstrates not
just know ledge, but the confidence to ask the interviewer
a relevant but challenging question – and by asking it the
balance of power has automatically shifted towards you, the
candidate.

taking the test

If you want to give yourself some extra advantage, you could,
under your own steam, take a psychometric or personality
profile test. Many companies, especially those which are more
sophisticated and more technology driven, ask job candidates

to undergo these tests as a matter of course. Fifteen or
twenty years ago, although they existed, these tests were
seen as slightly mysterious, and a little bit wacky, but now

they are commonplace.
I certainly have found them useful as an employer,
because they often tell me a little bit more than the interview,
and they can help clarify a particular issue that has emerged

86 get the job you really want