Page 99 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

in the process, resolve some conflicting impression, or suggest
areas to probe in a second or third interview.
But you don’t need to wait until the company asks you.
There are plenty of tests available online that you can take
yourself. For a relatively low level of outlay – anywhere

between £25 and £100 – you can find a specific personality
profile test for your kind of job function, which would present
you in a relevant light for the position you are applying for.

You go online, answer the multiple-choice questions, put your
credit card details in, and the site automatically generates a
report for you.
Some observers believe you can skew the results by recog-
nizing the questions, but it’s best not to try and second-guess

the test. Answer straightforwardly and honestly, using your
gut feeling, and if the job you are applying for is the right one
for you and your particular experience and skills, you should

find no major surprises in the results, only positive comments.
Imagine if you came in for the second interview and said,
‘By the way, James, I recently took a test in terms of my skills
and characteristics which I thought you might find useful.’
That would be quite a neat thing to do. As the employer I may

have been considering giving you a similar test – but you’ve
not only shown initiative, you have hand-delivered the test to
me ready wrapped. And of course you are only going to give

me those test results if they say all the things you want to say.

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