If there is any secret in being the one who wins the job — it’s to do start doing the job before you are in it.

There are lots of people looking for work right now.

And there are also many people trying to position themselves for a promotion.

If you want to have the advantage here are some ideas:

Do your first month on the job before you get to the interview

Learn everything you can about the company, the people, the competition, the customers and the market.

Go into your interview with your deliverables:

• An assessment of the current state
• Challenges and opportunities
• A desired outcome description of the future state
• A straw-man list of strategic priorities
• Key initiatives to fill the gap
• A list of problems to be solved
• A list of key communications necessary to support the work

This give you three advantages:

1. It is a great way to demonstrate that you get the requirements and you are able to work at the right level.  You are showing you are not going to get lost in the detail, and will focus on those elements of the role that will have the biggest impact on the business.

2. It shows them how you think and work. It’s hard to know people in an interview.  Your work will give them a way to really understand how you will perform.  This will make them comfortable about what they will “get” if the get you.  That gives you a leg up.

3. You will have already added value to their business. If you do this well, they will see you in the job, doing the job, and will  get addicted to the work you are doing.  So they will want you to keep doing it!

Work this into the interview and conversation

During the interview, present your work, ask questions about it and get feedback. It’s pretty easy to work it in.  Sure you have to answer their questions, but not for the whole time.

When someone asks, “How would you handle this?” or “What have you done?” you can say,

“Well actually, I did an assessment of the business and I found two key areas that I believe need significant attention. Could I ask you some questions about that to see if I got this right?…”

Bring in External Feedback

Make sure to bring in an external, customer-experience, outside voice into your evaluation of the business.

There are many good reasons for this:

• It makes you appear really smart — you come across like an industry expert.
• Having information about customer, competitor, analyst and media reactions to the business shows that you know where the real drivers for the business are.
• Having a broad set of external inputs shows that you have a strong personal network that you can use for other things.
• They are not hearing this from most of the other internal candidates who are coming to the interview with an internal view.
• They are not hearing this from all of the external candidates either – it’s a real chance to stand out.

Caution: It’s not about what you have done

The underlying thought in all of this is that you don’t want to be talking about what you have done as much as how you will DO the job you are interviewing for.

Doing the job ahead of time ensures that you will come across as someone who is not resting on their past laurels, and that your past skills will translate to be effective in what the new job requires.

I almost hired a guy sight unseen once who had on his resume “wheelchair rugby champion”. 
He was also very talented  – but that’s not what impressed me initially, or most.

I have interviewed hundreds of people for executive and senior management positions.  Virtually all of the people were qualified –
more than half of them were boring.

Now, more than ever – it’s time to stand out. 

One mistake people make is to present themselves as a “package of skills”. 
This is shooting yourself in the foot.  It’s dull. 
It’s unimpressive.  It positions you badly.
It bores the interviewer to death!

Boring: I have a lot of experience leading complex projects and programs. I always deliver on time. 

Sticky: I am very competitive, always have been.   So I make sure the goal is not only clearly defined, but looming large, to motivate the team to cross that finish line, because I am so driven to win. A great example of this is a funny story about when I was racing Italian motorcycles…

Boring: I have led service organizations for technology companies for 15 years.  I have experience in software and hardware.

Sticky: I have an unusual combination of strengths. I am both highly analytical AND hugely action oriented. I can analyze a lot of information quickly, but then I’m driven to ACT – not get more data.  This has always been true about me.  An interesting example: in college, I created and ran a children’s marine science competition…

Boring: I have exceeded quota for 17 quarters in a row.

Sticky:  I have a strong sense of empathy and I’m kind of obsessive about maximizing success in any situation.  Customers love me because it’s always clear that I am creating and fighting for exactly what they need.   As a result I have been able to make my numbers consistently in good times and bad.

Don’t skip the weird stuff!

I know a sales manager who had a former career directing theater.  I know an engineering manager who is an award winning chef!  Everyone that interviews them knows it too.

It’s as important to be memorable, as it is to make a good impression in the first place.  Is that the one who does competitive origami? gets you more far more traction than, is that the one who said they are good at delivering products on time?

The higher the position, the less the work skills matter, and the more it matters who you are as a human, what your values are, what your natural strengths are, how you lead, and how you choose and develop people. 

Sure you need to cover the skills to get the interview, but to win the job –

                 You need to convey WHY you are good at what you do.

By discussing your core strengths and values you show people what they are going to get when they get YOU; it shows in a more concrete way, why they can be confident that you will be successful.  

Really think about why you are good at what you do.  What makes you different?  What are the things that are always true about you, how you work, and why you are successful?

This is your interview gold.

More Resources:

If you want some help builiding your story, attend a Career Workshop.

Another angle on this:  Seth Godin wrote some advice here for marketing job seekers, but but it’s a great article for anyone interviewing.

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