How To Sell Your Personal Brand In Interviews – Part 1
Whenever I talk to people about how to communicate their personal brand, I’ll often use an interview as the prime scenario. (It’s the situation where you 100% need the other person to buy into you.)
And as many readers may be in the process of securing a new job – or turning their thoughts to getting one in the near future – I thought I’d use my next three posts to share some practical advice for sharing your personal brand in interviews. (Parts 2 and 3 will follow in the coming months.)
To kick us off, let’s talk about how to make a connection with the interviewer so they see you as a person, not just a CV.
Sell your personal brand before the interview starts
If you can form a connection with the interviewer before, or as soon as, you meet, you can start to stack the odds of getting the job in your favour. The key to doing that is to use ‘relationship hooks’.
Relationship hooks are incredibly useful for communicating your brand to others because they do two things at once:
1. Revealing something personal gives people a hook to grab onto so they can have a conversation with you on a personal level, not just a business one – and therefore build your relationship much quicker.
2. The hook can also give subliminal messages that reinforce your brand.
3 ways to put those hooks out there
1. Online
The prime place to insert one or two relationship hooks is in the Summary section of your LinkedIn profile. That way, people can start to see you as a human being they can connect to, before they even meet you.
For instance, you could mention that you ran the London Marathon (which must of course be true – your hooks can’t be made up). Not only does it provide a hook for a future conversation – and if you’re really lucky, you’ll find the interviewer is also a runner – it also suggests you’re someone who’s goal orientated, driven and focused – giving extra clues to your brand.
2. Introductions
The next place you could throw out a relationship hook is when the interviewer first talks to you. Once they’ve introduced themselves, they’ll usually ask one of those throwaway questions like, “How was your journey?” (if it’s an in-person interview) or “Have you had a nice weekend?” (if it’s a Monday).
Instead of simply answering with “Fine thanks” or “Yes thanks” you should be seeing this as another opportunity to build rapport by throwing out a hook.
So if you’re asked about your journey, you could say, “It took an hour, but it flew by because I’m reading a really great book at the moment.” They’ll naturally ask what you’re reading and your answer will provide another relationship hook. (And if Lady Luck is shining down on you, they’ll have the same taste in literature.)
3. Environment
Relationship hooks aren’t just there to be thrown by you. They’re also something to seek out from others (whether the person has put them there purposely or inadvertently).
For instance, the interviewer may be wearing cuff-links in the shape of a rugby ball (so you can ask if that’s their sport of choice). Or they may be wearing a FitBit on their wrist (so you can ask if they’re into health and fitness). Or they may have a painting of a boat on their wall (so you can ask if they’re into sailing).
They’re all ways to keep building that rapport before the interview begins in earnest.
One last piece of advice
It’s important to think carefully about which hooks you’re going to put out there. This isn’t about chucking any old bit of personal trivia into the ring; it’s about thinking, ‘How do I want to shape people’s views of me and which relationship hooks can do that?’
Be sure to start using those hooks to your advantage and in Part 2 we’ll look at how to approach your interview answers.
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