Still having trouble landing that new job or leaving a lasting impression with an interviewer? LinkedIn Career Expert Andrew McCaskill sits down with Brad Smith to outline the biggest mistakes job applicants are making when interviewing for a role, from simply showing up late or not being prepared.
“A lot of the old school things really, really matter. The other thing that you’ve got to think about too is that level of enthusiasm, you can’t discount it. Every point that you have to engage with a recruiter or a hiring manager, you need to be telling them, ‘here’s why I am right for this job because I want to have an impact at your company in this role,’ McCatskill tells Yahoo Finance. “People are also not sending the ‘thank you’ note. The thank you note is not really about thanking them for their time, I mean it is, but it’s really about you putting one last salvo out there saying I want this job.”
McCaskill underlines the importance of networking to better understand the industry you are interviewing in, as well as building up necessary skills.
“If you know that there are skills that are needed for work in that particular industry that you need to bone up on, do some micro learning, things like LinkedIn Learning or online courses or certifications to help you start to one. Speak the language of that industry and of those occupations, that will save you in so many ways,” he says.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here.
This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
As we mentioned, only 12,000 jobs were created in October.
That is the slowest pace since late 2020.
Now, if you’re in the market for a new job, it might feel crowded and difficult to land that gig that you’ve been looking for to discuss how you can stand out from the pool of applicants.
We’ve got Andrew mccaskill who is a career expert at linkedin joining us, Andrew.
Great to have you here with us in studio.
So I mean, I gotta, I gotta sprint over to the desk for this one because as we’re thinking about the jobs market right now and, and the challenges that are facing employees who were trying to get into that new gig, how can they make sure that they’re equipped going into the interview to put their best foot forward and hopefully get an offer on the other side?
Yeah, I mean, one of the things we talked to hiring managers about all the things that are happening right now and there are a ton of mistakes that folks are making.
I mean, a lot of it goes back to just the old school pre COVID way of doing business.
Number one, the number one reason why a lot of hiring managers say that they’re not getting, giving folks offers.
People aren’t showing up on time for interviews like it’s old school stuff or they’re not prepared for the interview.
Wait time out, just not showing up on, not showing up on time.
The rule is 15 minutes, right.
Get there 15 minutes, 15 minutes before, if you’re, um, at Morehouse, they used to tell us that if you’re on time, you’re late.
If you’re early, you’re on time, right?
And so I think that those things, those types of things matter.
Um You also have to have a lot of enthusiasm.
One of the things that hiring managers are saying this is an incredibly competitive market, they’re tired of people coming in and they’re saying that they want a job, not this job, right?
And so I think that that’s one of the other things, if we learn nothing else from these job numbers is that it is going to be incredibly competitive for the next couple of years is one of the most competitive job markets we’ve seen.
So a lot of the old school things really, really matter number.
The other thing that you’ve got to think about too is that level of enthusiasm.
You can’t discount it every point that you, you have to engage with a recruiter or a hiring manager.
You need to be telling them, here’s why I am right for this job.
Because I want to have an impact at your company in this role.
People are also not sending the thank you note.
The thank you note is not really about thanking them for their time.
I mean, it is, but it’s really about you putting one last one last um Salvo out there saying I want this job, I can great at this job.
I would love for you to give me a shot at it.
I mean, we were trained in college hand written.
Thank you notes, in fact.
And so as we’re thinking about the people that it might be out there looking for jobs, some are also just looking to make a pivot as well.
So say, it’s a position that is outside of the realm that you build up a ton of experience for already.
But this is an area that you’re passionate about getting into.
How can you convey that?
Hey, you may not meet all of the prerequisite criteria.
But hey, if you wanted to talk to me, there’s a reason why I’m here and there’s a reason why you’re interested.
And so let me tell you what I’m, I’m willing to learn and do once I get into this role, the number one I think that you gotta do is network, network, network.
If you’re, if you’re looking to pivot to an industry outside of where you are, think about who do I know in that industry and who do I know who knows people who are in that industry, start there have some conversations before you get into that interview process about the industry so that you get better at speaking the language.
That is a good cue to folks that you’ve done a little bit of homework about the industry that you wanna pivot to and you get a chance to learn before you get into the interview.
The second thing I would say is then it comes down to skills.
Like if you know that there are skills that are needed for work in that particular industry that you need to bone up on, do some micro learning things like linkedin learning or online courses or certifications to help you start to one speak the language of that industry and those occupations that will save you in so many ways.
And then finally A I is your friend, like don’t run away from the machine, run with the machine.
There are tons of A I tools that will help you write better emails um To those folks that’ll help you sort of really hone in on your story that you wanna talk about.
So your pivot um and use those tools to also help you do better research and more accurate research.
So that when you go into that conversation and you’re talking about how you wanna pivot, you’re doing it in a way that says this person has invested time, effort and energy in it.
They have a passion for this.
And they really are, can help me understand how the skills that they have over here will help them in these roles.
You have so many skills that are transferable to other roles.
Never forget.
My last one on this is human skills matter.
Communication is the number one most in demand skill on linkedin right now.
And it has been for two years in a row.
And CEO S have said to us that they want adaptability in all of their hires.
The world of work is changing so fast, so rapidly, 70% of executives said that they’re, they’ve never seen work change this fast and they want people who are adaptable, folks who are willing to pivot and not panic.
That’s who they wanna hire.
Just elaborate that on that a little bit more.
What is the number one communication skill that can help someone’s case for getting a position or that they can brush up on in order to best position themselves for a next position as well?
You gotta be able to write, I think, I think writing and really start to think about your writing and your editing skills.
You gotta be able to write emails and you gotta be able to make a case for things.
I think like maybe even taking some, some writing courses or, or maybe even putting your writing into some of the A I tools and see what it corrects and changes so that you’re really self aware about it, not self conscious, but self aware so that you can start to get better.
And one of the things that folks are saying that are, you know, it’s a big issue in terms of relates to communication is people want folks who can make a case with facts and not feelings.
They want people who are able to say, hey, here’s correct analysis of what’s happening.
Here’s what uh clearly articulate what I think we should do about it, that sort of thing, right?
And they want people that are willing to pick up the phone and have an actual conversation, a righteous debate at work can actually pivot you into different rooms that you’ve never been in before because people want someone with a strong opinion, a strong point of view, but who know how to articulate it in a professional way.
I’m glad I’m glad I sprinted over to the desk for this conversation.
Andrew.
Great to have you here in studio with us.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for having me, man.
Andrew mccaskill linkedin, career expert.
Joining us here on Yahoo Finance.