What are the benefits of hiring an interview coach?
Have you ever considered hiring yourself an interview coach? There’s so much information out there on every aspect of your interview journey. There’s blogs and articles on the do’s and don’ts of writing a CV, interview tips and techniques, how to negotiate and manage your career. So, why would you hire an interview coach? What are the benefits of hiring an interview coach?
Identify your needs
There are lots of different types of clients that hiring an interview coach. Graduates with no interview experience. Professional individuals that have worked for the same organisation for many years (some decades) and haven’t had recent experience of the interview process. Others that keep getting rejected and they don’t understand the reasons why. Some of my clients have maybe lost a little of their confidence. The loss of confidence can happen due to redundancy or they may have taken time off for maternity leave or sabbatical.
We would strongly recommend that you take full advantage of a free no obligation consultation. This consultation is usually conducted over the telephone. In this consultation the coach will ask you lots of questions. It gives the coach an opportunity to gather lots of information about you, your interview experience and any previous feedback you may have received from interviewers.
This also gives you the opportunity to ask them questions about their background and how they have helped previous clients. You also want to know in this consultation whether you can work with the coach. It’s important you both have chemistry and can work together.
Design a bespoke coaching session
As a result of the free consultation, the interview coach can tailor the session or sessions to your needs. If required they may include some theory first, particularly if you have no previous interview experience. They will share the tools and techniques with you. Again, if it’s required, your coach may give you an insight to a typical interview and the common questions to expect and prepare in advance.
Some of my clients know what to do and have already prepared answers to questions. They know they are good at what they do and are looking for the next step in their career. They are aiming for promotion and because those types of opportunities don’t arise often, they want to be as prepared as possible. A good coach will ensure you understand how to apply the techniques, so you can go away and use them time and time again.
Opportunity to practice
Some coaches will suggest attending a couple of actual interviews to gain some experience. This is fine but needs to be managed carefully. You don’t want to randomly apply for jobs just for the practice. Unfortunately, with this strategy you are likely to get more rejections. It’s still not a great experience being rejected for jobs you don’t want. For some people this could knock their confidence even more.
If you haven’t ever attending an interview before, then having the opportunity to practice during a coaching session will only have positive consequences. Your coach will get the balance between making you feel comfortable but not making it easy. You need to understand how a recruiter asks tough questions.
Feedback on your performance
This point links with the above. After you’ve practiced the interview skills, your coach will be able to give you some rich feedback. This type of feedback is to help you understand what has gone really well and what still needs improving.
Depending on the level and type of job, the information shared at the interview needs to match pre-determined indicators. These indicators will be assessed against the information you shared during the interview – basically your answers to questions.
An interview coaches’ feedback is very different to feedback you receive after an interview. The recruiter in the organisation is only interested in whether you can do the job, you fit in the team and company and your motivation. They are not (necessarily) concerned with giving you interview skills feedback.
So, those are just a few of the benefits of hiring an interview coach. It’s a tailored coaching session according to your needs and requirements. A bespoke session based on your previous experience, recent experience of interviewing and the level of jobs you are applying.
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