Episode 48 How to sell yourself with confidence in your next leadership interview

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Welcome to Unstuck and Unstoppable,

the podcast for ambitious female

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leaders who want to create more impact,

income, and influence in their careers.

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feel connected to their passion

and purpose, but without

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selling out or burning out.

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I'm Sarah Archer, a leadership coach

and career strategist, helping women

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like you thrive in leadership roles

while staying true to your values.

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I'm the founder of CareerTree

Coaching and have over 15 years of

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coaching experience and significant HR

leadership experience to share with you.

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I know as a female leader it can

be hard to find time to focus

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on your career aspirations.

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The day job can be all consuming.

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Plus, no matter how senior you are,

there are always going to be times

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when you feel stuck, when you have

self doubt, or feel like an imposter.

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And that's where unstuck

and unstoppable comes in.

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Each week I'll be sharing practical

strategies, insightful interviews and

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inspiring stories to help you boost

your confidence, lead with purpose

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and achieve sustainable success.

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Welcome to episode 48.

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I'm really pleased you're

here with me today.

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I decided this would be a great topic

for us to talk about because I was

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coaching somebody end of last week who's

going for a director level role, and

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the interview was on Monday this week,

and so we were doing some interview prep

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and it reminded me that this is such

a great topic for the podcast because.

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Interviews at senior levels are hard.

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There's often a number of stages, and

the level of performance is so much

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more than maybe when you were going

for, a role earlier in your career.

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And so I wanted to share some.

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, Useful techniques and tips with you

today, and I was delighted when my

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client messaged me on Monday after the

interview to say it had gone really well.

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She was really pleased

with how she'd performed.

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And then she also messaged me later in the

day to say she'd had a call from the chief

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exec and they had offered her the job.

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So I was super pleased that the

prep we'd done had just given her

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that extra boost of confidence to

perform really well in the interview.

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And so today's topic, as you've

probably guessed, is all about how

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to sell yourself confidently at

your next leadership interview.

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I do a lot of leadership, interview,

coaching because no matter how senior

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you are, the interview process always

feels quite challenging to be able

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to walk in there confidently and

talk about yourself for an hour.

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So perfect strangers often

can feel really unnatural.

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It can feel uncomfortable and

it can put people off going

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for that next level role.

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Which is why I love interview coaching

because there's lots of small things you

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can do that can make a big impact on your.

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Interview impacts, and that's

what we're gonna talk about today.

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Also, let's face it, often there are

a number of interviews you've got

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to get through to get the job offer.

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I'm working with a client at the

moment who's going for a CEO role, and

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she already knows there's at least.

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Three stages in the interview

process with different stakeholders

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and also with the client group.

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And so we're working now to prepare

her for those interviews that are gonna

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happen within the next, month, six weeks.

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What we're gonna cover today is how to

shift your mindset from am I good enough

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to, how can I show the value that I bring?

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We are going to look at

what the interviewers really

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want to know about you.

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We're gonna talk about how to

convey your strengths and your

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skills without downplaying them.

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And we're going to think about how you

can communicate with impact as well.

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Now, obviously we're gonna, we've

only got 15 minutes, so it is gonna

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be top level, but it's gonna give

you the opportunity to think about.

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Your interview technique, your interview

performance and what are the areas perhaps

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you need to tweak or to concentrate on

to uplift your interview performance.

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If this is something that you

really struggle with, then

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you do get in contact with me.

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We can have a chat about how interview

coaching, which would be tailored to

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you, can help you navigate your next

leadership interview differently.

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Okay, so the first thing I want

you to think about is how we

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can reframe selling yourself.

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To something different because

just that whole concept of having

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to sell, having to self-promote,

can leave you feeling a bit icky.

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It can leave you feeling a

bit, oh, I don't wanna do that.

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So what I try and do with

clients is help them to see that

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actually we want to reframe this.

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Into, it's about detailing exactly

why you would be an asset to

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the company or the organization.

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So we are thinking about it in terms

of data, information and facts.

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Evidence because interviews

are evidence-based.

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We're thinking about sharing

information rather than necessarily

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having to sell yourself.

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And it's to give them information

that will help them make a good

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decision, an evidence-based decision.

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So that can take the pressure off

a little bit because sometimes

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that pressure to sell yourself can

just make you feel I can't do this.

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I had a client who I worked with at

the end of last year who was going

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for a head of programs role who

came to me because she just felt she

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crumbled at interviews and that whole

self-promotion piece felt really alien

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to her and it really put her off.

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And so we did a lot of reframing around.

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It being evidence-based and she

was presenting data and facts about

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herself and how she added value.

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That enabled her then to navigate the

first interview, which she felt she

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didn't do very well in, but she did 'cause

she got through to second interview and

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then she got the job offer and it really

helped her reframe the interview process

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so it could feel more accessible to her.

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The second thing we want to do is to

think about managing your inner critic.

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So that you can create a positive

mindset around the interview process.

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'cause often when we

think about interviews, we

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experience a sense of dread.

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We experience a sense of, I would really

rather be ill on the day, or some reason

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that I can't get to the office or my

internet goes down, rather than take the

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interview, which obviously going into the

interview with that kind of mindset can

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. Inhibit you and not allow you

to be presenting your best self.

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We want to be going

into the interview now.

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We're gonna feel nervous, but

feeling excitement for it,

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feeling positive towards it in

terms of It's a conversation.

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It's a dialogue.

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And the key to that is managing

your inner critic and also being

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able to tap into, thinking about

the interview in a positive way.

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So sometimes using things like

affirmations to just be able to uplift.

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The way you are going to

approach the interview.

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I had another client who I've worked

with three times around interview

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coaching for different roles, all

that she's been successful in.

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And the first interview that I

worked with her was for a finance

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director role that she was going for.

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It's her first financial

director role, and she was

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somebody who had worked her way.

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Through different roles in finance.

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So she'd started as a finance assistant

and over time she had progressed and

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she'd become qualified and she'd got

to achieve senior roles in finance.

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But she had a little voice in her head

that was saying, am I good enough?

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Can I do an leadership role?

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What can I bring that would

get me, a seat at the table?

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And so we had to do work around her

mindset and helping her feel good

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enough and to feel positive around

the whole interview experience.

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And I could see from working with her,

she had amazing commercial acumen.

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She could really see how she

could add value to the business

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beyond just the finances.

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She was thinking about the whole

commercial piece and things the

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business could do to . Fine tune

and hold its commercial approach.

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And this came across in her interviews

and she's been successful in all

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the finance director role interviews

that I've supported her with because

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she can bring this real added value.

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So that mindset piece is really key.

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The third area that we'd want to

think about is getting clear about

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what the panel need to know about

me in order to offer me the job.

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That's getting really clear about

what your unique selling points are

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that you are bringing, that's gonna

help you stand out as a candidate.

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It's gonna be different to what somebody

else might bring, but also linking it to

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what makes a difference for a business.

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Often if you're thinking about the

business or the organization, you're

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going to be thinking about, am I making

a difference in any of these categories?

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So it could be around growth.

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It could be around revenue,

increasing revenue or income.

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It could be around people, it could be

around innovation, it could be around

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risk, and it could be around . Efficiency.

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So thinking about how do I add value?

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What difference do I make to the business?

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Bottom line around those areas.

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And being able to showcase that in your

answers because interviews are all about.

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Evidence of what you've done in

the past because it's then a good

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indicator of future performance.

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Being able to tell 'em about

how you have added value to the

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business will help them see that

you are a really credible candidate.

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You've got the job spec, you've

got the person spec in terms of

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what skills and experience they're

looking for, but you wanna take

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it to that next level in terms of.

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Okay, let me link that then to the

difference that I've made because that

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will help them to see I can make the same

difference to them in their organization.

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And then when we're thinking about the

interview panel, we can also be thinking

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about what's going to be important to the

different members of the panel, because

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you're gonna have different stakeholders

present who will all have their own

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agenda around why they're on panel.

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Obviously, your immediate

boss will be thinking about.

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How are you gonna add value?

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How are you gonna help me be successful?

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How are you gonna deliver what

I need to deliver for my team,

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for my department this year?

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So they're gonna be very interested in the

how and the results that you've generated.

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Often they'll be a member of hr.

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They're gonna be thinking broadly,

they're gonna be thinking about the people

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fit, the cultural fit, the team fit.

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Maybe you'll have a peer or a member of

a different department that you might

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collaborate with or support in your role.

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And they'll be thinking

about, how can you help me?

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How can you aid my team to be successful?

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Then you might have at the next level

interview, you might have your boss's

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boss who'll be interested in how

do you bring organizational value.

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How are you gonna help my department

or the organization be successful?

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You might have a trustee or a

member of the board on the panel,

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and you'll be wanting to think

about, okay, from their portfolio,

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what might they be interested in?

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Because that would also help you shape

your answers by thinking about, okay,

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what could be important for them to

know about me in order to say yes.

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So that's our third area.

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Our fourth area is.

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Thinking about how you communicate.

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So if you find it hard to

talk about yourself and your

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strengths and your skills, because

maybe you are quite humble.

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Maybe you feel you don't want to brag.

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Maybe you have bad experiences

before you've been told don't.

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And show off.

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And obviously we wanna work through that.

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So some of that is the mindset work,

but also what you can do to start

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helping yourself is to start talking

more about what you do on a daily basis.

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So it becomes more natural and it

becomes part of what you do in your

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communications, which will generally help

in a work context about your visibility.

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So thinking, okay, what have

I done today that's been.

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Great.

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How can I link it to my

skills, to my leadership style?

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And if you don't feel comfortable

doing it at work, in terms of talking

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about what you've achieved, doing it

at home with a partner, with friend,

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just practicing telling them, in a very

factual evidence based way, what you did

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and how you did it, and the complexities

that you navigated in order to deliver

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something or to, make something happen,

it'll help you get more comfortable.

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And when you are going for a

leadership role, you've got to

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watch out for that tricky balance

between operational and strategy.

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'cause depending on what level

you are, sometimes you can

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get stuck in the operational.

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But if you're going for that next

leadership role, they want to see

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your strategic approach as well.

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So it's definitely about making sure

you are demonstrating that balance of

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the strategy and the how do I do it?

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And then our final area is to create

personal impact because we also, as

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well as all that factored evidence

and data, we also want to be showing

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who we are as a person and showing

our enthusiasm of our passion for

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the role of excitement for the role.

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'cause that's contagious and

you want to be conveying that.

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But sometimes if you are nervous,

what happens is you're so focused on

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containing your nerves that enthusiasm

and that excitement gets all squashed.

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So it's thinking about making

sure you are conveying that.

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And one way to do that is to think

about this role that I'm going for.

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What sparks joy for me,

personally about that role?

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Is it the mission?

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Is it the purpose?

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Is it the people?

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Is it the project?

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Is it the tools even that I might be

working with, but finding something

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that sparks joy and being able to

think about how you communicate that

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in the interview setting as well.

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Also giving yourself the

permission not to be perfect.

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'cause sometimes when we

go for an interview, think

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gotta do a perfect delivery.

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I can't make any mistakes.

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But actually it's okay to show

your human side to the panel.

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They're human too.

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And sometimes it can be enough to, show

that personality piece, if you like.

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I remember I went for an interview

when I was leaving my HR director

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role, and I was applying for a career

coaching job at Social Enterprise.

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I hadn't had an interview for seven

years, and I had to do a role play

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at the beginning of the interview as

well, so I was quite anxious about it.

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So when I went in and met the panel,

I said, oh, please be gentle with me.

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I haven't had an interview.

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For seven years and it just broke the ice.

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It lightened the atmosphere a bit.

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It gave me permission to not

be, a hundred percent perfect.

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Lucky I did get the job, so it worked.

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But just thinking about what would make

you feel able to relax a little bit,

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using your body language, smiling is

all great ways to show your personality

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and to break the ice a little bit.

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You can be, and you should be

proactive in the interview.

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So creating the right

environment for yourself.

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If you're someone who naturally

is quite engaging and you would

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normally want to lighten that depth,

so then do that in the interview.

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It doesn't have to all be

the responsibility of the

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panel to make you feel good.

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You can think about how can I show

my personality and enable me to

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feel more, a bit more relaxed at

the beginning of the interview.

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And then the final thing is to be

intentional about the impression and the

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impact you want to have in the interview.

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So thinking about how

you want to come across.

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In that interview setting,

bearing in mind what the job is.

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Do you want to be seen

as a safe pair of hands?

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Do you want to be seen as a go-getter?

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Do you want to be seen as a people person?

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And being intentional going into

that interview , intentional

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about the impression and the

impact that you want to create.

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Is also part of that, being

proactive in the interview process.

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I know that's a lot to think about.

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I'll just recap for you.

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We've got reframing selling into

providing data and information

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for them to make a decision about.

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What you've done what your successes

are, what you're bringing managing your

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inner critic to create a positive mindset

around the whole interview experience.

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Getting clear about what the interview

panel need to know about you in terms

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of your unique selling points and the

impact you've had on the business.

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Understanding the different perspectives

on the interview panel and what

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different people might be looking for.

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Starting to practice talking about

yourself, that's something you

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find very tricky, and creating

personal impact, letting your joy,

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enthusiasm, excitement, or personality

come through in the interview.

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I hope that's given you

some food for thought.

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I hope it's given you some ideas

about where you might need to

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tweak your interview performance.

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And like I always say, if it's

something that you feel you need

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support with, then please do message me.

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Get in touch.

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I love, love, love interview coaching

because it can make a real difference to.

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How you perform on your day and making

sure you are getting the job offer.

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You're not the runner up, you're

actually getting the job offer.

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Thank you so much for listening

to this episode of the Unstuck

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and Unstoppable podcast.

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I have lots of free resources you

can access on my website, ww.career

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tree coaching.co

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uk, and I'll also put

links in the show notes.

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If you found this episode

helpful, then please subscribe

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so you don't miss the next one.

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And please do share it with a

friend and leave me a review

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and I will personally thank you.

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Remember, you're capable of more

than you know, shine brightly.

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Lead boldly and unlock the

extraordinary potential within you.

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Be unstoppable.