For many years I have enjoyed teaching and coaching young professionals about how to prove to prospect employers that they are experts in their fields–beginning experts, but experts nonetheless. The problem is not that they are not experts, it is that they don’t know how to let it out, how to provide convincing evidence that they know their stuff. Over the years, I’ve found a few things that convince the interviewer that the job hunter is an expert but I want to focus on the two most important ingredients that must be present to convince an interviewer that you know your stuff.
Verbosity: “I can talk about this forever!”
Experts know a lot. They understand how their area of expertise is organized, they know what the “big ideas” are. They can point to important books and publications about their field. And they can talk forever if you let them. So the first form of proof that you can offer as an expert is your ability to know and to articulate a lot about your field. Can you do that? If so, you have passed the first hurdle of proving yourself as an expert. But there is a related and highly critical kind of proof that must accompany verbosity.
Specificity: “I can give you specific examples from my experience that prove my point.”
I was sitting in my office near the close of a day in late summer a few years ago when I got an unusual call. A young lady from the other side of our state called and said someone had given her my name in hopes I could help her. She said she had interviewed for a teacher job in the spring in her dream district. But she didn’t get the job; she didn’t even get called back for a second interview! But since spring something had happened and a position was open again. The district called her back to interview again and she didn’t want to blow it. She was perceptive enough to realize she had not learned anything new since the first interview so she was not likely to do better.
We talked for only ten minutes or so, but she was a quick study. I shared the point about verbosity and went into a little more detail than above. Then I moved to the point of specificity and gave her the two most powerful (almost magic) words for an interview. Are you ready?
The two magic words are: “For example …”
That’s right. State your claim, then immediately back it up with your specific proof, beginning the sentence with the two magic words. There is a legal concept with accompanying terms that addresses this issue. The terms are “claim” and “warrant.” A claim is a statement that claims something. In this case, the claim is that the job candidate is an expert in their field of preparation and training. The warrant is the supporting documentation that backs up the claim. The warrant is a kind of proof, but not as strong as scientific proof.
In this example, I suggested that she point back to her student teaching and be review all she had learned. She could create a list of claims about what she knew, what she could do and how her thinking and approach to students and teaching had changed. For each claim, she needed a “For example …”
I’m happy to say she called back in about a week with a good report: they loved her in the interview and she got her dream job. Knowing how the interview systems work, I’m pretty confident her new approach won her points that earned her the teaching position. This approach can do the same for you if you are diligent and adequately prepare.
Hope you enjoyed this tip. Now get out there and demonstrate that you are the expert you really are.
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