When I was younger, I naively believed that the best candidates got the job.  That job positions were always awarded to the person best qualified.  But one thing that has become more apparent to me over the years, is that it’s not just your ability to do the job.  It’s also about how people perceive your ability to do the job.

Perception is something that is key to your career.  You need to be able to market yourselves these days.  There isn’t the job security of the old days, so there is no longer a job for life.  So without that security you need to be able to make people aware of what you bring to the table to get a new job in the current economy.  This is never more important than in interviews.  Poor performance at the interview stage will on most occasions fatally scupper your chances of landing that job.

So all the candidate has to do is be good at interviews!......which is great.  Except a lot of people dread interviews and/or don’t know how to approach them.  Unfortunately a lot of people, when marketing themselves to potential employers, fail to have a strategy for how they are going to approach such an important task.  Now during the boom times this wasn’t quite so important.  There were plenty of jobs available and if you didn’t get the one you were currently going for, then chances were that another worthwhile position would come up soon.  But those days have gone.  There is so much competition for the few places that are going, that interviews assume even greater importance.

But a lot of people still sell themselves short by not properly preparing for an interview.  And they make a cardinal mistake of making the interview about them, rather than the company they are looking to join.  That might sound a bit bizarre, considering the interviewee is the one being assessed to see if they are suitable for the job.  But what I mean by that is that too many people talk about irrelevant information when marketing themselves to potential employers.  Relevance should be a key plank in your strategy when contacting firms or responding to job advertisements.  The “so what” question should always be asked – “I can do x”...”So what?”  Is what you’re talking about of relevance to that job, that department, or that company?  You might have some marvellous accomplishments in your career.  But are they related to what you are going for now?  Is it similar work, problems, issues that you would need to deal with in this new position?

Relevance isn’t the only issue to look at when preparing for an interview.  But it is a key one.  If you’re talking about a lot of achievements that simply aren’t relevant to what you’re going for, then what are the chances that the interviewer is going to be interested?  Top quality performance in the interview equates to making your interviewer sit up and take notice.  If another candidate makes their work history relevant to the job, and you don’t, then who do you think will have performed better?  If you’ve sold yourself short due to poor performance then you’re doing yourself a disfavour.  And possibly the company itself.  They may land themselves with a poorer candidate because you didn’t perform well at the interview stage.

So if you want to increase your chances of landing a job, then the first step in your interview strategy is to consider relevance.  Because remember, it's the best performer at the interview stage who invariably gets the job, not the best candidate.

Those of you who follow football may have noticed that English Premiership club Chelsea have sacked yet another manager.  This time it was the relatively young and inexperienced Andre Villas-Boas, who is only 34 years old.  Whilst he may have made some mistakes in his man-management and being too adventurous in his team’s tactics, it seemed ridiculous to give someone so young such a short time in the job.  Everyone in football knew it was a difficult job and that the incoming manager would need to do some rebuilding, with the playing squad in a transitional phase.  But patience isn’t a virtue in football these days and Villas-Boas was sent packing.

Now, I’ve heard a lot of people expressing little sympathy for Villas-Boas because he will be receiving a 7 figure compensation.  But I think that misses a very important point.  Whilst the money he receives will be substantial, what damage has this done to his reputation?  Your perceived value is vitally important to your employability.  If Villas-Boas has taken a massive knock, then how much will that affect his reputation and thereby his earning potential in the future?  He’s young enough to hopefully be able to rebound from this and have a successful managerial career.  But this does highlight the importance of your perceived value.  It’s not just enough to be good at your job.  You really need to be able to market your abilities to your current employer and future, potential employers.

So what do you want employers to know about you?  Well the main thing is, they need to know the Results they can get by employing you.  What will you bring to the table.  You need to be able to tell STAR stories.  STAR is an anacronym for:

• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result

Basically, you have to tell employers what you specifically did (not the department, not the team, but you), how you did it and what results were achieved.  Companies want problem solvers, so if you can show that you can solve their major problems then they will attach a high value to you.  If you can’t tell people these stories then your perceived value will be lower.  If won’t mean you can’t do the job.  Just in the employer’s perception, they might rank you a little bit lower than if you could provide evidence of your abilities.

One great side effect of a high perceived value is that it great in combating ageism.  Someone like Lord Alan Sugar will have a massively high perceived value.  Business people aren’t going to turn down working with him on the basis of his age, because they know his capabilities and what he has achieved over the years.

On Wednesday night, during the first Chelsea game since Villas-Boas was sacked, Chelsea fans were chanting the name of “Jose Mourinho”.  Now there is a man who has got some major results over his career....and is not afraid to promote them!

I wrote a blog post at the start of the year about New Year’s Resolutions.  How people want to achieve something tangible with their resolutions and how it might be a good idea instead to look at doing something different.  Instead of earning a certain amount of money or losing a certain amount of weight, why not change your personal style?  Have your resolution to be about showing up differently.  Such as being more present with people when you are around them, rather than being lost in a world of thought and not really connecting with them.  The way you go about things, rather than what you are specifically doing.

I feel the same applies to Lent.  People are currently talking about what they’re going to give up for Lent.  But it’s always something tangible, such as giving up eating chocolate, or stopping smoking.  It’s always action orientated.  But why not take a look at giving something else up?  Such as, if you are struggling to find a new job, then how about quitting blaming the economy for your predicament?  Instead of having an extremely negative, pessimistic attitude, how about replacing it with something a bit more positive?

I’m not for one second saying things are easy for people in the current economy.  They are most certainly not.  But you can take responsibility for yourself, for your attitude and for the actions that you take.  And if you carry on blaming others, where exactly is that going to get you?  I speak from personal experience.   I have very much used to blame others for my problems a few years ago.  It was always someone else’s fault.  But when I took back control of my life and responsibility, to be honest it was a blessed relief.  Gone was the internal negative chatter that was constantly swirling around in my mind, making me angry and getting me nowhere.  Of course I still have times where I get upset and frustrated these days....I’m only human!  I just don’t get bogged down in those thoughts and let them dominate my day.  Instead I’m looking for the positive action I can take to rectify the situation.

So if you’re frustrated in your job hunt, then try to take the emotion out of the equation.  Again, I totally understand the tough situation a lot of people are in.  But it’s a problem that needs dealing with and the more time spent bemoaning the situation, then the less time spent taking effective action.  However, I would also couple taking responsibility for the situation with another important attitude – stop beating yourself up!

Even if you are taking all the right actions in looking for a new job, there are no guarantees that you will land one straight away.  You could simply be beaten to the job by someone who is better qualified or a better fit.  You gave your best in the application process and there is nothing more you can do.  So don’t blame it on yourself as if there is something wrong with you!

Having the right attitude can be the starting point for taking the right action.  But instead of deciding on your actions when you’re in a bad state, with a lot of negativity clouding your judgement, you can take a calmer, more considered approach when you’ve calmed down.  I honestly can’t think from my own experience when I made better decisions or took better action when I was upset, angry, frustrated or negative.  So give up the unhelpful outlook for Lent and try out something that will move you forward.