When Brian failed to land his dream job, he was frustrated. He came to Sandra for private interview coaching after having a series of unsuccessful interviews with different organizations for positions for which he knew he was well qualified.
As Sandra listened to his story about not being the chosen candidate for his dream job as a fund raiser at a non-profit hospital, she had a flash of intuition that the job might still be available. She sensed he might be able to recover from that unsuccessful interview and go after his dream job.
She asked Brian if he knew for sure the other candidate had started the job. When Brian said “No”, Sandra encouraged him to call the CEO of the hospital to ask her if the other candidate had started the job. Sandra suggested that he share with the CEO that he had felt this was his perfect job, that he was the right one for the position and to ask her to keep him in mind for later. Brian did make the call to the CEO and spoke from his heart. When Brian opened up to her, she reciprocated and shared that she was not fully sold on the other candidate and that the job was still open. Brian had a half-hour impromptu talk with her, sharing his deep knowledge of fund raising for a smaller non-profit hospital. She invited him to come back for another interview in two days.
Sandra then helped Brian craft his messages carefully based on what he knew about the CEO’s leadership style and what Sandra sensed the CEO would be looking for. Sandra helped Brian see that his natural style would blend perfectly with the CEO’s style. Sandra helped him rehearse his ideas to deliver more effectively. Together they developed answers to common interview questions, and practiced handling specific questions by telling stories. Brian began to build a library of stories that he could apply to different interview situations.
When Brian met the CEO for the interview, the rapport between them was palpable. He knew what support to offer to the CEO and she was completely captivated. She offered the job to him on the spot.
As a result of Brian and Sandra’s work together, he was able to improve his interview and communication skills and land his dream job. Later he shared that the coaching not only improved his interview skills, but improved the way he communicated with his new coworkers and staff. He started using his library of stories to inspire his new staff to be more successful in raising funds!