“What would keep you from asking?” I replied.

Well apparently my associate had been told in the past that you shouldn’t ask about training opportunities during the interview process because:
a. you put the employer in an awkward position, in the case they don’t have a policy in place and
b. you comes across as quite demanding asking a question like that before you are even offered the job.

I was shocked! Surely in this day and age all organizations recognize the crucial role of personal development and have some sort of policy (and budget) assigned to training. Even if their policy is that they don’t offer training -not advisable if they want to retain top talent.

Or maybe the organization relies on ad-hoc training opportunities depending on the needs of the individual employee. So they wouldn’t know before that person is hired.

Nevertheless, an answer could still be provided along the lines of “Yes we do provide training opportunities and they are based on the individual’s needs. So you will have the opportunity to discuss this further with your manager after your x month review.”

Or the employer could be honest and say: “Our training budget has been cut, but will be reviewing it again in x months”.

Our Advise:
MAKE SURE you ask that question. In fact, you ought it to yourself to ask that question.

Remember an interview is not only about the potential employer assessing whether you are suitable for them, but also you judging whether this organization is suitable for you. Would you ever tell the interviewer “oh you shouldn’t have asked me that question, because you sound too demanding?”

An organization that doesn’t even like the question of training coming up during an interview it is not worth associating yourself with. Unless of course you want to be stuck working within a hierarchical culture that expects you to be “thankful” for being given a job rather than being recognized and valued for what you contribute to the organization.

For the next x number of years you will be spending most of your life producing results for this organization. And any organization that doesn’t recognize the importance that personal development plays in producing these results doesn’t deserve to have you onboard.

“Our people are our most important asset” is a mantra well rehearsed by organizations, but unfortunately a lot do not match their words with action.

So ask the question and watch carefully how it is answered. If you are not happy with the answer you get, then run, run far away.

And you feel you’ve done everything there is to do to prepare for the interview. You’ve done your research, you know the ins and outs of the company, you’ve come up with answers for all the possible questions starting with “Tell me a time when…”. You also know the importance of first impression so you have your suit ready and your shoes shined. What else could you possibly be doing? Well there is one crucial element that could make or break the interview.

Every interview is different and the organizational culture will dictate the interview style. Your level of preparation is of course important, but lot of the questions you prepare for might not even been asked. Or some you hadn’t even considered might come up. However, there is one element that is always constant and always crucial for each and every interview, regardless of the organization and the people involved: your state of confidence.

Your state of confidence will indeed determine the success of the interview, especially in the corporate world. This is simply, because when we are communicating with others the impact of the message we are sharing comes not only from the actual words we are using, but also from our nonverbal behavior. In a seminal study on communication, Albert Mehrabian of UCLA, demonstrated that if there is incongruence between our verbal and non-verbal communication then people tend to believe our non-verbal signals.

In fact, when we are communicating feelings and attitudes only 7% of the impact of our message comes from our actual words! Leaving a whopping 93% down to our non-verbal behaviour: 55% on our body language and 38% on our tone of voice.

Does this mean words are not important? Of course they are. That’s why preparation is crucial. However, no matter how many times you’ve rehearsed that answer unless you deliver it with an air of confidence and purpose your words will not have the desired impact.

So how do you get into a state of confidence?

Physiology:

The fastest way to get an instant confidence boost is to stand up straight. Try this: let your shoulders drop into a slouching position and then say enthusiastically ‘I am beaming with confidence.’ It doesn’t work, does it?

So throw your shoulders back and stand up straight. Try it now. How does it feel? Can you say ‘I feel confident’ with enthusiasm? You bet you can.

Internal dialogue:

If you are rehearsing your answers but at the same time have a little voice at the back of your head saying “Why am I even bothering? They will never hire me” or “I never interview well” you are putting yourself as far away from a confident state as you can.

Would you ever say something similar to a friend going into an interview? Of course not! So start treating yourself like you would a friend. Mute your inner critic and imagine an encouraging friend next to you telling you “you are well prepared and you will do great”.

Bring it all together and act as if:

While rehearsing your answers, don’t just sit at your couch. Instead recreate the interview scene by sitting at your desk. Straighten up your back and lean forward putting your hands on the desk. If your inner critic comes up, just brush it away by saying “sorry I can’t indulge you right now, I am at an interview”.

Take the Edge Off:

Look at the interview as a dialogue rather than an interrogation. This your chance to check out if the job, environment and culture is suitable for you as much as they are checking if you are suitable for the job! See your interviewers as your equals. What questions are you going to ask them? Are they good enough for you?

For the Greek version of this article please click here.