Know your Audience

It's been said many times by those in sales, marketing, and other professional fields that you need to know your audience. Knowing your audience is like knowing your friends. You know the music they like, the movies they watch and their favorite foods and they probably know yours. It's a symbiotic relationship where each of you complement each other in some way. It's what makes hanging out together worthwhile.

The idea of knowing your audience can also be extended to finding you the perfect job. You should know the work that you like to do, the projects that you like to work on, and the type of colleagues that make going to work feel great! Knowing the things that you enjoy doing at work can also add to the fuel that inspires you and could help lift your confidence. This in turn could help you convey a positive message during an interview process because your tone of voice will naturally convey interest in the company. However, knowing yourself is only one side of the equation. Do you know the recruiters who will be interviewing you? Do you know the hiring manager? Do you know the culture of the company that you're planning to join?

Getting to know recruiters is just like getting to know a new friend. For the most part, recruiters appreciate a couple of introductory questions from candidates as a way of getting to know each other. Just keep in mind that the process is geared at identifying a candidate who meets the needs of a job requisition, so keep the greetings to something as simple as "How are you doing today?" or "Are you working on a lot of requisitions this week?". The important thing is to relate to recruiters like you would relate to someone you'd want to know. Just remember to keep it professional.
This is also true of hiring managers. Getting to know something about the hiring manager's work expectations could help you understand the work environment while at the same time when you ask questions this could help the hiring manager understand your passion to learn more about the organization. For example, you could ask "What do you expect from your team?" or "What are some of the challenges that the organization is currently facing?". I would recommend that you place yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and imagine the questions that you would want your employees to ask if you were interviewing them.

As for understanding the culture of the company, I would suggest that you do some research about the company before sending out your resume and scheduling that first interview. What are your interests in working for the organization? Do you agree with the company's mission and vision statement? Can you see yourself supporting the growth of the company for the next five or ten years?

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.