Are You Generating the Right “Hire Me” Feelings?
Curt Skene’s In2Win! Career Coaching Supplement.
Never underestimate the power of creating good feelings when it comes to getting hired! “People buy with emotion and justify with logic.” Employers are no different. When they decide to hire it’s usually because during the interview process the executive conveyed the right feeling that makes the hiring manager comfortable with their decision.
Most employers today are either looking for an executive who makes them feel “safe” (i.e. fits in, proven in the job, traditional approach or offers low risk) or they are attracted by a marquee player who offers a feeling of significance (i.e. well known, celebrity status, industry expert, superstar, unproven yet provides high return potential). Some may even look for a mix of both. As you go through the interview process your job is to assess what predominant feeling the employer is seeking and then align your attributes to that feeling. If you listen closely to the questions the answers will become clear.
Pay close attention because the better you can match the feeling, the greater chance you have to land the opportunity. When preparing for the interview, make sure you fully understand the culture of the organization as identifying the “fit” can be everything. Go in knowing their mission, vision and values; then work to demonstrate how you can align yourself to them and their corporate culture.
Facts alone rarely persuade. Present your experience in a way that makes employers feel confident and excited about hiring you.
Why I Wrote This Page
Because people unconsciously trust others who feel similar to them, and matching an employer’s communication style and pace, not just their stated needs, is a feeling-generation lever most candidates never consciously use.
This is a form of mirroring, and it happens below conscious awareness on both sides. An employer who speaks in quick, direct bursts often reads a slower, more deliberate candidate as a mismatch, even if the substance is perfect, and vice versa. Matching tempo and style doesn’t mean becoming someone else. It means paying attention to how they communicate and meeting them there, which builds a feeling of fit before you’ve said a single convincing fact.
This works alongside the safe-versus-significant read from the book, not instead of it. Once you know which feeling they’re looking for, mirroring their style is how you actually deliver it.
Action Steps
- In the first few minutes, notice the interviewer’s pace and tone, and consciously adjust yours closer to theirs.
- Pay attention to their vocabulary and the phrases they repeat. Echoing their own language back signals fit more powerfully than introducing your own.
- After the interview, note what feeling you think you left them with, safe or significant, and whether it matched what they seemed to be looking for.
In2Win! Afterthought
Curt’s current observations and updated guidance will be added here.
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