Managing Employers' Expectations
One obstacle job seekers often run into is employers who seem to
have impossible expectations. Although there are always some
employers afflicted with this syndrome, there seem to be more of
them in a down economy. The logic is that if jobs are harder to
come by, a company should be able to get more for their money.
This is sometimes true but it is less often the case than
employers would like to think.
Often, what they're looking for in a candidate isn't really
feasible. For example, in the I.T. world, they might normally be
able to get a web designer for $40/hr and in a down economy,
they might try to get someone who can do both web design and
server-side scripting for the same salary. But it might not be
realistic to expect someone could be competent in both skills.
If you're confident that what the recruiter's asking for is
unrealistic, let them know (in a respectful way).
I think one of the biggest mistakes job seekers make in
interviews is kowtowing to the interviewer. It is good to be
respectful, but it is also important that you command respect
yourself and not let them ask you ridiculous questions or expect
you have a skillset that people don't have. I was watching the
movie "Shawshank Redemption" last night and it struck me that
Morgan Freeman's character experienced this with his parole
board interviews. At first, he just sucked up to the
interviewers and told them what he thought they wanted to hear.
"Yes sir, I'm a changed man. I am definitely rehabilitated." And
each time, he was rejected. Then at one point, he decided to
tell them how he really felt and told them "I have no idea what
the word 'rehabilitation' means. It's just a term politicians
came up with to make themselves feel important. But I do feel
regret for my crime and if I could, I'd go back in time and talk
to that young man and show him there's a better way to live. But
unfortunately it's too late for that." That's when they finally
respected him as a human being and gave him his parole.
You've got to get the interviewer to respect you as an equal
before they'll consider hiring you. You should be confident in
your abilities and come across as a respectful, professional
person. An interviewer can sense if you're just telling them
what you think they want to hear. And no one can respect a
sycophant as an equal. But if you speak plainly and directly,
people will be more likely to respect you. Even if you tell them
you don't think what they're asking for is realistic. Chances
are you're not the only person they interviewed who felt that
way. But there's also a good chance the other candidates lied
and pretended they had all the skills the interviewer said they
were looking for, or didn't call them on their unrealistic
demands.
So by telling the interviewer what they're looking for isn't
feasible in your opinion, you may be saying something they had
been coming to believe on their own, and by coming out and
saying it yourself, you present yourself as a straight-talking
professional who can be relied on to be honest and forthright on
the job.