Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

In my last post, I mentioned that the key to landing a job once you have the job interview is to make people like you.

I should have recommended the classic book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People“, by Dale Carnegie.

It’s a 1936 classic. 85 years old, but much of the advice is still relevant. Again, I consider this a key life skill that will help you succeed in many areas.

Six Ways to Make People Like You

  1. Become genuinely interested in other people
  2. Smile
  3. A person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language
  4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
  5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests
  6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely

We’ve all had that conversation where the other person talked only about themselves the entire time. Their problems. Their life. Their issues. And on and on. Those are not great conversations. You do not go away from them happy, and you are often glad it’s over.

Don’t be that person.

In the job interview, of course, you want the other person to know you and get a sense of who you are and what you can do.

But you want to do that in a way that doesn’t make them feel yucky like when you just talked to a self-absorbed friend.

Ask them how they are doing. Ask them what’s the job like. Ask them what the key to succeed in the job and the company. Listen to the answers. Smile, nod.

The Best Interviews

The best job interviews I ever had were ones where everyone was smiling and laughing at the end. Not that it was meant to be a comedy routine, but where the conversation flowed freely and easily. And everyone felt at ease. Where people in the room could see where I’d fit in on the team, and see us all working together.

Check out that book, if you haven’t. Look for courses on public speaking, and how to talk to strangers if you have anxiety around that.