Have you experienced the Leo effect?

3 weeks in we may have moved on but has Leo? Have you experienced the Leo effect?

I am a massive fan of the Oscars, I'm the annoying one in the office who goes the whole day trying not to find out who’s won so I can watch the highlights the night after. This year I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Leo DiCaprio missing out on his Oscar again. Now, I have a soft spot for Leo, as a lot of people do – I grew up with him and used to have a life size poster of him in my room – not very cool! But this year’s Oscars got me thinking about the ‘Leo effect’.

Leo has been nominated for an Oscar 4 times and has yet to win, it has become a bit of a running joke. I work in the recruitment industry and Leo’s plight got me thinking what it must be like to keep making it to final interview stage and not be picked. Like Leo you may be making it to the final round but keep getting ‘pipped at the post’.

If you find that you are getting to the final interview but not being picked, there are a number of things you can do to improve your chances.

Look and act the part:

Dress for success – be smart and professional, when you are confident in how you look it will come across in your demeanour
A good firm handshake speaks volumes

Knowledge is power:

Find out the structure of the interview prior to attending, ie: how may interviewees will there be? Will it be a panel style interview? Will there be competency based questions? Your agency or internal recruiter will have all this information and will be happy to share it.
Find out the names of your interviewees & look at their profiles on the company’s website or Linkedin. It can do no wrong familiarising yourself with who you’re meeting.

Be prepared:

In the event you meet the key decision maker in the lift, have your 30 second ‘elevator pitch’ ready to go, why do you want the job? Why are you the best person for it? Why do you want to work for the company?
Have your references ready to go. If you are asked to provide them there will be no hold up trying to get their permission.

Lastly:

Let your personality come through – if you are at final interview stage, by now the company know you have the technical ability to do the role. But, will you match with the company values/culture?
Finally, always follow up with a thank you email to the people you have met. Good manners go a long way!