This is a common refrain all professional consultants hear from all levels of candidates before their interviews. "What is it that the hiring authority wants to see and hear from me?"  Then afterward the question reverberating when the verdict is in, "What did I do wrong? I should have aced that interview, that job is perfect for me."

What you did not do was show you would be perfect for the job, for you failed to put YOURSELF in the job. You failed to put commitment, drive, passion and enjoyment in your answers. You sounded like a textbook, like everyone else. Your chance to grab this position must happen in this single one- hour interview. It boils down to how you package yourselves, the energy you bring to the interview, and how you present your past and future plans during that crucial hour.

It is just not enough to be able to do the job required. Sometimes the most important thing is how you deliver yourself. Seldom are companies interviewing to hire personnel to remain in the same job forever. They are seeking upwardly mobile people that will fit into their succession plan, someone that will add something to the company.

What do hiring authorities really wish to see and hear when they interview? It boils down to four simple words: confidence, drive, commitment, and passion. The bigger question is how do you demonstrate these traits throughout the interview. You must energetically and vigorously live these words. You do much of this through your with body language, movement, spoken energy and intensity, active listening, and showing that you are enjoying the interview.

Confidence: The jobseeker  who displays confidence in his/her ability to do the position brings an aura of poise, self-assurance, and steadfastness to the interview. Every fiber of his/her being sets up a strong body language image that lets everyone know he/she is the person for the job. Confidence translates into how  the jobseeker moves and carries him/herself. Further, the confident candidate uses positive words in describing what he/she can do and how that translates to the new position. He/She will put him/herself into the job, to assist the interviewer in visualizing him/her in the job.

Drive: We all know someone who has such internal drive he/she has overcome life's obstacles. He/She finds the way to work through life's rough times or how to simply go over these hurdles to achieve his/her goals. These are not the people that, when asked how he/she accomplished his/her goals, complain about the roadblocks others caused. Instead, they talk about capturing the opportunity to learn and grow from adversity. Truly, these jobseekers go the top of the pile, for he/she know how to problem solve without stepping on others in the process to achieve his/her goals. In fact, he/she will very likely share the achievements with all the contributors. These jobseekers are the natural leaders.

Commitment: If you asked 100 people if they had commitment, almost without fail everyone would assure you they do. Unfortunately for many, they only have commitment for as long the task is easy and comfortable. When the going gets tough, as it invariably will, they quit. They bail out of school, sports, relationships, and work. If a candidate's resume shows numerous jobs or unfinished schooling, that is perceived as lack of commitment. Commitment means that when asked to take on a project or a job, the successful jobseeker will see it through no matter how tough. He or she taps into internal strength as well as seeking the external resources necessary to meet the mandate. Commitment is not martyrdom. It is about becoming the facilitator; reaching out to those who can assist. It means research, learning the tools to achieve goals. Commitment is about getting the job done in a timely fashion and sharing the glory with those that aided in completing the task. There is always enough glory to go around.

Passion: Last, but certainly not least! We have all met people who have passion; people who just enthrall you when they start discussing what excites them. They come alive when they answer even the simplest question. Their answer will be direct and succinct, but their eyes sparkle, their face lights up and perhaps their hands draw air diagrams. The person will sit forward in their seat. The interviewer certainly will see and feel their excitement. The job interviewer will know they found the person who will use their passion to tackle the company's most challenging tasks with perseverance and tenacity, and most importantly, will have fun doing the job. This person's passion will be contagious and every company will make room for more people like this.

I wish it were as simple as packaging confidence, drive, commitment and passion into a 'how-to' book. However, it is not. These personal traits are the essence of what a person is. Some of us learn them in childhood from a nurturing family. Still others learn them from a favorite teacher or a workplace mentor, but they identify these as exemplary personal traits and the person perseveres to adapt these traits as their own. The jobseekers may be employable without these traits, however he/she will never reach his/her true potential without possessing at least some of these. Those jobseeker that succeed into the upper echelons of corporate settings all have these traits, in addition to top skills in their field, they have the ability to lead people, and the ability to communicate formally and informally with all levels of people. Few take themselves too seriously. They have fun. When asked these people will tell you that it took lots of hard work, life-long learning, the help of others and a healthy dollop of luck to succeed but that it was worth the effort.

Remember, the harder you work the luckier you are! It is in your best interest that you learn to bring confidence, drive, commitment and passion to your job search.

Hosted by Mountain Cablevision Ltd, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Designed and Created by Bill McIntyre