Lean Back: Bring Authenticity and Value To Every Interview

By Maureen O'Hanlon Freder

Lean Back is an educational, self-help interview book about how to represent YOUR story during an interview. Whether you are a college graduate, looking for a promotion or re-entering the workforce, this interview book is for you!
The author not only uses the title, Lean Back for posturing during an interview but also as an acronym to guide you in understanding and verbalizing your proficiencies of a given job.
Do you get nervous or too wordy during an interview? Do you get preoccupied with the "what-if's?" What-if I don't know the answer to one or more of their questions? What if I don't have all the experience they are looking for? Well, no worries. Each chapter is packed with easy-to-read tips and strategies so that you will be poised when sitting on the hot seat of an interview.
The author shares behavioral techniques so you can bring authenticity and value to every interview. The pages of Lean Back will shift your focus from a reactive answer to a purposeful response by utilizing self-reflection as a base to raise awareness. You will then be able to visualize and enhance your story through the LEANBACK™ Proficiency model and the authors coined acronym, SCAN™. Lean Back is not only designed to raise your level of sophistication and confidence when sharing your succinct story but, this easy-to-read interview book is packed with tips and strategies to address every aspect of the interviewing process. Resumes, cover letters, executive summaries are just a few highlights to bring your story to life!
As you read this book, your nervous energy should dissipate and the wordiness of a given answer will become concise. Lean Back is all about you and your story on why you are the best fit for a given job!
So, Lean Back and engross yourself throughout the pages of this book and you will be ready, willing and able to convey your authentic message for that job.
Enjoy and I wish you much success on your professional journey!
Cheers,
Mo

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098392734

Book preview

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© 2019 by Maureen Freder

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission from the author, Maureen Freder.

Print ISBN: 978-1-09839-272-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-09839-273-4

This book is dedicated to my mother and father for always encouraging me to take just one step in the right direction as it will lead you to a great journey. And to my husband, Bill and three children, MacKenzie, William and Robert for teaching me the vital difference between the words Talk and Act. And to my readers, I applaud you and thank you for taking a bold stance to be the best version of yourself as you bring true value and authenticity to your next interview!

Enjoy,

Mo

INTRODUCTION

I am about to walk you into the mindset of an interviewer. What exactly are they looking for in a potential candidate? Simply put, interviewers are looking for someone who has the ability to perform the job, someone who is prepared and able to convey a polished message and ultimately be a good fit for their team.

My goal with Lean Back is to prepare you for any type of interview so that you are hyper focused on sharing your story instead of being nervous. As a result, you can posture yourself to Lean Back in your chair and command their attention.

That’s right! The focus is on YOU. We are going to dive deep into your mind, body and spirit so that you are prepared, and ready to bring authenticity and value to your upcoming interview. Chances are you are either a recent graduate, changing jobs or looking for that promotion. You see what jobs are out there. You make a decision to submit your resume. You must be patient and persistent. Responses don’t always come along.

But then it happens! After tens of hundreds of applications submitted electronically, you finally get that call or email to move on to a phone screen, video or a face-to-face interview. In light of COVID-19, you most likely have a video or text interview. The feelings of panic and excitement become indistinguishable emotions. The sheer fact that someone responded from that black hole we call classifieds cyberspace sends you reeling into a euphoric state. Then, after that moment settles, you start to think about the what ifs.

What if I’m not what they are looking for?

What if I don’t know an answer to one or more of their questions?

What if I don’t have all the experience they are looking for?

What if I don’t get the job?

The what ifs are enough to stymie that euphoric feeling unless you approach this thing called the interview in a systematic, strategic, and seamless way. You need to know what they are looking for in a candidate but more importantly- yes more importantly- you need to know what YOUR story is. How will you separate yourself from the competition?

Being prepared with your story is just one part of getting that dream job. This handbook will aid in raising your level of sophistication with the interviewing process, and give you a sense of purpose and confidence to Lean Back while on the hot seat. I have not only interviewed hundreds of potential candidates but also served as mentor and coach to many people ranging from high school students and college students going for that internship to adults who are looking for a promotion or change of career.

As a former clinical social worker who now works in corporate life, I have been crafting this concept of interviewing for years. At first, I was like you, going on interviews more times than I can remember- and underwhelmed with my performance. Sometimes my nerves got the best of me. That resulted in frustration. Other times, I blanked on answers. Why? Because I wasn’t really prepared. So, I decided to be more reflective on what I actually brought to the table. Since then, I have been afforded the opportunity to sit on the other side of the table, as coach, mentor and interviewer. All those situations led me to create this book for you. Having a degree in Behavioral Science helped me to link behavior, aptitude and proficiencies. I will share this with you in three ways throughout this book.

I will coach you to self-reflect, a key skill in uncovering your every move during the interview process.

Acronyms, such as LEANBACK™ and SCAN™ will become familiar terminology to aid in self-discovery around your proficiencies and how to best represent them verbally in a polished way.

Sensory application. We will utilize three of the five senses; sight, touch and hearing to practice, practice, practice and create a foundation to verbalize your story.

But wait, before we get started, I feel the need to call out two fun ways to remember all of your awesomeness. As you uncover your strengths, you will want to find alternate ways to remember it all. Two techniques I have found useful are chunking and mnemonics.

Chunking is the ability to group information, making it easier to remember. For example, memorize these numbers: (not an actual number): 8881098621. Now, chunk it and see if it’s easier to remember. 888–109–8621. By grouping or chunking, you essentially break down the unfamiliar, making it easier to remember.

When you utilize mnemonic technique, you are using association, imagery