Okay Y'all....bear with me.  I'm still trying to articulate the point of this post.

It all started this summer when one of my first years at Kelley (who is now a second year MBA candidate) called me and said ..."my summer internship is going okay but I would like to talk with you about opportunities with your company. " I was like...wow...the internship is not even over and you are looking for the next gig!!! Smart kid (this person is a grown person but the current second years are all my babies LOL)!!! 

So basically we started a conversation about what this 2nd year needed to do in order to get an offer from my company.  In this conversation, I gave this 2nd year what I am now terming  Buzz Words.  

So what are Buzz Words???....these are the words that will land you the offer.  
Yes, I know I am saying something very daring and not scientifically proven.
But here is my hypothesis:

Every company...every organization for that matter...has a certain language.  You feel this when you start at a new company and they have the 4 or 5 or 100 pages of acronyms that everyone uses as if it's actual English.

ADD side note:  Reason 583 why I love my boss:  He will say an acronym and then say what the acronym stands for when he is walking me through stuff.  I don't even know if he realizes he does this for me.  Maybe he makes a conscience effort...but either way...the consideration is AWESOME!!!!

Y'all know what I'm talking about.  "Hey Bob, we need the HHE for the CCDF meeting this afternoon.  Make sure you bring the QWE report with new numbers."  WTF did he just say!!!  SIGH

The acronyms are just an example.  This goes deeper...  Every company has catch phrases and Buzz Words  that are subtly woven into the language of the employees.  I don't know think it's a conscience occurence, but if when you are in an interview and you use the correct Buzz Words in addition to being polished, I truly believe you will shine above the other candidates.  The reason for this is when you use these Buzz Words, it's triggers a feeling of comfort and fit for the interviewer and then you are percieved as a fit with the company.   At the full time level of interviewing, companies want to know more than anything else that you are going to fit in with the companies culture and stay with the company.  

Let's be real honest for a moment, when companies are interviewing candidates for full time, they know that you pretty much have the skills that they need you to have to make money for the company.  At the end of the day, they have to go with their gut feeling about how well you would fit with the company.  This is important because there is a lot internally that rides on the candidates that are chosen, including them taking the offer and then how long the company is able to retain the candidate if they take the offer.  This is why consider yourself lucky if I vouch for you with any company, because I don't take my reputation for identifying quality talent lightly( it's one of the best qualities a Great CEO has, Identifying and Recruiting high potential talent).  I have a gift for this. (yes I'm tooting my own horn LOL).  And I'm working on building a reputation for identifying and helping to recruit the best talent out there.  But I digress...
My point is that because interviews are picking with their gut feel, you need to know what to say to get the okay from their gut checks in the interview....and knowing what the Buzz Words are as well as how to incorporate them while selling yourself is the key to getting the offer.

I have two situations that will help prove this point. 
1. My personal situation...I told the people in my interviews that I was looking for a company to see me as Succession Talent.....what I didn't know then is that Succession Talent was one of my company's Buzz Words.
2. The second year I'm coaching now has made it to the final round of interviews.  This person followed my advice and excuted flawlessly. (I'm just saying...no tooting my horn here). 

Heed what I'm saying folks....figure out the Buzz Words....and stay tuned...Next I will tell you how to find out what the Buzz Words are for any interview situation you may have. 

Let me know if your thoughts.  Leave comments or email me feliciaannrose@gmail.com

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