Be proactive in your 1099 job interview

Most people enter job interviews thinking they just have to answer questions.

This is a reactive approach.

The better way to enter a job interview, particularly when you're trying to get a 1099 gig, is to be proactive and take control of the interview.

This means you should

• Have a professional narrative saying how you help your clients achieve desirable business outcomes
• A few stories to support your narrative
• A few questions to ask the interviewer that make you look super professional

For example, when I've done job interviews in the past and the interviewer is a little passive, I'll say at the start

"Would it be okay if I told you a little bit about myself and why I'm interested in working with you?"

I'll then go into my prepared narrative that briefly explains my background/experiences and how my skills helped my clients.

"I started off in human capital consulting and over time, I developed skills in analytics. While I'm pretty good at Tableau and Excel, what I specialize in now is helping clients figure out what key metrics they should be tracking to achieve their strategic goals, and then build analytic products to support that."

Then the interviewer will ask their questions and I'll respond with stories that not only address their question, but support my narrative.

At the end I'll ask questions like:

• Tell me about the project. Who is the client? How long have you been working with them?
• What are the clients goals? What kind of support do you need to help them?
• Where do you see me fitting in to this project?

By the end the interviewer should be dying to hire you.

At this point you will have more leverage to negotiate a 1099 arrangement (assuming it's possible).

Be proactive and take control of your interview. Don't just answer questions.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.