A common theme to the management trends and books of the last decade has been that all organizations must be customer-focused or "market-driven." Managers now understand that quality and value are defined and measured by their customers. Success depends on the customer's perception of value, relative to the perceived value of competitors' offerings.

All across North America and around the world, businesses and the work they do are being rethought and reorganized to focus on delivering value to the customer.

You only offer something of value to a business if your presence will add value to their customers. If you can't see how your job would add value to customers, I'm afraid there's a good chance it won't be around very long.

Before your interview, think about how the work you'd be doing will have an impact on the company's customers. "Quality" is a big management concern these days, so anything you can do in the interview to convince the employer that you would help them meet and exceed customer expectations is important.

Be prepared to focus on how your skills and traits will lead to satisfied -- and committed--customers. Think about how the customer would receive less value -- be less satisfied -- if someone else was given the position.