Authored by: Ron Cottick, CPC, CHRM
Getting an interview today is an accomplishment. That, you could say, is getting the call to audition, the test! Now that you have gotten the call you need to be sure you are ready for the test.
Little needs to be said about the very basics. You know, being dressed for success, take multiple copies of your resume, your cover letter if used and maybe even examples of your work. Your cell phone should be turned off during the interview and you should be prepared to have an engaging interview. You will be discussing your work and in a position to show how you can contribute to the organization. This will be your time in the spotlight on center stage.
In addition to being in a position to make a great first impression, how do you get ready for the test? You do that through PREPARATION! What is the test, the INTERVIEW! How do you leave the interview, you CLOSE! It does not have to be anymore difficult than that. It is not complicated but is critically important that you are prepared, ready for action, perform at your best, and close the deal.
PRE INTERVIEW PREPARATION:
First, research the company!
You may be asked what you know about the company, its products, services, size, etc. If you cannot intelligently answer these kinds of questions you look unprepared and maybe even somewhat disinterested. You can find information on companies from a number of sources but the best source is the companies own web site. In addition to researching the company, read their news releases. If they do not have news releases on their web site do a GOOGLE search to see what you can find. Learn as much about the company as you can. If you are not asked what you know about the company the information will still be useful to inject into your conversation with the various Interviewers. This can be a good move if done at appropriate times.
Second, know what you are interviewing for!
I know this may sound unnecessary to say but many Candidates do not review and study the job description before going into an interview. You can be sure that the Hiring Manager knows what they are looking for and if you do not have a thorough understanding of the job description, you are not properly prepared for the interview. I know some job descriptions are written rather generically and leave much to be desired, however, know that job description and you will better prepared for the interview. As a side bar to this, other Interviewers in the interview process may not know as much about what the Hiring Manager is looking for and they may very well be using the job description as an interview tool. Bottom line; know the job description as part of your interview preparation.
Third, know what you sent to the company to get the call to interview!
If you did this through a Recruiter, know what they sent the company as part of their presentation. It is critical that you know because that information will likely be used by the Interviewer(s) to develop their questions for the interview. In addition to knowing what the Interviewer has in hand, study it and be prepared to give informative and complete answers to questions generated from that information. Try not to get caught off guard having to refer to your resume looking for a previous employers name, job title, date, or, anything else on the resume that answers a question. If that happens it gives the Interviewer the impression that you are not prepared and will have a less than positive impact on the interview. So, as with company research and the job description, know thyself. This will be how your audience judges you.
Lastly, prepare some questions!
Prepare questions you would like to have answers to or topics you would like to have more information about. Develop your questions starting them with who, what, when, where, why and how. These are probing questions and are very effective in getting the best answers. Questions are buying signs and show interest. You also can learn more about the industry, company, position and even the Hiring Manager with some “good” questions. And, make sure they are good questions, not something that appears to be a question just for the sake of having a question. Try to have them memorized so you do not have to use a checklist. And, avoid taking notes during the interview and when getting answers to your questions. Sometimes this is acceptable when getting into some very detailed information but generally during an interview this will not be the case. Place your questions well during the interview, chose your topics appropriately, and with sincerity, and, you will enrich your interview experience tremendously.
Remember, research the company, study and know the job description, know what the company was presented that got you the interview and be ready to show some buying signs by having some questions ready.
THE INTERVIEW:
Very few people are experts at interviewing. That includes most Candidates and almost all Hiring Managers. It is not something they get quality training on, do regularly, or, even get good at. Many times Interviewers are given a list of questions to ask Candidates from Human Resources. The interview becomes almost robotic when an Interviewer goes down a list of questions and takes notes on the answers to those questions. And, many times the Interviewer does not have an ice breaker question to have a comfortable lead in to the interview so many times they ask what I think is one of the worst lead ins to the interview; “Tell me about yourself”! When I hear that I think, “where do you want me to begin” and “how much do you want to know”? The answer to something like this should be relevant and with purpose.
Think about item two in PREPARATION above, know what you are interviewing for. Not knowing exactly where the Interviewer expects you to start, I suggest you start answering this lead in with something like; “I was active in sports (or whatever) in school, took an early interest in engineering (or whatever), got a scholarship (or worked your way through school) to attend XYZ University in (city/state) and got a degree in (whatever) with a minor in (if so, whatever). I did an internship at XYZ Company as a (position title) while getting my education and when I graduated I accepted a position with ABC company as a (job title)”. It doesn’t hurt to mention subsequent job positions. You can elaborate some on this but keep it somewhat brief and the point. At this point, you stop talking.
What this does is anchor the starting point for the interview by giving the Interviewer a place to start and gives comfort to the interview process. What you will find is the Interviewer will pick their place to start the interview. They will be more at ease in launching into the interview and will not have to fish around for where to start. From your answer you will come across as what I would call “COMFORTABLY CONFIDENT” instead of having stumbled though the “Tell me about yourself” lead in to the interview.
Other tips to having a GREAT INTERVIEW!
First, probing questions!
Good Interviewers use probing questions to get the best answers. They may be working off of a list of canned questions (usually provided by Human Resources to gather specific information), which may not be probing. As the Interviewer gets more into the interview though they get more engaging and you can expect the probing questions. I call probing questions open ended with openers like who, what, when, where, why and how. These kinds of questions require the most thoughtful and informative answers. Be sure to stay on the subject with your answer and you will keep the interview moving and the Interviewer interested.
Here is how I suggest you answer questions if you have the skill set and or know/have done what the Interviewer is asking about. “Yes, I have done that (whatever it is)! Our objective was to (an explanation). What I did was (an explanation). We accomplished our objective (whatever it was) resulting in (whatever it was such as reduced cost, generated income, increased profit margin, shortened time to market, etc)”.
The illustration above probably looks complicated but is not. Careful attention should be given to answer the question in such a manner though. Look at the suggested way to answer the question carefully. What this example illustrates is a direct, comprehensive and complete answer with everything wrapped into one package. You want to stay focused on the question being sure not to wander off the subject and keep the answer direct and to the point. You will find if you answer the question this way you will come across as a knowledgeable, skilled and experienced Candidate that is a problem solver that gets results. Come across comfortably confident and you will have it nailed.
But, what happens if you do not have direct experience with the skill set the Interviewer is looking for? Here is how I suggest you answer such a question. “The experience that I do have that is very much like (whatever they use) is (what you do have)! Our objective was to (an explanation). What I did was (an explanation). We accomplished our objective (whatever it was) resulting in (whatever it was such as reduced cost, generated income, increased profit margin, shortened time to market, etc)”.
What this will do is show that you have experience with technology that accomplishes the same objective. Answering the question this way turns a potential negative (lack of experience) response into a positive. By turning it around illustrating comparable experience on similar technology the interviewer is left with a positive instead of hearing the negative of “no, I do not have any experience with that technology”.
The same concept in answering questions applies to any industry, career and skill set. Whether it applies to the technologies you have experience with or applications (what was done with technologies), the process is the same. Using the example illustrated above nets you the same result, regardless of you background, whether technical or not.
When you answer questions in this manner you take away the possibility of an Interviewer having a negative impression, have provided excellent answers to their questions, kept the interview moving and left an excellent positive impression. You greatly enhance the impression you leave at the conclusion of the interview.
Second, listen well and “DO NOT” dominate the conversation!
During the interview be careful not to dominate the conversation. Generally the one who speaks the most or dominates the conversation loses. What is important here is to answer the questions personably, direct, complete and to the point. Be careful not to wander from the subject of the question. If you do, it will appear as if you have not listened to the question. If you need to clarify the question, do not hesitate to do so. You can clarify easily by restating the question, validating it and then answering it. Clarifying the question assures you are answering the question with the right answer. So, if need be, “restate”, “validate” and “answer”. If you need to, you can start to answer the question with “as I understand your question”, but it is better to clarify the question.
Third, be cautious of the Interviewer or Yourself of wandering off the subject!
People get to know each during an interview and can develop a liking for each other. If the Interviewer starts wandering or losing the focus of the interview by bringing up other subjects you will be led off the subject of the interview. This happens many times when they have something in common with you and they start talking about it. It is OK to engage in this type of conversation but only briefly. Try not to allow this to happen or take over the interview. An easy way to try to bring the interview back on track is to ask a question. A question about the job, company or technology will bring the interview back on track and keep it moving in the right direction.
Interviewers sometimes wander because of lack of interview experience, confidence or they are nervous. They are not sure of their next question but feel the need to ask something. If they do not have their next question in mind or where to go next they start talking too much. They may talk with you about something you have in common, the weather or some news event. This usually ends up as a bad interview, regardless who took it there. You do not want to walk away from an interview that did not stay on the subject and not have covered everything it should have. This would be a nonproductive interview that accomplishes little to nothing. It also will leave the Interviewer with feeling you are not qualified for the position and you will likely be ruled out as a viable candidate. Be sure to stay on the subject enough to get your story out completely, concisely and understandably.
CLOSURE:
You “ALWAYS” want to close the interview. Sales people know how to close and you should consider an interview a sales presentation. You are selling yourself to the company as their person for the position.
Closing starts by letting your Interviewer know what you are thinking. You want them to know and it is an excellent lead into your close. Here is how I suggest you close your Interviewer. “(Name), I am very interested in this position. I feel my background, experience and education fit excellently with this position. The work that I have done and things I have accomplished in my career are very fitting. I look forward to my being made an offer of employment. How do you think my background fits your needs for this position?” “What is the next step”?
You may not get a direct answer or an answer that even fits the question. You could here something like “we will have to discuss the interview and get back to you” which is not much. You may get “this was a very good interview and I think you are a good fit for the position. We will get back to you within the week”. You could get a wide variety of similar answers. You will have to accept the answer you get.
Regarding the when on getting back to you, I am not a fan of leaving it open-ended. I suggest you reply with “if I do not hear back from you by (day) can I give you a call and if so what would be the best day and time”? What in essence you are trying to do in nail everything down. You want to get a feel on how they think the interview went, when you will likely hear back from them and if you do not hear back from them when you can call back for follow up. This also opens the door for some final questions. You want to try and tie up any and all loose ends. Your ultimate objective is closure, offer or no offer.
In summary, prepare, know your subject matter, how to present yourself and close. Interviews are one of the more difficult things to do in ones career. When dealing with people you never know what to expect. It is very difficult to be sure what someone is going to ask, say, think or do during an interview. No one can possibly give you all the examples and answers to what to expect or how to perform. You will be on center stage and performing before one of the toughest audiences you will come across. Your goal is to perform well and out perform the competition. The better prepared you are the better you will perform.
NOTE:
I did not address proper attire for an interview here; however, take a look at this example of what not to do:
When a sure thing interview can go bad (true story, this was my candidate):
I had a candidate (John) interview for an inside sales position selling computer software. It was a high end software application that sold for many thousands of dollars so the position was considered a high level sales position.
John was well qualified and had some great experience. The first interview went well. John was introduced to many of the others sales staff and invited back for a second interview.
The second interview John had went very well as well. He was invited back for a third and final interview. The reason for a third interview was because John needed to meet the VP of Marketing who also happened to be a principal in the company. He was told it was more a formality and as far as the VP of Sales was concerned, John was their number one candidate.
Before I tell you what happened at the third interview you must know something. John dressed appropriately for this high level sales position, although it was inside sales, wearing a suit, in other words, business attire. The sales management when interviewing him wore a shirt and tie, both times. The sales staff though, wore shorts and casual collared shirt. Some wore sandals while others wore tennis shoes. That was the acceptable attire for the sales staff.
Have you guessed where this is going yet? Well, as Paul Harvey would say, now for the rest of the story. John went to the third interview in short, a casual collared shirt and tennis shoes. Remember now, this was to be a final interview (or meeting if you will) with the VP of Marketing. John also thought he was in, and righteously so.
The interview went well. There is a however though. I received a phone call right after John left the interview. The VP of Sales had asked me if I knew what John had worn to the interview. I did not and assumed John would still know and understand he was still a candidate, not an employee. I asked the VP if this meant that John would not be receiving an offer of employment and he said that is correct. I felt remiss for not doing my job well enough to have done a third interview prep with John but also felt John was professional and experienced to, after two interviews, know better. Well, I got my surprise.
When I called John to discuss this with him I first asked him how he felt the interview went. He stated that “it went well. I like the VP of Marketing and everyone else. I am looking forward to the offer”. I then asked him how he had dressed for the interview. His response was “did they tell you?” I said “yes but please tell me yourself”. He told me so I asked him “why did he go to the third interview to meet the VP of Marketing dressed like he did?” John said that he “felt that when in Rome, do what the Romans do”. My reply to that was that “you were not a Roman, yet”! He asked about the anticipated offer and I had to tell him that I discussed this with the VP of Sales, I tried to salvage the situation, however there would not be an offer coming.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
You are not a Roman until you are an employee. When you are in the interview process you dress and act accordingly. Once you become a Roman, then you can dress and act like one!
We will have more on Interview attire at another time, watch for it.
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