In last week’s column, I provided a quick guide to a few of the most common formats for job interviews: phone screenings, panel interviews, one-on-one meetings and group sessions with multiple candidates present. I also gave a brief nod to the variations that can occur, from lunch meetings to facility tours.
Now that you’re thoroughly terrified by the possibility of facing down a dozen interrogators or meeting your new boss over the crab leg buffet, it’s time to look at the content of the sessions themselves.
Although I originally planned to cover these tips in just one column, that turns out to be just too much information. Today I’ll describe some answering strategies, and next week we’ll wrap up with the questions themselves.
When it comes to prepping candidates for interviews, I’m fond of rules and adages. Not the “dress for success” kind of standards -- although those are good ideas to review as well -- but rather, the more motivational and strategic concepts that keep your head in the game.
First and foremost for me is this rarely broken standard of human behavior: People hire people they like. Which means that even if you are not the most skilled candidate, if you are skilled enough and also likable, you have an excellent chance of succeeding. Part of your strategy, therefore, involves showing enough of yourself to be found likable.
Herein lies the reason for the list of interests on the resume, the donning of a special brooch or lapel pin for the interview, the hint of humor and goodwill when greeting interviewers, and anything else that helps you be more than just another suit walking through the door.
Another adage of mine: Don’t do the interviewer’s job, particularly when it comes to rating your abilities. When asked about using a complex database, for example, provide the positive truth: “I’ve used that software on two projects. I feel comfortable that I could get up to speed with the way it’s used here.” The alternative, which I hear all too frequently: “I’ve only used that twice, so I’m probably at a basic level. I’m a fast learner, though, so it wouldn’t take me long to get up to speed.”
Think the second answer sounds fine? Here’s what the interviewer hears: “I don’t rate my ability very highly, but I’m willing to try.” And what the interviewer heard from the first answer: “I can do that.” You be the judge.
Here’s another rule: Answer the real question. When a manager asks, “What’s your experience with customer service training?” believe me when I tell you, they don’t really want to know. It’s probably on your resume anyway. What they’re really asking is always going to be rooted in self-interest: “How will you solve my problems with customer service training?”
What’s the difference? Answering the question literally will launch the candidate on a mind-numbing journey through 15 years of career moves. Making an intuitive leap and answering the “real” question will capture the interviewer’s attention and lead to dialogue:
“You know from my resume that I’ve been training teams in customer service for about 15 years. One of things I’ve learned from my research is that your call response group is located in three states. That makes it hard to keep them trained. I’ve had some good success with a variety of technology and social media efforts, including weekly podcasts, video training, conference calls and even Twitter posts. I’d be interested in knowing if any of those processes has been successful for you.”
By now you’re getting the idea that the interview is all about telling the other person what they want to hear. Bingo. That, in fact, is another of my adages. If that sounds icky to you, feel free to rephrase: “The interviewer needs to know that I can solve his or her problems. I need to make it clear that I can.”
The questions themselves? Mere launching points for your answers. In some ways, it almost doesn’t matter what interviewers ask, as long as you tell them what they need to know. That said, you’ll feel better prepared if you understand the basic styles of questions and answers, which I label this way: factual, standards, gotchas, storytelling, hypothetical and home runs.
Curious? Check back next week and I’ll wrap up the series with a description of these common question styles and advice for answering them.
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
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