Chapter 11
Time for Your Interview,
Now What?
Having the proper state of mind when approaching the interview is key to your success.
Having the proper state of mind when approaching the interview is key to your success.
You are there to please and serve your future boss. Approach the interview as a, "What's in it for them?" not a "What's in it for me?" process. It is up to you to prove your value. Your potential employer does not owe you anything, not an interview, not a job, not even a phone call. Be grateful you are being considered.
You may very well be the best candidate they have ever seen but they still don't have to talk to you. They could go back to their mile high pile of résumés and grab another stack. Take maximum advantage of this opportunity to present yourself in the best possible manner.
Your future boss has a problem. You are there to solve it. Look at the interview process just like you should be looking at your current position, if you are employed. What can I do to make my boss see that I am of value to him/her and what can I do to make them successful?
The first thing to keep in mind when answering difficult questions is to use a brief pause before you begin to speak. Give yourself enough time to think about your response before you open your mouth.
Ask the interviewer to repeat the question if you need more time or you aren't totally clear on what they are asking.
This brings up a powerful technique I promised I would share with you.
Often times, especially in highly technical interviews, you can ask to have the question re-phrased two or three times depending on the interviewer, their body language, how long you pause after the question and the situation. By the third time, you will almost always get enough information from the newly formed questions to give the interviewer the answer they are expecting.
This will work on the vast majority of interviewers for these primary reasons:
Be careful not to abuse this technique. It will be obvious after a couple of times. It's OK to play dumb once but after the second time and certainly the third time, your interviewer will believe you and your chance of being hired will be over.
Another powerful technique for technical interviews that you can use to your advantage is to think out loud. Most often, technical interviewers care more about the method the candidate goes through to get the answer than they care about the right answer.
They are looking for the thought process behind the problem-solving. It is very important to talk out loud about your thought process. Don't babble about everything that is swimming around in your head, just talk about what you know, why you are thinking about certain possibilities and why you know certain options are not correct.
By doing this, you allow your interviewer to listen to your mind and develop a solid understanding and a good picture of how you think. This is more valuable to a good interviewer than the right answer.
There is no way to avoid tough questions about your résumé, especially with a good interviewer. So your choices are limited.
The best things to do are:
The way you answer these difficult questions says more about you to the interviewer than the actual facts. You have to anticipate these questions and rehearse them out loud until you are comfortable.
If you don't want to do this with another person, use a tape or video recorder and play it back to yourself until you really know how you sound and look. Be aware of your voice inflection and your tone.
This same approach applies doubly for questions about why you have moved from one employer to the other or from position to position. If you are a job-hopper that moves every two to three years or less, especially in a growing technical field, you will be perceived as a self-serving money stalker unless you can explain your situation with conviction and honesty.
This spells trouble for most employers because they are uneasy about putting time and money into someone who will jump ship for bigger bucks. You really need to rehearse this. Think about your answer from the employer's perspective, once again. How will you explain it and how can you convince them that you are there to stay? You will need to have answers for every past employer and PRACTICE, PRACTICE PRACTICE.
Another area that will come up, if you have obvious gaps in employment history, is whether or not you were actually unemployed during an obvious gap or you didn't want reveal that employer on your résumé for reasons you don't want to tell. They will ask. Again, rehearse this.
Anticipate these and other tough questions. If you have anything to hide you really need to prepare and practice how you will handle these questions.
During the interview, maintain your focus on the interviewer. Really listen to their questions.
Be attentive, and listen to every question as if you are sincerely interested in what they are saying, even if they are the most boring individual you have ever met. Listen to their voice and pretend they are one of your favorite people to listen to or your very best friend or someone for whom you care deeply.
Sit on the edge of your seat with good posture and portray a positive interested appearance. Think; how would I look if my interviewer were actually giving me detailed instructions about where I could find one million dollars in cold, hard cash.
Smile often and try to appear comfortable and relaxed. Fake your confidence without being arrogant, even if you are scared to death. This too can be practiced by thinking about how you would conduct yourself if you knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that you would be offered the position for which you are applying.
Look for opportunities to talk about your skill sets. In other words, if the interviewer is touching on a specific skill area or experience area, incorporate your past experience into the answer. Show them you have actually performed in that capacity.
When asked, "What would you do.....?" or "What if....?", etc., try to recall a specific instance when this actually happened to you. Don't let the interviewer get away with asking you hypothetical questions. These are really useless, even though most interviewers ask them. Be aware of opportunities to share your personal experiences as the answer instead of hypothetical mumbo jumbo.
I like to say something like this, "It's sometimes difficult to know what you would really do in a situation unless it was actually happening but here is what I have done in a similar situation or circumstance....
If you can't think of an example, go ahead and take the bait and target your answer in a way that gets your skill point across. In other words, when asked, "What if", questions without a good example, you can usually answer them by saying, "I'm the type of person that does, "such and such". It's part of my character and if you notice on my résumé, it is one of my skills I have chosen to highlight.
Do not answer yes or no if the question clearly needs some explanation for you to get your perceptions across. Try not to leave room for interpretation by your interviewer.
Some interviewers are very difficult and can be a challenge to understand some of their questions. If this occurs, re-phrase the question back to them in your own words and ask for verification of your perception.
Protect yourself from blabbering on and on. Interviews are not the time to tell your employer everything you ever did or got in trouble for. Stick to the questions and keep it on a professional level. Take your eyes off yourself unless it serves the interviewer's needs and stick to building rapport.
It's going to happen. We've talked about it already. At some point, during your interview, you'll be asked to talk about yourself. In the rare instance when you aren't directly asked, you'll still need to be prepared to sell yourself by taking center stage and delivering your message.
By identifying your self marketing points now and constructing a self marketing proposal, you'll be able to paint a picture of yourself that will leave your interviewers drooling at the prospect of getting you on board.
In many cases, this opportunity will make the difference between getting the offer and getting the boot. You must be prepared to sell yourself with a one to three minute speech that captures every important, positive quality about your marketable skills, behaviors and proven track record.
This process goes against what most of us have heard or been taught growing up. We've been told, "Don't brag!" "Don't talk about yourself." In the job hunt, you must brag about yourself to get the job offer but you need to do it in a way that helps your potential employer.
Constructing a Self Marketing Proposal is a simple task. You've already completed most of the work by identifying examples that portray your marketable skills and qualities from Chapter 5. The Self Marketing Proposal is used to capture these skills in a format that is easy for you to memorize and convey.
The basic Self Marketing Proposal captures your best traits and can be used almost anywhere; during an interview, on a cover letter of during any job seeking activity where it seems appropriate but it is especially powerful when used in your closing remarks or when you are asked to tell about yourself.
You should use this process to match the job requirements of the position you are interviewing for. Just like the cover letter and resume, your SMP is most effective when it is targeted to match the receiving audience.
First, introduce yourself in the first sentence or two of your proposal.
Capture your most marketable skills. Use the Power Words from Chapter 6, where appropriate, along with suggestive, powerful action adverbs like easily and regularly and emotionally rich words like gladly, happily, enthusiastically and passionately.
You don't have to pack it with these words but add some excitement to your presentation as if you were speaking to a friend about something you are really passionate about then back it up with supporting evidence.
Example:
My ability to quickly identify and analyze areas that need improvement and then gain enthusiastic support and momentum from people who control those areas is one of my signature qualities. Just two years ago, I led a group of non-skilled workers through a process of improvement steps that saved our company $250,000 per month for the first six months we implemented our changes.
Then write another sentence or two that identifies an important skill that is transferable or meets the needs of the position you are applying for then back it up with an example.
This ability to organize teams of people for the common good of their particular area is something I am passionate about. I have been very successful in starting up work teams for the purpose of process improvement. I have routinely trained teams on every major facet of process improvement. I've used experiential training to help teams learn about communication, conflict resolution and problem solving. At one time I was successfully facilitating five separate teams, simultaneously and our bottom line contributions were running over $500,000 per month. This particular success came about when a senior manager noticed how successful I had been at organizing and running one team. He said he was very impressed and wanted to know if I could do the same thing to four other departments. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and said, "Sure!"
Write a summary sentence that captures the essence of your skills and your ability to meet the hiring company's needs. Tell them what you are prepared to offer them.
This kind of leadership, people skills, management style and ability to analyze and gain momentum for making improvements are my best qualities. I have a long history of being successful in all these areas and I'm confident I can do the same for you.
When you put these pieces together you have enough information to convey your message effectively in one to three minutes when your opportunity comes. Practice this over and over until you have it down. This is critical.
In fact, it is so important I suggest you create a generic Self Marketing Proposal that captures your most important and transferable skills. By doing this you will always be prepared to sell yourself. The generic SMP can also be used during your interview at the appropriate time and will supplement your targeted SMP.
First impressions are critical so I am mentioning a few things that are very important. The idea is to make sure your personal habits and attire are not an issue for the interviewers.
How you dress speaks volumes about your personality.
Always dress in conservative business attire that is neatly pressed, well fitted, with everything tucked in and shined appropriately.
Your hair should be neatly groomed and conservatively styled.
Make sure your teeth are brushed and your breath is fresh. You can put a small mint inconspicuously between your cheek and gum to keep your breath fresh while you are talking.
Try to maintain a distance and an angle of breath that is not pointed directly at your interviewer when you feel your mouth start to dry out.
If you are offered anything before the interview, always take a glass of water. It will help your breath to sip on this during the interview.
Do not wear perfume or cologne.
Do not chew gum or your nails during the interview and try not to yawn.
This is not a personal bias. I am speaking on the reality of smoking and chewing tobacco. If you are a tobacco user, you may be fortunate enough to be interviewed by someone who uses tobacco but don't count on it.
Don't smoke in the car before your interview. If you have to smoke, do it outside with your back to the wind and make sure you are not wearing your suit coat, blazer or jacket.
Whatever you do, don't try to cover up the cigarette smell on your hair and clothes with perfume or cologne.
Don't chew tobacco on the morning of your interview. Tobacco chewer's have bad breath, period. I know, I used to be one.
Either habit will definitely require you to remember the mint, the direction of breath and the water.
Always stand up and introduce yourself with a smile and a handshake while looking the interviewer in the eyeballs. Actually, I learned to look at the bridge of their nose. This helps decrease the anxiety level and still helps you look confident.
Wait to be seated until the interviewer asks you to have a seat.
Be conservative with your make-up. It should be appropriate for daytime.
Women especially, be very conservative with your dress. I can't tell you how many times I have had to talk sense into guys during wrap up sessions because all they could think about is the short skirt and the cleavage. As a women, you have to realize that guys are visual. Keep them on track by being neat and conservative.
Check over all your clothes for missing buttons, scuffed shoes and the condition of your hosiery. Carry a spare.
Make sure you know the location and time of your interview.
Arrange for childcare if necessary, even a backup, in case one of your children can't go to school that day.
Check your nails. Men and women should have appropriate length. Check for chipped polish, if necessary.
A light meal with no alcohol and early to bed the night before is a must
On the morning of the interview, stay away from too much coffee and sugar. It will dull your senses and burn you out.
Arrive to your interview location ten minutes early so you can relax a bit and have a few minutes to observe the atmosphere. It's okay to wait in your car or walk around a little bit, if possible, to ease the nerves.
If you know exactly where to go and how long it will take you to get there, it is perfectly acceptable to show up right on time.
If you get really nervous, stop your mind from racing for just a minute. Concentrate on breathing slowly in through your nose for a count of ten, hold it for a count of five, breath out slowly through the mouth for a count of ten. Repeat this a few times to relax.
First impressions are so important. Always dress for success wherever you go. Even when you are dropping off your résumé, imagine you are going to your interview. Depending on your field, you may be asked to interview right then.
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