Honesty. Always tell the truth: Honesty is not the best policy, it is the only policy. You do not have to tell everything about yourself, but what you do say should be true.
Exaggeration. Avoid this insidious form of dishonesty. Learn instead to become articulate and expressive about your strengths and accomplishments, using authentic data.
Threats. Never make a threat unless you intend to act on it; never make a threat if you want the relationship to thrive and grow.
Games. There is a fine line between being a skillful negotiator in an interview and being a manipulator. Learn where that line is for you and play by the rules.
In power interviews, the urge is for one side to dominate the other, to use whatever advantages can be found to get a desired result. Most interviews today are power interviews, in one way or another, but there is a better way.
The most effective, highest form of interview is one in which both sides participate fully, giving the best they have in open, candid interchange. They share a commitment to the same goal: to make organizations the best that they can be by getting the right people doing the right work. In participatory interviews, both players think like
Those with jobs to fill want people to join them in solving problems. They have identified needs and they want to see that these are met, which is what organizations do—they find needs and they fill them. To meet these needs, organizations require capable, motivated people committed to doing their part.
Said another way, a job is an opportunity to solve problems. If an organization can find someone costing $50,000 annually to solve $100,000 worth of problems per year, it is delighted. The job seeker who can talk specifically about his or her problem-solving capacity is using language the organization longs to hear. More valuable still is the job seeker who has learned enough about the problems facing the organization to relate specific skills to their solution: Here is what I can do, based on my proven talent, to solve this particular set of problems you are facing.
How does this work in the interview?
It works best if you have established rapport and agreed on an agenda at the start of the interview. It works best if you have filled the O Gap, have handled your people concerns and those of the person across from you, building trust in the process. Then you can get to the heart of it: the problems facing the organization and the role you might play in meeting them.
This might be called the O Gap, the gulf between the problems of the organization and its capacity to solve those problems. It is the unfilled need that has brought you and the organization together. It is the next stage in building the pyramid of a successful interview.
Soon the interviewer will begin to ask you questions. This period of the interview may be structured or unstructured, or somewhere in between. In a structured interview, the interviewer asks a prescribed set of questions, seeking relatively brief answers. In the unstructured interview, the interviewer asks more open-ended questions to prod you into giving longer responses and revealing as much as possible about yourself, your background, and your aspirations. Some interviewers will mix both styles, typically beginning with more objective questions and asking more open-ended questions as the interview progresses.
Try to determine as quickly as possible which direction the interviewer is going, and respond to the questions accordingly. As you answer the questions, watch for signals from the employer as to whether your responses are too short or too long. For example, if the employer is nodding or looking away, wrap up your answer as quickly as possible. Following the style the interviewer establishes will make the interview easier and more comfortable and will help you make a more favorable impression.
Once you begin to feel more confident about interviewing, you may wish to think strategically about each interview. One effective tactic is to adjust your speed of speech to match that of the interviewer. People tend to talk at the speed at which they like to be spoken to. If you can adjust your speech rate to that of the recruiter without sounding unnatural, the recruiter will probably feel more comfortable (after all, interviewing others isn’t much fun, either) and have a more favorable impression of you.
Another strategy is to adapt your answers to match the type of company for which you’re interviewing. For example, if you’re interviewing for a job at a large product-marketing company that emphasizes group decision making and spends much of its energy focused on battles for market share with its competitors, you might want to talk about how much you enjoy team sports—especially being part of a team and competing to win.
Concentrate on the themes you’ve developed in chapter 1 and be alert for opportunities to mention them. If applicable, draw parallels between your experience and the demands of
If two people focus on their own interests, they become defensive and reactive. If they think collaboratively, solutions come that neither could have expected.
On the path to your next job, think like a partner. Be hardheaded, but aim to cooperate in the search for answers that will be right for everyone involved.
The interviewer is trying to determine whether the candidate is truly interested in the industry and company, or whether he or she has chosen the company randomly. Contrast your perceptions of the company with its competitors, and talk about the company’s products or services that you’ve encountered. In the long run, which players do you believe are most viable and why? This is also a good place to ask the interviewer for his or her opinion.
Q: Why are you ready to leave your current job?
A: My interest lies in returning to the banking industry. I can work in human-resources management in many environments, but I believe that my experience as a lender prepares me exceptionally well for recruiting new lenders into the training program.
Give two or three reasons why you’re ready to leave your current job. Focus on limitations in growth, or lack of challenge, in your current job. Make sure you point out why you believe the position you’re interviewing for would provide the challenge and additional responsibilities that you desire.
Q: Describe your ideal career.
A: I’d like to stay in a field related to training no matter what happens. I was too interested in business to work at a university, but I believe that teaching is somehow in my blood. I’ve been good at sales because I took the time to educate my clients. Now I look forward to training the new hires.
Talk about what you enjoy, skills that are natural to you, realistic problems or opportunities you’d expect in this particular job or industry, and what you hope to learn from those experiences. Avoid mentioning specific time frames or job titles.
Q: If you had unlimited time and financial resources, how would you spend them?
A: I’d love to be able to take several executive seminars on financial management that aren’t geared toward financial experts. I’d also love to be able to shut down my department long enough to send everyone through an Outward Bound-type program. Finally, I’d probably travel and look at foreign competitors, and enjoy the food along the way. What would you do?
Although it’s tempting to discuss things you’d do for fun, stick to job- or industry-related pursuits, or to skill-building efforts that could transfer to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a teaching job, you might also be interested in volunteering for an adult literacy program; this demonstrates a passion for your field—a belief in the importance of education—even without pay as an incentive.
2. Motivation and Purpose
Q: Tell me something about yourself that I didn’t know from reading your resume.
A: You wouldn’t know that I’ve managed my own small portfolio since I was sixteen, but I believe that it’s important for you to understand my interest in investment sales. I’ve
Q: Describe your ideal career.
A: I’d like to stay in a field related to training no matter what happens. I was too interested in business to work at a university, but I believe that teaching is somehow in my blood. I’ve been good at sales because I took the time to educate my clients. Now I look forward to training the new hires.
Talk about what you enjoy, skills that are natural to you, realistic problems or opportunities you’d expect in this particular job or industry, and what you hope to learn from those experiences. Avoid mentioning specific time frames or job titles.
Q: If you had unlimited time and financial resources, how would you spend them?
A: I’d love to be able to take several executive seminars on financial management that aren’t geared toward financial experts. I’d also love to be able to shut down my department long enough to send everyone through an Outward Bound-type program. Finally, I’d probably travel and look at foreign competitors, and enjoy the food along the way. What would you do?
Although it’s tempting to discuss things you’d do for fun, stick to job- or industry-related pursuits, or to skill-building efforts that could transfer to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a teaching job, you might also be interested in volunteering for an adult literacy program; this demonstrates a passion for your field—a belief in the importance of education—even without pay as an incentive.
2. Motivation and Purpose
Q: Tell me something about yourself that I didn’t know from reading your resume.
A: You wouldn’t know that I’ve managed my own small portfolio since I was sixteen, but I believe that it’s important for you to understand my interest in investment sales. I’ve averaged a 12 percent return over the past eight years.
Don’t just repeat what’s on your resume. Think of a talent or skill that didn’t quite fit into your employment history, but that’s unique and reveals something intriguing about your personality or past experience.
Q: Tell me what you know about this company.
A: I served as an intern to a restaurant analyst last summer, so I followed all the steak-house chains closely. What you’ve done especially well is focus on a limited menu with great consistency among locations; the business traveler trusts your product anywhere in the U.S. I’m particularly interested in your real-estate finance group and expansion plans.
Describe your first encounter or a recent encounter with the company or its products and services. What would be particularly motivating to you about working there as opposed to working the same type of job in a different company? The recruiter will look for evidence of genuine interest and more than just surface research on the company. Reciting the annual report isn’t likely to impress most recruiters, but feedback from customers and employees will.
Q: What have you learned about our company from customers, employees, or others?
A: I actually called several of the key accounts mentioned in your brochure. Two of the customers I spoke with explained why they continued to buy from you year after year. Your distribution operation is phenomenal. Are there any service improvements you think could still be made?
