Ten Tips for Interviews

Interviews – Ten Tips

Interviews are high-intensity occasions. I can remember many of them vividly – on both sides of the table. There are high stakes involved, concentrated into a short discussion which can go in wild directions. Drama indeed.

I once read that a 1-1 unstructured interview is a terrible selection tool. If you have a job to offer, six seemingly qualified candidates and no interview training, you are more likely to make a successful choice by rolling a die than by going to the trouble of interviewing them.

Having witnessed many terrible interviews, I can believe this. There are many reasons for failure. We are swung by an unreliable first impression (offered when someone is at their most nervous and unnatural). We ask knowledge based questions of marginal relevance to the post. We relate to people who share our biases rather than people who might perform well in a designated role. Our own mood swings get in our way, even when our prejudices do not.

Interviewing techniques have developed over the years, and many managers receive some training now, so if you are applying for a job in a large or well-run company, your chances of a fair hearing have also improved. Nonetheless, there is probably more luck involved in getting through an interview than in most things you undertake. So some tips which could increase your chances a little might be welcome. Here are mine.

Tip 1- They are on your side.
Not because of your humour or personality, but because it is their job to dig out evidence of your qualities, and so they want to give you every opportunity. They are also human, and most humans prefer witnessing relaxed successes than humiliating failures. Finally, they want someone for their job, and the more good choices they discover the happier they will be.

Tip 2 – I not We.
Their job is to find out about you, so tell them. It may seem immodest to be specific about your successes and your role in projects, but that it what the interview is about. The most common way we miss this opportunity is to continually refer to a nebulous We. In many projects, many people have a role and some things are decided collectively, but usually you will be able to define your own contribution. And it is you they are looking to employ, not the rest of the team!

Tip 3 – Take your time.
In pressure situations, time always seems to speed up. If you pause for five seconds, it will seem to you like twenty seconds. Many of us make the mistake at interview of talking too quickly and frantically filling up every moment of time. Consciously slow down. It will help you listen, and to compose your thoughts before speaking. A pause also shows reflective quality. Keep reminding yourself of this point as the interview progresses.

Tip 4 – Find good examples.
Modern interview techniques focus on competence based methods, and these use examples extensively. They may start with “Can you think of an example when…”, perhaps when you had to rescue and failing project or talk around a sceptical customer. Once you have your example, there will be several minutes of follow up questions going into detail. Those details reveal the evidence (or otherwise) of the competences they seek. There is no point embellishes or making things up, but you help yourself enormously by choosing good examples. Good examples are rich experiences where you had a key role. Prepare by having several experiences in your mind. Then really listen to the question, and take your time to choose the best one, pausing if need be.

Tip 5 - Don’t let yourself down on basics.
Be on time. Which means being ridiculously early to deal with the missed bus or unscheduled toilet or wardrobe malfunction break – these always occur when you are stressed. You don’t have to dress out of character, but it is needlessly risky to wear something which might bring out a prejudice. Share your opinions, but be ready to accept that others might not agree with them (just in case your interviewer may be one). Really listen to the names of the interviewers when they tell you, and use those names back to them. Read your own application and the job description before going in, so you don’t make dumb errors. You would be amazed at how many interviewees of mine misstated the company name. It may seem trivial but it says something about you and it loses you points.

Five more tips next week.