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The Power of Interview Preparation
Reprinted with the permission of
Bill Radin
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You’d be surprised how much money we lose by
arranging interviews for candidates who are ill-prepared,
poorly dressed, and lacking in the basic interviewing skills
required to compete in a tight employment market. In our daily
activities on a desk, we’re so busy marketing our service and
digging for new referrals that we sometimes forget that it’s
the successful interview that ultimately pays the rent. All
too often, candidate preparation gets put on the back
burner.
I’ve found that I can increase my
sendout-to-placement ratio by making certain my candidates are
well prepared prior to their interviews. To do so means taking
the necessary time to help them understand the fundamentals of
a successful interview.
In addition, I ask my
candidates to read two of the Career Development Reports I’ve
written, entitled “Seven Keys to Interview Preparation” and
“How to Master the Art of Interviewing.” These 2,000-word
essays reinforce the messages I’ve communicated with them
verbally, and at the same time enhance my credibility and
professional image, since people generally respect the
authority of the printed word. Here are a few excerpts from
the Reports, as told to the candidate:
Fundamentals of a Successful
Interview
To a large degree, the success of your
interview will depend on your ability to discover needs and
empathize with the interviewer. You can do this by asking
questions that verify your understanding of what the
interviewer has just told you, without editorializing, or
expressing an opinion. By establishing empathy in this manner,
you’ll be in a better position to freely exchange ideas, and
demonstrate your suitability for the job.
In addition
to establishing empathy, there are four intangible
fundamentals to a successful interview. These intangibles will
influence the way your personality is perceived, and will
affect the degree of rapport, or personal chemistry you’ll
share with the employer.
1. Enthusiasm. Leave no doubt
as to your level of interest in the job. You may think it’s
unnecessary to do this, but employers often choose the more
enthusiastic candidate in the case of a two-way tie. Besides,
it’s best to keep your options open -- wouldn’t you rather be
in a position to turn down an offer, than have a prospective
job evaporate from your grasp by giving a lethargic
interview?
2. Technical interest. Employers look for
people who love what they do; people who get excited by the
prospect of tearing into the nitty-gritty of the
job.
3. Confidence. No one likes a braggart, but the
candidate who’s sure of his or her abilities will almost
certainly be more favorably received.
4. Intensity. The
last thing you want to do is come across as “flat” in your
interview. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a
laid-back person; but sleepwalkers rarely get
hired.
Both for your sake and the employer’s, try not
to leave an interview without exchanging fundamental
information. The more you know about each other, the more
potential you’ll have for establishing rapport, and making an
informed decision.
The Short and
Long of It
There are two ways to
answer interview questions: the short version and the long
version. When a question is open-ended, I always suggest to
candidates that they say, “Let me give you the short version.
If we need to explore some aspect of my answer more fully, I’d
be happy to go into greater depth, and give you the long
version.”
The reason you should respond this way is
because it’s often difficult to know what type of answer each
question will need. A question like, “What was your most
difficult assignment?” might take anywhere from thirty seconds
to thirty minutes to answer, depending on the detail you
choose to give.
Therefore, you must always remember
that the interviewer is the one who asked the question. So you
should tailor your answer to what he or she needs to know,
without a lot of extraneous rambling or superfluous
explanation. Why waste time and create a negative impression
by giving a sermon when a short prayer would do just
fine?
(c)2005 BillRadin.com, All Rights Reserved
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