Interview
Tips> The Art of
Interviewing
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The success of your interview will depend largely 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 said, without editorializing or
expressing an opinion. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People, refers to this as emphatic
communication. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be
Understood. By establishing empathy in this manner, you’ll be in
a better position to freely exchange ideas and demonstrate your
suitability for the job.
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In addition to empathy, there are four other 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 hiring official.
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Enthusiasm
-- Leave no doubt as to your level of interest in the job. You
might think it’s low on the priority scale, but employers
often choose the more enthusiastic candidate in the case of a
two-way tie.
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Technical
interest
-- Employers look for people who love what they do and get
excited by the prospect of tearing into the nitty-gritty of
the job.
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Confidence
-- No one likes a braggart, but the candidate who’s sure of
his or her abilities will almost certainly be more favorably
received.
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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 are rarely hired.
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The
Other Fundamentals
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Since interviewing also involves the exchange of tangible
information, make sure to:
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Present
your background in a thorough and accurate manner;
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Gather
data concerning the company, the industry, the position, and
the specific opportunity;
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Link
your abilities with the company needs in the mind of the
employer; and
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Build
a strong case for why the company should hire you, based on
the discoveries you make from building rapport and asking the
right questions.
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Both for your sake and the employer’s, never 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.
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Basic
Interviewing Strategy
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There are two ways to answer interview questions: the short
version and the long version. When a question is open-ended, we
suggest to candidates that they say, “Let me give you the short
version. If we need to explore some aspect of the answer more
fully, I’d be happy to go into greater depth.”
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The reason you should respond this way is that it’s often
difficult to know what type of answer each question will require.
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?
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Let’s suppose you were interviewing for an IT management
position, and the interviewer asked you, “What sort of systems
experience have you had in the past?” Well, that’s exactly the
sort of question that can get you into trouble if you don’t use
the short version/long version method. Some people might just
start rattling off everything in their memory that relates to
their experience. Though the information might be useful to the
interviewer, your answer could get long-winded and complicated
unless it’s neatly packaged.
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You might simply say, “Let me give you the short version first,
and you can tell me where you want to go into more depth. I’ve
had nine years experience in Midrange Systems with three different
companies, and held the titles of IT manager, IT Director and
VP/IT. What aspect of my background would you like to concentrate
on?”
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By using this method, you convey to the interviewer that your
thoughts are well organized, and that you want to understand the
intent of the question before you travel too far in a direction
neither of you want to go. After you get the green light, you can
spend your interviewing time discussing in detail the things that
are important, not whatever happens to pop into your mind.
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Don’t
Talk Yourself Out of a Job
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Nothing turns off an employer faster than a windbag candidate. By
using the short version/long version method to answer questions,
you’ll never talk yourself out of a job.
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The
Prudent Use of Questions
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An interview can quickly turn into an interrogation or monologue
unless you ask some high quality questions of your own. Candidate
questions are the lifeblood of any successful interview, because
they:
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Create
dialogue, which will not only enable the two of you to learn
more about each other, but will help you visualize what
it’ll be like working together once you’ve been hired;
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Clarify
your understanding of the company and the position
responsibilities;
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Indicate
your grasp of the fundamental issues discussed so far;
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Reveal
your ability to probe beyond the superficial; and
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Challenge
the employer to reveal his or her own depth of knowledge, or
commitment to the job.
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Your questions should always be slanted in such a way as to show
empathy, interest, or understanding of the employer’s needs.
After all, the reason you’re interviewing is that the
employer’s company has some piece of work that needs to be
completed, or a problem that needs correcting. Here are some
questions that have proven to be very effective:
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What’s
the most important issue facing your department?
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How
can I help you accomplish this objective?
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How
long has it been since you first identified this need?
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How
long have you been trying to correct it?
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Have
you tried using your present staff to get the job done? What
was the result?
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What
other means have you used? For example, have you brought in
independent contractors, or temporary help, or employees
borrowed from other departments? On the other hand, have you
recently hired people who haven’t worked out?
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Is
there any particular skill or attitude you feel is critical to
getting the job done?
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Is
there a unique aspect of my background that you’d like to
exploit in order to help accomplish your objectives?
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Questions like these will not only give you a sense of the
company’s goals and priorities, they’ll indicate to the
interviewer your concern for satisfying the company’s
objectives.
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Give
It Some Thought
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Here are seven of the most commonly asked interviewing questions.
Do yourself and the prospective employer a favor, and give them
some thought before the interview occurs.
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Why
do you want this job?
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Why
do you want to leave your present company?
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Where
do you see yourself in five years?
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What
are your personal goals?
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What
are your strengths and/or weaknesses?
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What
do you like most about your current company?
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What
do you like least about your current company?
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The last question is probably the hardest to answer.
We find that rather than pointing out the faults of other people
(“I can’t stand the office politics”) or (“I don’t get
along with my boss”), it’s best to place the burden on
yourself (“I feel I’m ready to expand my responsibilities into
a role my current employer is unable to offer at the moment”) or
(“The type of technology I’m interested in isn’t available
to me now”). By answering in this manner, you’ll avoid
pointing the finger at someone else or coming across as a whiner
or complainer. It does no good to speak negatively about others.
In fact, you should avoid even the slightest hint of negativity
toward anything, whether it be a person, a job, a task, a culture,
etc. Negativity can kill a job interview faster than anything
else. I suggest you think through the answers to the above
questions with positive responses. The questions will help you
evaluate your career choices before spending time and energy on an
interview. If you don’t feel comfortable with the answers you
come up with maybe the new job isn’t right for you.
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Money,
Money, Money
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There’s a good chance you’ll be asked about your current and
expected level of compensation. Here’s the way to handle the
following questions:
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What
are you currently earning? Answer: “My compensation,
including bonus, is in the mid-sixties. I’m expecting my
annual review next month, and that should put me in the
high-sixties.”
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What
sort of money would you need in order to come to work for our
company? Answer: “I feel that the opportunity is the most
important issue, not salary. If we decide to work together,
I’m sure you’ll make me a fair offer.”
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Notice the way a range was given as the answer to question [1],
not a specific dollar figure. However, if the interviewer presses
for an exact answer, then by all means, be precise, in terms of
salary, bonus, benefits, expected increase, and so forth.
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In answer to question [2], if the interviewer tries to zero in on
your expected compensation, you should also suggest a range, as
in, “I would need something in the mid- to high-sixties.”
Getting locked in to an exact figure may work against you later,
in one of two ways: either the number you give is lower than you
really want to accept; or the number appears too high or too low
to the employer, and an offer never comes. By using a range, you
can keep your options open.
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Some
Questions You Can Count On
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Four
types of questions that interviewers like to ask.
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There
are the resume questions. These relate to your past
experience, skills, job responsibilities, education, personal
interests, and so forth. Resume questions require accurate,
objective answers, since your resume consists of facts that
tend to be quantifiable (and verifiable). Try to avoid
answers, which exaggerate your achievements, or appear to be
opinionated, vague, or egocentric.
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Interviewers
will usually want you to comment on your abilities, or assess
your past performance. They’ll ask self-appraisal questions
like, “What do you think is your greatest asset?” or,
“Can you tell me something you’ve done that was very
creative?”
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Interviewers
like to know how you respond to different stimuli. Situation
questions ask you to explain certain actions you took in the
past, or require that you explore hypothetical scenarios that
may occur in the future. “How would you stay profitable
during a recession?” or, “How would you go about laying
off 1300 employees?” or, “How would you handle customer
complaints if the company drastically raised its prices?”
are typical situation questions.
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Some
employers like to test your character with stress questions
such as, “After you die, what would you like your epitaph to
read?” or, “It’s obvious your background makes you a
tough sell for this position. Why should we even continue
talking?”
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Stress questions are designed to evaluate your emotional
reflexes, creativity, or attitudes while you’re under pressure.
Since off-the-wall or confrontational questions tend to put you in
a defensive posture, the best way to handle them is to stay calm
and give carefully considered answers. Of course, your sense of
humor will come in handy during the entire interviewing process,
just so long as you don’t go over the edge. Even if it were
possible to anticipate every interview question, memorizing dozens
of stock answers would be impractical, to say the least. The best
policy is to review your background, your priorities, and your
reasons for considering a new position; and to handle the
interview as honestly as you can. If you don’t know the answer
to a question, just say so, or ask for a moment to think about
your response.
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Wrapping
It Up
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At the conclusion of your interview, you can wrap up any
unfinished business you failed to cover so far and begin to
explore the future of your candidacy.
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During wrap-up, make the interviewer aware of other opportunities
you’re exploring, as long as they’re genuine. Their timing has
some bearing on your own decision-making. The fact that you’re
actively exploring other opportunities may affect the speed with
which the company makes its hiring decision. It may even
positively influence the eventual outcome, since the company may
want to act quickly so as not to lose you. However, your other
activity should be presented in the spirit of assistance to the
interviewer, not as a thinly veiled threat or negotiating tactic.
Play it straight with the interviewer.
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In addition, remember to maintain a positive attitude, focus, be
passionate about yourself and the opportunity, and communicate
your intellect and your "emotional intelligence".
"Look the part" -- these are your winning hand.
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