Are you too nervous to notice anything about the interviewer? Well here is your chance to kill two birds with one stone. The most effective way of avoiding being preoccupied with yourself and the impression you are making, which is what is at the root of nervousness, is to concentrate completely on the other person, leaving no room for self-consciousness.
The reason for paying all your attention to the signals being given off by the interviewer is to help you to establish as much rapport as you can in the shortest possible period of time.
Professional recruiters will be trying to do exactly the same thing themselves, so you should have an easier time with them than with line managers, who probably conduct interviews less frequently than you attend them and consequently may well be more nervous than you.
In order to achieve rapport you do not have to be sycophantic. The last thing you want to do is give the impression that you are a Grade A creep. In any case, it does not matter if you and the interviewer are very different in terms of background, attitudes or personality - opposites can, and often do, attract. You do, however, have to establish an effective working relationship, and this embraces such factors as courtesy, consideration, respect and trust. If you are attending a screening interview, with a recruitment consultant or personnel manager, the amount of rapport need only be sufficient for the purposes of that brief meeting. If you are meeting your potential boss, on the other hand, it clearly needs to go a lot deeper. Personal chemistry will be a major factor in the ultimate hiring decision.
In making your initial assessment of the person you are meeting, it helps if you can learn to recognize the different types of individual you may be dealing with and respond to them appropriately.
For example, the affable type of interviewer may want to spend several minutes chatting about what sort of journey you had, whether you are familiar with the area and so on before even beginning to get down to business. A busy, hard-nosed line manager, on the other hand, may keep the preliminaries to the bare minimum, diving almost straight into the matter in hand. If you have any sense, you will clearly play along in both cases.
Spotting the Clues
In the above examples, the behavioral differences would have been self-evident from the first few words spoken. In practice, you can often pick up the signals before interviewers even open their mouths, especially if they are seeing you in their own office rather than an impersonal meeting room. For instance, the affable type would probably have had photographs of spouse and children on the desk, plants on the window sill and a plaque commemorating some sporting or business achievement on the wall.
Clothes, pens, briefcases, the tidiness or otherwise of the office - these, and a host of other factors, are all part of the non-verbal communication on which, consciously or otherwise, we base so many of our decisions.
You can continue to make use of the non-verbals as the meeting progresses. By watching the interviewer's body language, you should be able to tell how things are going. An alert posture with the body leaning slightly forwards, the occasional encouraging nod of the head, good eye contact and so on will indicate that the other person is attentive and interested. If the interviewer slumps back in the chair and fails to make much eye contact, this may well be a warning that you are waffling. Sudden movements such as a jerking of the head or a pronounced blinking of the eyes often indicate surprise or disbelief.
Experienced interviewers will, of course, be picking up the same signals from you, checking whether your subsequent behavior validates their initial judgment. Although a bad first impression may be difficult to wipe out, a good first impression is not necessarily so readily sustained. You must therefore stay on your guard and continue to give off the right signals, displaying an alert, positive manner and trying to avoid sending any negative signals. While it is difficult to control your own body language for any length of time, here are a few things to try to steer clear of.
- Sitting with arms crossed, which looks defensive.
- Covering your mouth with your hand when you are speaking.
- Lounging in your chair instead of maintaining an upright, but not stiff, posture.
- Fidgeting, which makes you look either uncomfortable or nervous.
- Insufficient eye contact. It is acceptable to avert your eyes while considering the answer to a question, but look at the interviewer when delivering it - and do pay attention when you are being spoken to.
- Too much eye contact. While you should be looking at the interviewer for about two-thirds of the time, do glance away intermittently. When your eyes are meeting the interviewer's, avoid staring - instead send a positive message such as interest or enthusiasm.
Although first impressions are based heavily on non-verbal signals, and body language certainly continues to play an import-ant role throughout an interview, as the meeting progresses an increasing amount of the interviewer's judgment will be based on what you say. If you got off on the wrong foot, it may be difficult to talk your way back in, but it is very much easier to do the opposite and, having started well, and then proceed to talk yourself out of the job.
The biggest danger is doing just that - talking too much. It is a far more common problem than saying too little. In case this sounds as though you will be damned if you do, and damned if you don't, a few words of explanation are probably required.
It is, quite obviously, vital that you find the opportunities to get all of your key selling points across. What is more, good interviewers will ensure that you do more of the talking than they do. On the other hand, you must, at all costs, avoid waffling. Be particularly wary of open questions. If the inter-viewer says, 'Give me a brief summary of your career' and, 10 minutes later, you are still talking about things that happened 20 years ago, you have blown it. Efficient executives communicate clearly and succinctly. That question you were asked may have had more to do with testing your communication skills than finding out about what was, in any case, largely self-evident from your CV.
Although open questions have their dangers, they do at least give you the chance, provided that you stick to the point, to say what you want to. Professional recruiters use open questions a lot, both as ends in themselves and as the first stage in what is known as an interview funnel.
The open question with which the funnel begins gets you talking freely. The interviewer waits for something interesting to come up, such as a major success you claim to have achieved, then latches on to it, probing more deeply by saying something like, That's interesting - could you just tell me in a bit more detail exactly what you did?' Further probes close you in further and further - hence the funnel analogy - until the interviewer finally pins you down and you either substantiate your claim or it is shown to be unjustified. This technique works to your advantage if you can back up your claims, but to your detriment if you cannot.
Open questions can be particularly tricky when you are on sticky ground, such as explaining why you apparently resigned from your last job without having another position to go to.
Rather than asking openly if you were fired, the interviewer may simply say, 'Why did you leave XYZ?' It is all too easy to say far more than you intend, especially if the interviewer employs reflective questions (encouraging you to go on by repeating words or phrases you have just used) or, worse still, saying nothing in reply when you stop speaking. Most people feel uncomfortable when faced with a silence, and consequently proceed to fill the empty space - frequently blabbing themselves into ever deeper water - rather than sitting it out and forcing the interviewer to pick up the baton.
While you should avoid saying too much, it is equally dangerous, on the other hand, to leave obvious doubts or suspicions to fester in the interviewer's mind. As in any sales presentation, objections do need to be identified and dealt with. If you have prepared thoroughly, you should have spotted potentially difficult areas and have decided in advance the best methods of dealing with them. This in itself should enable you to respond clearly and concisely when they come up, rather than talking yourself into trouble.
The Other Side of the Coin
Professional recruiters use questions skillfully. If you are right for the job and have prepared thoroughly for the interview, this can only be to your benefit. Untrained interviewers, on the other hand, can make it more difficult for you to demonstrate your worth because they are prone to making greater use of what are all too often the wrong kinds of questions. These include the following types.
- Leading questions, e.g. 'Wouldn't you agree that . . .' Although the desired answer has been flagged up for you, simply sitting there and agreeing will hardly advance your campaign to show what you can offer the company, unless they are simply looking for a 'yes person' - in which case it is probably not the job you want anyway. Occasionally, canny interviewers may use leading questions to see whether you have sufficient character and conviction to disagree. Body language, especially the expression in their eyes, may be the best way of sassing this out.
- Multiple questions, i.e. asking two or more questions at the same time. This can be confusing. Unless you want to cop out of the difficult part of a multiple question by answering the easy bit, the best way of dealing with this is to say that you will take each point in turn and then proceed to do precisely that. Sometimes a question which can be answered only by 'yes' or 'no' is appropriate. More often it is not. At the very least it limits your opportunity to sell yourself. At worst a closed answer could be positively misleading. Do what politicians do when the media try to trap them in this way. Insist on opening the question out by saying something like. That is actually quite a complex issue' and then exploring it fully.
The Mob Scene
So far we have been talking in the context of the one-to-one interview - the most common kind. Sometimes, however, and especially when the job is in local government, with some official body, or with a professional partnership, you may have to face the dreaded group, or panel, interview. This is inevitably more stressful, but you can minimize the stress if you follow a few basic ground rules.
- When you are being asked a question, maintain eye contact with the person who is speaking.
- When you reply, concentrate mainly on that person, but include all the others by glancing round and establishing intermittent eye contact with them too.
- Take care not to ignore members of the panel who are seated to one side or the other of you. It is all too easy to pay most attention to those within an easy line of vision.
- Although the implication of a group interview is that the decision will be made by consensus, there may be a first among equals and it is sensible to pay this individual proportionately greater attention. If you cannot identify the primus inter pares from titles (e.g. chairperson, senior partner), watch body language. The rest of the group will probably tend to turn their bodies and eyes towards the key person in subconscious deference.
- If, before you have finished answering one question, someone else chips in with another, say politely that you will answer the second one in a moment, as soon as you have responded fully to the first. As a result of poor preparation or chairing, this is unfortunately an all too common hazard.
- If you feel yourself getting flustered, cool it by taking a breath or a sip of water, before responding to a question or continuing with what you were saying.
- When you are given the opportunity to ask questions, try to draw in as many of the members of the panel as possible.
- As you continually move your eye contact round throughout the interview, try to get a feel, by their body language, of which members of the panel are on your side and which have still to be won over. Try to get their doubts out into the open, so that you can deal with them.
After a formal interview, whether it is with one person, two or three, or a whole gang, you may be given the opportunity to have a guided tour of the organization's premises. Although this may genuinely be primarily for your benefit, do not treat it solely as a one-way situation. You will be expected not only to display genuine interest, but also to ask relevant questions and make sensible comments. While you should avoid offering instant, and probably ill-informed, solutions to any problems that are raised, going to the other extreme and just wandering round looking relieved that the interview is over could equally well blow your chances of the job.
Another situation in which it is all too easy to drop your guard is the social meeting. You may be invited to lunch or dinner, or asked to meet some of your future colleagues over a drink. Since it is important to be sure that you will fit into the culture of the organization, these occasions can be mutually beneficial, but they do also have their dangers.
Although it is important to relax a little and be less formal than you would be in an interview, you still need to be cautious. This applies particularly to alcohol. The best rule is to say that you have to drive your car later on (even if you do not) and either stay off alcohol altogether or limit yourself to a single drink, taking care to sip it extremely slowly. If you are having a meal, avoid any dishes which are messy to eat, even if they are your favorites. Pay your host the compliment of enjoying the meal but do not make a pig of yourself.
Finally, do prepare for this kind of meeting just as thoroughly as you would for a normal interview. While there will be a certain amount of purely social chat, you should also be ready to advance your candidature by discussing relevant business issues.
International Aspects
When you are being interviewed in an overseas country, or for that matter even in the UK but by someone who is not British, you need to be aware of the cultural differences and their implications. For instance, while it is common nowadays to use first names in an interview in the UK (once the interviewer has taken the initiative), people are much less familiar in Germany, addressing each other by formal - and often complex - titles. The French will probably get onto first names eventually, but not as quickly as the British, and the 'tu' form would certainly never be substituted for 'vous' at an interview.
Another difference relates to the fact that although a touch of humor might be considered desirable in an interview in the UK, as a means of relaxing the atmosphere, it would be thought frivolous in Germany where meetings of all kinds tend to be more formal and serious. A further example to watch out for is when a Japanese executive gives you a business card. Do not just pop it into your pocket. You are expected to sit and gaze at it in reverence for a few moments. Ideally, you should have one of your own to give in return, so that this gesture of respect can be reciprocated.
Body language has some major differences too. In terms of interpersonal space, people from the Middle East tend to stand much closer to each other than we do. While they may make a European feel uncomfortable, the distance a European maintains seems positively aloof to them. Crossing the legs is considered rude in the Middle East, while showing someone the soles of your feet is positively insulting.
Gestures may also have different meanings. There are even countries where nodding the head means 'no' and shaking it means 'yes'. What it all adds up to is that you need to mug up on such matters - there are books and even courses available -if you are to avoid misinterpreting behavior or, worse still, giving offence.
Thanks for the Memory
Since last impressions are, in many ways, just as important as first impressions, do be sure to end on a positive note. Without being insincere or nauseatingly gushy, thank the interviewer for their time, and say that you enjoyed the meeting and look for-ward to hearing about the next stage. If you have not already been told what that is, there is no harm in asking.
There are, however, two things you should not ask about. One is whether you have got the job or a place on the short-list if it was just a screening interview. The other mistake is to ask for expenses. If the company is going to reimburse them, they will make the offer. If it has cost you a lot of money to attend the interview and you feel strongly about it, at least wait until you have heard the outcome before raising the matter.
Finally, when the moment comes to say goodbye to the inter-viewer, do so with a firm handshake and a warm smile. That is the very last impression you will leave, so it needs to be a good one.
After the interview, ignore the advice sometimes given to send a letter thanking the interviewer and confirming your interest in the position. The vast majority of people in this country regard such behavior with distaste. A telephone call is even worse.
However, where you have been to an interview arranged by a headhunter, selection consultant or agency with one of their clients, it is a good idea to ring the consultant and report back on how it went. The consultant will appreciate being kept informed both about your ongoing interest and about your reaction to the client. If you leave it a day or two before you call, you may in return be able to obtain some feedback on your performance at the interview.
After that, it is unfortunately just a matter of being patient. Although news often seems to take far longer than it ideally should, chasing the interviewer is likely to do you more harm than good. The majority of prospective employers will tell you why you have finally been ruled out, so to an extent no news is good news - even if it only means that the delay is due to the job having been offered to someone else but you being held in reserve in case the first choice declines.
Should you be rejected, there is equally little to be gained by ringing the interviewer and asking why, even if you do phrase it as a request for advice as to what you might do better in future. Such requests are embarrassing to the interviewer, who will probably not tell you the truth in any case.
Dos and don'ts
The chances of being successful, rather than rejected, can be increased significantly by keeping in mind the key dos and don'ts. Here are some of the things that most commonly turn interviewers off.
- Arriving late, especially without the courtesy of a phone call.
- Unprofessional appearance.
- Weak or clammy handshake.
- Over-familiarity, e.g. using first names without being asked to.
- Lack of eye contact.
- Fidgeting.
- Lounging.
- V.D. (verbal diarrhea).
- Jargon.
- Name dropping.
- Knocking previous employers.
- Being evasive.
- Failing to keep to the point.
- Playing games.
- Raising the question of remuneration at an early stage.
- Being more interested in what you can take than what you can give.
- Concern with trivialities like hours of work.
- Indecisiveness.
- Apathy.
- Prepare thoroughly.
- Keep your objective firmly in mind.
- Put you in the other person's shoes.
- Consciously seek to establish rapport.
- Watch - and respond to - not only what interviewers say, but also their tone of voice and body language.
- Treat the meeting as a two-way conversation between equals who respect each other's professionalism, not as a question and answer session controlled by the interviewer.
- Ensure that you cover the whole of your agenda and do not fail to communicate any of the ways in which you can add value to the organization.
