How to Conduct a Good Interview

"Well," says the hapless interviewer, staring across the desk at the job seeker, "tell me a little about yourself" "Okay," responds the nervous applicant. "I was born in Normaltown, Iowa. I graduated from Normal University. And for the last ten years, I've been a widget-washer at Normal, Inc." So begins the typical job interview - an awkward dance between a decision maker who doesn't know what questions to ask and a job seeker who has no idea how to answer. But, when you take charge of your career, the interview is a powerful tool that's used to great advantage. It's used to market talents and skills to a potential employer and to gather information: Is this my kind of company? My kind of people? My kind of ethics? My kind of workplace?

Unfortunately, most people go into an interview with hat in hand, begging for a job, and make three mistakes:

1. They speak enthusiastically about their back grounds. After awhile, it all sounds the same to an employer. The decision makers are looking for the people who will solve their problems, not those who had the most impressive titles.
   
   
   
   
2. They talk too much. It's an unerring way to bore an employer and make him or her feel that you're not really interested in the company. Ask questions. It's the only way to show interest. Relate the questions to the anxieties and daily concerns of the employer
   
   
3. They don't know how to listen. Too many people go into an interview having already decided what they're going to say and what they hope to find. As a result, they fail to perceive the real needs and concerns of the employer. Those who do perceive the real needs and concerns, however, can put themselves in a position to show how they can fill them.

In another publication, we give step-by-step instructions on how to be a good interviewee. Everyone, however, should develop his or her own style. Some people can come on strong without being intimidating. Others can project strength by being low key.

Only you can determine what's best, but here are a few things to remember:

Most employers don't know how to conduct an interview. When they ask open-ended or irrelevant questions (as they in variably will), use them as an opportunity to discuss the benefits you and you alone can offer

Do a little research and learn something about the company before you go into the interview. If you're asked, "What do you know about our firm?" and you answer "Nothing," the interview will, for all intents and purposes, be over.

Treat the employer as an authority figure but establish respectful equality. People who grovel do not get hired. Remember that employers are human, have egos and are under tremendous pressure to hire the right person. Ask them about their own abilities and responsibilities. It helps put them at ease.

(One of my former clients starts his interviews by asking, "What do you as an executive feel is the major concern of the executive in the business world today?" The question strokes the interviewer's ego by establishing him as an authority on executive problems and, since the answer will be based on his experience within the company, it provides clues to the needs and concerns of the company.)

Begin the interview with a clear statement of why you're there. Interviews are won or lost in the first 30 to 60 seconds, so it's important to establish the fact that you have a purpose in mind, not that you're just looking for a job.

Ask questions that lower barriers and establish rapport (the respectful equality referred to earlier). A fundamental goal in every interview should be to help the employer think out loud. If they're approached in the right way, decision makers will be happy to do so.

Ask for referrals. You can't do this if you're one of ten candidates for an advertised position, but you can if you're approaching decision makers directly.

Establish a reason for getting back to the person to whom you've been talking. Nobody makes a hiring decision on the basis of one interview.

Most important of all: Stay in control of the interview. Keep the conversation focused on the employer's needs and concerns and how you are uniquely qualified to fill them.

Again, none of this is cast in stone. Interviews are impacted by individual style and personality as much as, or more than, any other aspect of taking charge of your career. The important thing is to be comfortable in the interview setting. It is essential that you know what you're doing and be confident that you know how to do it. Find out what works best for you and start using interviews to your advantage.