Caution is urged: the advice that follows will not help you get a job you don’t deserve, but it will help you get one you do.
In my book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired, I contend that recruiters, hiring managers, and interviewing team members make a number of big mistakes when interviewing candidates. They all prevent you from getting interviewed properly. Here are the top three:
- Interviewers don’t really know much about the job or the candidate before the interview even starts
- They then use invalid or superficial techniques and questions to assess the person
- The voting system is rigged to favor those in more authority and those who vote no
Under these conditions being evaluated properly is unlikely, so it’s up to the candidate to take matters in his or her own hands. Faced with this knowledge there are some things job-seekers can do to improve their odds. Caution is urged though: the advice that follows will not help you get a job you don’t deserve, but it will help you get one you do.
When I was a full-time headhunter, I always prepped my candidates for 15-30 minutes before the interview covering topics from how to prepare, how to ask and answer questions, and how to make sure you could figure out how well you did and if you’d be called back. All of this is covered in The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired. Here are the first few steps:
First, quickly switch the conversation. If you sense the interviewer is just box-checking skills, or if the person is asking irrelevant questions, you’ll need to take control right away. The best way is to diplomatically ask a question like this: “the job description was unclear regarding the scope of work and the big challenges the new hire would be involved in. Could you give me a sense of this? Based on this I’ll be able to provide some examples of similar work that I’ve handled.” This will stun the interviewer, especially someone who is not prepared. Then ask some follow-up questions to gain a better understanding of the focus of the job, the resources available, and some of the specific challenges. Even ask why the job is available and what happened to the person who previously held the position. Once you understand the focus of the job, you’ll need to respond by using the SAFW response described below. Just by asking these types of questions you’ll be branded as assertive and insightful, even if you’re a little quiet. Big Point: interviewers rank the quality of a candidate’s questions as highly as the candidate’s answers.
Two, answer questions using the universal answer. Here’s an article I wrote a few years ago describing the SAFW response. I refer to this as the universal answer to any question. Basically it suggests that a complete answer to an interviewer’s question needs to consist of four parts: an opening Statement, an Amplification of the opening, a Few examples to prove the opening statement, and a Wrap-up to conclude your answer. You need to practice this for a few hours with each of your strengths to get it right, but it’s essential if you want to be accurately assessed. Start practicing using The Most Important Interview Question of All Time. The example chosen is the heart and soul of any answer. Interviewers quickly forget general statements, like “I’m a real problem-solver.” However, they will remember the example of the real problem solved.
Three, force the question. Few candidates possess all of the skills and experiences listed in the job description, so you’ll need to make sure you’re assessed on work you’ve done that’s most comparable to work that needs to done. From a practical standpoint if you get this part right, the interviewer will assume you possess all of the other skills, so this is a game-breaking step. While asking a question like “can you tell about the actual job?” is a good first step, it might not be enough. In this case, you can subtly reframe the conversation and have the interviewer ask you more appropriate questions that cover your core strengths. For example, if you’re strong at getting people to agree on how to handle technical bottlenecks, you can ask something like, “it seems like the person in this role is actively involved coordinating the activities of a lot of people in different groups. Is this a key part of the job?” Then you’ll respond using the SAFW response with your best example. The idea here is to force the interviewer to assess you on work that matters. People who are quiet are instantly assumed to be weak at influencing others, or they lack motivation. You can use this “force the question” technique to prove the interviewer is wrong.
If you’re not a perfect match on skills and experience, you’ll need to control the interview to ensure you’re being accurately assessed on something more important – your past performance and ability to handle the real requirements of the job. Uncovering real job needs and giving full and detailed examples are a critical part of this. As Jim Rohn said, “things will get better for you, when you get better.” When it comes to job-seeking, nothing could be more true.
