Interviewing-Techniques and Strategies

1. Preparation
1. Visualize the interview. Conducting the interview in your mind will prepare you for your face-to-face meeting.
2. Be prepared. Learn as much about the client you’ll be visiting in advance.
3. Probe your recruiter for details about the position (Why is it open?) company (What makes them special?), industry (What makes it exciting?), competition (How do they measure up?) What’s their competitive advantage, roadmap, value proposition? What does their management team look like? What are their history and successes. Who’s on their board and what value do they bring? Who are their key investors and what’s their track record?
4. Don’t be afraid to utilize your network of friends, colleagues, industry peers and organizations to learn more about the client.
5. Use the internet’s search engines and online trade publications to learn about the latest industry activities, news and trends, product releases and contracts.
6. Spend time role playing with your significant other, friends, or peers.
7. Think about how you’d answer the difficult questions in an interview. Questions might include: Why are you looking for a job? What are your significant accomplishments, your strengths and weaknesses? Why should we hire you? How would your boss, peers, subordinates describe you? What have you learned from your current and previous positions (professionally and/or personally)? Where do you see yourself next year, in five years, and what will you be doing? How do you accomplish your goals? What motivates/de-motivates you? What are your salary objectives?
2. The Interview Meeting
1. Be fresh. Do whatever it takes to get pumped up for the meeting.
2. Be prompt. Tardiness is unacceptable. If you’re delayed for any reason, call immediately.
3. Make sure to bring several copies of your resume
4. Be respectful of other people’s time. Most hiring managers find the process of hiring and interviewing as a disruption or distraction from the fires they need to be fighting.
5. Monitor your body language. Relax, smile, and be yourself, while keeping in mind that people prefer to hire individuals who are outgoing, personable and confident. Don’t slouch, and do maintain eye contact. Dress appropriately for the interview. Don’t be rude, long winded, interrupt or try to control the discussion.
6. Be clear and concise in your exchange of dialog. Questions and answers should be thoughtful. If you don’t understand what’s being asked, rather than take a stab in the dark, ask to have the question repeated, rephrased or drawn out on a white board. Exchange of thoughts, questions, answers, philosophies, and scenarios should be free-flowing and interactive.
7. Make the interview fun. Conduct the interview in the present-here and now. Ask questions and respond with answers as if you’re already a captive employee. It’s a fact-finding mission, that’s true, on both sides, but it doesn’t have to be purely a question-and-answer exercise.
8. Strive to learn why the person across the table joined the company. Ask what motivated them to join; what do they enjoy about the environment and culture; and what challenges have they faced? Find out what they perceive to be the ideal candidate, what challenges you’ll be facing in solving their problems, and what the future holds for growth opportunities.
9. Relate your experiences, opportunities and challenges to the position, problems and discussion at hand.
10. Make it a great interview.
3. The Wrap up
1. Enthusiastically, reiterate your interest in the position and the value you feel you can bring to the position and the company.
2. Ask if there are any other questions which will help in assessing your viability for the position. Ask if there are any perceived concerns or weak areas that should be addressed.
3. Ask how you stack up against the others who’ve interviewed and what the next step will be. Is it OK to contact the hiring manager directly or through email to share further thoughts, comments or questions.
4. Thank them for their time and interest.
5. Prepare a follow up letter to all the interviewers to recap your interest.
6. Invite another discussion either over the telephone or a face to face meeting to re-convey interest.

Going the extra mile

Far too often, hiring managers are reluctant to decide and take action to hire an individual in fear they’ll make a bad hire. They set their requirements and expectations excessively high, knowing too well that they’re nearly unachievable by any single individual.

What they’re really looking for is an insurance policy. They certainly don’t want be perceived as someone who can’t make a decision to hire, nor do they want to be viewed as a poor judge of character in making bad hires.

How can you help push them over the fence and into action?

One strategy is to suggest a test drive, try on or whatever you’d like to call a trial period. This is an exceptional alternative for the individual who’s between jobs. It works as a two-way street where both the individual and the client get to try out one another on a contract fee or project basis.

Another strategy is through networking. You may have a friend or former colleague who’s working for or has previously worked for the client you’ve interviewed with. He/she can certainly be a welcome advocate and spokesperson on your behalf.

Additionally, identify alternative references and relationships, both formal and informal, including those allied to the client’s core expertise from within trade associations/organizations, and committee groups/forum meetings. They are another way of pushing you ahead of your competition for the position of your dreams.

How to select and work with a recruiter

How to Answer the Four Most Common Interview Questions