Lessons from an Interview

I actually had an interview earlier this month and I learned a lot from the experience.

Situation:  I'd written off the job because I'd applied for it back in October and hadn't heard a word.  I also noticed that it had disappeared from all job boards.  In this market with so much cycling into that black hole, I just figured it was a dead issue.  Wrong!  I was both shocked and pleased when I got a call on December 16 asking if I'd be interested in interviewing for the position.

Lesson Learned:  Job seekers today comment about the lack of communication from hiring companies a lot.  It's easy to think that no communication means the job is gone, and in many cases that proves to be true.  You just can't assume that it's true in all cases.  There are so many variables which impact the speed with which a job is filled.  When in doubt, call and find out if the position is still open.

Situation:  I'm in transition from one industry to another and my resume clearly reflects where I have and haven't worked.  The questions asked in this interview were geared to someone who has operated in the arena I'm hoping to move into not for someone in transition.  When I walked in and asked where I should sit, one of the interviewers pointed to the seat at the head of the table and said, 'in the hot seat'.  It truly was. 

Lesson Learned:  When in transition, it is critical to focus on transferrable skills and have examples or stories selected that help the interviewer link your experience with the job they're looking to fill.  While I had some of these stories worked out, this interview experience made it clear that I have more work to do in this area. 

Situation:  I was asked to hold all questions until the end of the interview.  I know this creates a Q & A drill rather than a conversation and is a roadblock to building rapport.  It is also a roadblock to uncovering the skills most critical to success for the position in question.  I held most of my questions until the end, at which point my opportunity to sell myself in a more targeted way was largely gone.

Lesson Learned:  By waiting until the end of an interview to ask questions you lose an opportunity to identify what the interviewers are looking for and better target your stories.  While I might annoy interviewers who ask me to hold questions until the end of an interview, I'd rather risk their irritation than lose the opportunity to dig for what they're really looking for.  In my experience, when you're talking about the skills they need, interviewers will allow you to bend the rules a bit. 

Two golden opportunities to do some digging...

That oft times dreaded opening request - tell me something about yourself - is actually a gift.  It gives you the opportunity to present a broad picture of yourself and emphasize the skills and experiences most closely related to the requirements listed in the job description.  Always end your 2 minute pitch or answer to 'tell me something about yourself' with a question - What part of my background would you like me to expand upon?  Which part do you think they'll select?  Right!  The part that most closely relates to what they're looking for.  You now know what to emphasize moving forward.

Another opportunity to do some digging is in the answer to 'what do you view as your top 3 skills or your top 3 accomplishments?'  In either case, make it short and sweet.  Either list the skills or give them the overview of the accomplishments and ask them 'which of these skills is most critical to success in this position?' (after you list your skills) OR 'which of these most closely relates to the skills needed to be successful in this position?' (after you list accomplishments).  In either case, once you have their answer you know what to expand upon or emphasize.

While this is a tough job market, remember that two decisions are being made after an interview...

Do they want to hire you?

Do you want to work with/for them?

Your first indication of whether this is a good fit comes from the conversation, information exchange and rapport established during the interview.