Amy Gallo - Harvard Business Review: You've just landed a job interview for a position you really want. Congratulations. Now, you know you only get one chance to impress, but how exactly do you do that? Given all of the conflicting advice out there and the changing rules of getting a job, it's no wonder that job seekers are confused about how to best prepare for and perform in an interview.
12 comments:
This is an interesting and important article, and I'm really glad it was posted. It is interesting reading this article as someone who recently went through the college interview process. Although this article focuses primarily on the job interview process, it definitely applies to the college interview process as well. While applying to colleges, I particularly researched each college thoroughly before the interviews, which included reading material online, visiting the schools, and reaching out to students. One thing I did not know and is extremely useful is the "Don't be yourself" tip. It makes sense that an employer would be scared off by the "best version" of an incredibly talented candidate.
I've been reading a lot about proper interview etiquette, and I continue to get conflicting opinions about one of the aspects on a fairly recurring basis. In this article, the author says that you should have short, concise answers for most of the questions they're going to ask you, and then have follow up detail for when the interviewer pries deeper. Then, a paragraph or so later, the author also says to use stories as much as possible.
So which is it? Do you tell the long anecdotal story about this one time that you totally saved a client from ruin because of how awesome you are, or do you say "yes, I'm competent in high-stress situations" and leave it at that? Really, what this comes down to, is whether or not you expect the interviewer to ask a follow up question. Because, really, if you give that concise answer, and that's all they want to hear, it will feel like a wasted opportunity to have elaborated more in the first place. And it could be really awkward!
This is a fantastic article for the blog. To address Kael's criticism, I don't think that telling a story and being short and concise are mutually exclusive. He does say that even when telling a story, it's important to be as concise as possible, and even to open with the "point" of the story (i.e. "Here's a time I saved the organization"). You absolutely want a story to be as short as possible since hearing someone ramble and take 3 minutes to finally get to the point doesn't present that person in the best way.
I think something that the article could have made more clear or should have added as a caveat to most of these points, is that so much of an interview depends on you reading the interviewer. If all they ever want is short, concise, one sentence answers, you'll be able to know that pretty early on. If they continually ask you for more information, it might be best if you start to give more information unasked, since it could be annoying for an interviewer to keep asking for elaboration. An interview is so much about learning how to read people and being able to tailor yourself slightly to fit into what they're looking for.
As Jess said, most of my interview experience so far was the college interview process. As Jess did, I feel that many of the points the article makes are just as relatable. It really is all about reading the interviewer and basically trying to give them what they want. Not necessarily saying what they want to hear, but presenting yourself in a way that will endear you to them. I'm know that interview skills are going to be important in my future professional career, so any advice or opportunity to develop them I get I should take.
To also adress what Kael mentioned - I never really assume that the interviewer is going to ask a follow up question.. instead I am working towards getting the interviewer to ask the follow up question. For example - its usually really effective to slip in one of my interview questions where I am from and leave it at that. That usually gets the interviewer to ask why I moved to Pittsburgh and I can subtly brag about CMU, etc. Setting yourself up to where the interviewer will ask a question that you want to answer seems stupid, but if i was interviewing someone I would be much more open to hearing about their awesome story if i asked about it opposed to them going on and on about how cool they are.
I agree with everything this article has to say. But I feel like sometimes there is only so much that you can do. Interviewers are going to see what they want to see. Also sometimes you are just not what they are looking for and there is nothing that you can do about that. I especially agree with the first 30 second thing, I know that I make my assessment of if I'm going to get along with people in the first 30 seconds.
Additionally, the last part of this article is really interesting, I don't know if I would have the balls to ask the interviewer if he saw the qualities he was looking for in me and then address the points. That is quite a move and maybe a little bit drastic for my likes but if you are having a really horrible interview maybe I would do it as a last resort.
It's useful that this article not only says what to do in an interview, but it addresses common myths people have been told about interviews that are not true. I find it particularly useful that it talks about not being yourself. People ALWAYS say this before interviews, but it is important to realize that a person can be natural during an interview while still being prepared with their best version of themselves. It's good to stress preparation and coming in with goals because it not only helps the interviewer, but the interviewee will have more to focus on rather than stressing on how they think they are doing.
This advice seems very helpful, I've had good and bad interviews and always thought for long amounts of time afterward as to why. This article casts some revealing light on that subject. No matter how much Ive prepared for interviews I always get nervous right before I walk in. It usually is something I can get over really quickly but it does kill that first 30 second impression. My first real interview for a job was for Pittsburgh Opera Theater, and I had prepared like never before and I was pretty sure I had done everything right but I could tell pretty quickly the guy seemed kind of bored. I had no idea why he was but that was that moment in the article where you either panic or recover and I figured I had to do something so I just grabbed the conversation and started talking about the only thing in my portfolio that he had given more then a glance, and he got much more interested and I got the job. This article certainly gives many good points to take in and I hope will make me more successful in future interviews.
I thought that was a pretty good article with good advise. I think the three "Do" points are very helpful. Being prepared is a no brainer! If you don't know your stuff, you don't deserve the job! If you go in looking unprepared, they will know and think you're cocky. Having some good story answers ready to go will take pressure off yourself and give them more information at the same time. The good first impression or acing the first 30 seconds is good advise in any situation, not just an interview. I don't think any of us are totally prepared when an interview may go bad but being able to go with the flow and continue answering the questions is important. I especially liked the advise on not answering all your tough question at once. This definitely helps relieve stress! Not panicking could be a tough one, but as long as it doesn't show on the outside, you're ok!!
When it comes to interviews, I feel that it is easy to find an article by anyone who is saying pretty much anything is proper etiquette. There are so many disparities here - it really is a matter of opinion. I believe it all comes down to practice, practice, practice. If you can discern what it is about you that makes you appealing to others, you'll plain and simple do better in an interview if you are able to exploit that. It's not worth it to do something that makes you feel "not you" just because an article says it's the right thing to do. That will just make you look uncomfortable. I believe that most GOOD professionals and pre-professionals have the ability to be personable. It's all about discerning what quality you have that will read pleasantly in a room.
The author said that, "You need to help interviewers do the right thing since most of them don't follow best practices." I find that really surprising. When I think about interviewing I think of the candidate having to be the one who prepares. I also never really thought about bringing props into interviews. It makes me wonder what a good prop would be?
It also makes sense about having to be the best version of yourself.
I thought that was a pretty good article with good advise. I think the three "Do" points are very helpful. Being prepared is a no brainer! If you don't know your stuff, you don't deserve the job! If you go in looking unprepared, they will know and think you're cocky. Having some good story answers ready to go will take pressure off yourself and give them more information at the same time. The good first impression or acing the first 30 seconds is good advise in any situation, not just an interview. I don't think any of us are totally prepared when an interview may go bad but being able to go with the flow and continue answering the questions is important. I especially liked the advise on not answering all your tough question at once. This definitely helps relieve stress! Not panicking could be a tough one, but as long as it doesn't show on the outside, you're ok!!
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