You will be amazed at how unprepared candidates are for interviews!
Yes, you know you have an interview, you know the company, you know your qualifications and experience, but have you really done your homework?
I currently work as a freelancer for a boutique recruitment company but I’ve also been involved in recruiting my own team over the last 20 years. I’ve been in a lot of interviews either as the candidate or interviewer.
There are very few interviews which contain surprises – interviews are ‘set pieces’ and therefore can be very well rehearsed. You only have to goggle ‘interview questions’ to find reams of common questions or top 10 lists, but here are the secrets behind these google searches and some (personal!) peeves that interviewers feel in the interview.
The prep:
Yes, research the role, the company, but learn how to map your experience and skillset onto the role available and organisation you are joining. Don’t expect the interviewer (or recruiter!) to do this for you. This must be where you put a large proportion of your effort, because this is the part which will reoccur throughout your career, so you need to practice it and get good at it early doors.
Secondly, ask yourself, what sets you apart from other candidates, be really clear about your answer and make sure you don’t leave the interview without making this point. It’s the easiest sales technique out there but one most candidates overlook if they are unprepared.
The intro:
When an interviewer says, ‘tell me about yourself’, get ready to pitch! Like every other interaction in life, you have just a few minutes to make an impression on the interviewer and we want to hear you talk about yourself in an informative, succinct manner and this part needs to be led with ‘how’ you do things. You know this question is coming, be ready. Informative – your chance to quickly remind the interviewer who you are and what you’re capable of. Succinct – we have a lot to get through so taking half an hour to tell me your history eats into our time together that I had not banked on. You have to practice this over and over again, at home, before the interview, to see if you can achieve informative and succinct in a few short minutes without losing your personality. If possible, ask a friend or colleague you trust and respect and be prepared for feedback. Ask for feedback! Think about ‘how’ you do things – this is so key to your success in an interview. The interviewer knows your CV so you merely remind them of your CV achievements and quickly move on to how you did it. More on this later.
Tip: answer the question – don’t answer your own question, answer the interviewer!
Why?:
Why you, why them, why this role……..why?
Almost always you are looking for more money and a promotion from your last role. We already know this! You honestly don’t have to say it. Instead, tell the interviewer why we (the role, the organisation) are so special to you. I want to hear why you think you’ll be happy here. Why we are the missing part of your life (for now!).
When you don’t understand the question, when the question feels like an attack on your lack of experience or skills:
Take a second, don’t just fill the awkward silence with chatter. At the very least, just look thoughtful (!), or take a sip of your drink to buy you some time.
Ask yourself why they are asking it before launching into an answer which could be construed as defensive.
If necessary, ask a clarifying question, even if you preface it with ‘in the interest of time, can I ask you to clarify your question so I can give you a more focussed answer…..’, the interviewer will likely be relieved. Whenever I’m asked to clarify my question, it’s usually because I was unclear in the first place, and it’s ok to show me how you deal with people who don’t give you enough information.
Challenges with this roles/weaknesses/gap in experience:
Here’s a suggestion, only touch lightly on your weaknesses, don’t labour the point with me – women especially do this! I don’t expect you to have 100% experience of what I’m looking for, but I want to see some experience of it, somewhere in your life.
Pick something which is a true weakness for the role e.g. I have never managed people before. This is always a tricky one when you want that move from worker bee to management. Where do you get that experience before you get paid for it? Think about projects you lead, did you manage stakeholders, or team members. Management is often about influencing others, holding them accountable, have you done that in sports teams, in volunteering assignments, at school? Point out the weakness and then where you did it elsewhere and say you’re keen to get that experience in this role.
Strengths/experience and skill set match:
Strengths, sometimes even more tricky for candidates to talk about than weaknesses if not practiced. Above all else, think of a strength which is relevant to the role and organisation. This is part or your homework, return to the mapping exercise of your skill set to the role. Take only a couple of relevant, relatable examples where you showed your strength along with you as a leader, a team player etc. This is your opportunity to mix achievements together into one story, use this freedom wisely!
Scenario based questions:
Become a storyteller. Take the facts you want to communicate to the interviewer and then add the story. You must be succinct. Have a few practised at home and see where you can use them in the interview.
Where so you see yourself in 5 years?:
Likely there will be a question about your future. I was always terrible at these! I did have a few answers which felt authentic to me as I always wanted the freedom to see where my career would lead (but I thought no would want to hear that as it sounds like lack of ambition). However, I was still able to come up with more general answers of ‘an environment where I’m still learning’ or ‘a leadership role, be it leading a project or a team’.
Ask a question:
Yes, we think less of you if you don’t have any questions! We do, we just do. Or you say, ‘I think we’ve answered all your questions’ – really?, no we haven’t! We rarely have time to talk about culture, the role, the organisation, are challenges, there must be something we didn’t touch on!
Have a couple of general questions you can ask even if you are nervous and can’t quite remember what’s been covered in the interview.
Preferably, ask something about the organisation, role or team. Try hard not to talk about yourself – with one small caveat – after asking about them, you can always finish with, ‘we’ve covered a lot in this interview, is there anything you feel is important that I maybe didn’t address fully which perhaps raised a red flag for you?’.
Ask for feedback whether you get the job or not.
Sometimes, it really is worth getting a no. I’ve seen some great candidates, but I know the culture, this role, isn’t right for them and therefore, regrettable, it’s a no but for a great reason. Alternatively, sometimes it’s just a ‘no’ based on the candidate’s performance on the day. If you know you lack self-awareness (would you even know this???!) it’s worth asking with an open mind. What you learn from this feedback could save you so much time so be prepared to evaluate the feedback and see if it resonates with you.
Thoughts running through an interviewer’s head:
- Will this person fit into the existing team?
- Can I put this person in front of a client, a trustee, my boss etc.
- Will this person be able to do the job?
- Do I think this person would be happy doing the job?
- Will this person stay for 3-5 year?
The big takeaway:
Remember, if your CV details what you do then your job in the interview is to describe how you do it. Just think about for a minute, can you really describe:
How you do your job?
How you manage your team?
How you influence people?
How you fit in a team, what role you play in a team?
If you can describe ‘how’ in a compelling manner, the interviewer can see straightaway if you are a good fit or not.