“If you’re a candidate. Sit down. Take a moment. Listen to me. PLEASE!!!!!
Last week I attended three client interviews. I had three excellent candidates, but two of them talked themselves out of a job. The third guy got the job.
So. What did he do that the other two didn’t?
He entered the room and looked my client in the eye. He smiled and sat down when invited to do so. He was 5 minutes late, but he’d rung me some time in advance to say he was stuck in horrible traffic and he couldn’t get off the motorway. He showed he thought ahead.
The client asked him a question. My candidate answered it. He didn’t let his mouth run away with him. He simply listened to the questions and answered them. You’d think this was the least you’d expect from a candidate, but I’m afraid he was the exception. So he got the job.
The other two had impressive sales records. One, on asking to give a summary of his career rattled on for 17 minutes. I interrupted him and tried to steer him towards issues of relevance – but he continued to talk about a job from over ten years before. My client put his head in his hands. The candidate just carried on…………..and on………….and on. At the end, the candidate apologised for talking too much – so he knew he was doing it!
The second candidate was no better. He didn’t talk quite so much, but he mumbled a lot more! He looked at the walls, the desk, his crutch, but avoided my client. Now my client is no Brad Pitt, but come on!!! Just look at the bloke. Once would do!
To be fair, nerves clearly got the better of them. Their sales record was evidence that they must know how to talk to people, understand what they want, and ask for the order. But they were unprepared. They are used to surviving by the seat of their pants and took the same approach. It was only when they were in the interview, they realised they were in a big sale, and they didn’t know their own features and benefits.
This happens far too often to candidates. They think they can wing it and fall flat on their arses when they get in above their heads.
It’s simple:
- Smile sometimes
- Look the interviewer in the eye
- Listen to the question. DON’T IGNORE ME – LISTEN TO THE BLOODY QUESTION!!!
- And when you’ve answered the question. Shut up and smile!
- And don’t anticipate the next question and answer it before it’s asked
- Have a 2 minute summary of you and your career ready in your head
- Do some research
- Ask some questions (and make them open PLEASE) – and leave the one about salary to the end
- Keep smiling
- And if you’re going for a sales job, please demonstrate that you know how to ask for the order, by asking if there’s anything else the interviewer would like to know to help them make the decision to offer them the role
I know I am writing the bleedin’ obvious, but experiences like last week remind me that most people get it wrong. The guy who got the job did nothing extra-ordinary, but he didn’t talk himself out of the job. Most do.”
On Martin Ellis:
This is a guest post from my virtual friend Martin. Martin is a headhunter who “brings great people and jobs together”. He searches for senior people across many sectors. Martin says, “I simply see headhunting as a process, the extra value a headhunter brings is engaging high quality candidates in what they see as a high-quality process”. You can see how he works on his blog at www.fastheadhunter.
sending...
Best posting for a long time Jorg….it makes real sense.
Martin
Thanks, Martin. I find the text mediocre and the 10 steps silly and superficial – but I like the picture a lot.
(Remark for everyone else: Martin wrote this posting. If you share our sense of humour, click on his blog and find more…)
Great posting Jörg! Let me know when I can buy your book.
One more comment from my side: point 8 is for me the heart of the interview. The kind of questions you ask will make or break you.
There are two objectives: 1) Get all the information you need to know if this job, company and boss is for you? 2) Position yourself as someone who manages priorities right, is meaningful and communicates well – and will be the right fit for the job in question.
See the difference between “which are the criteria that will tell you the success of the the candidate in place after 6 months, 12 months?” and “What time do you start in the morning?”…
You’re absolutely right. I always suggest that candidates ask specific questions about the job and the company. Here are 3 you can ask at almost any interview:
1. I can see this is a vital job, but from your perspective Mr/s interviewer, what’s the single most important aspect about this role?
2. Customers are clearly central to your company, what one thing would you like to improve from their perspective?
3. To go outside the company to recruit for this role makes me think you’d like the candidate you appoint to bring something fresh. If I’m right, what is it?
To my mind these are good probing questions that, in themselves, just by asking them, might impress an interviewer. If somebody asked these questions of me I would think they had their head on the right way round.
Very good posting. Thanks Jorg. It could sound obvious sometimes but it is important to refresh our memories.
Sarah
Hello Jorg & Martin
I thought the examples of questions to ask were great. In my military-dominated region, I always bit my tongue when they asked if I had any questions. The question that I always had to force myself not to ask: “Is this job really open to those outside your company?” I always wondered if some companies were simply fulfilling a government mandate.
In my experience, no commercial organisation is going to waste their time and yours unless it really is open. Having said that, I could believe that of local government and the like. I suppose it also depends if you’re being interviewed by HR or by the appointing manager….
Perhaps I’d best not go there…..
Good tips, thanks! Just realized I might have made some of these mistakes lately…
Despite good academic and working references, it definitely takes more than an appealing CV to make a great interview.
Carolina,
You’re so right. Your CV should get you to the interview, but from there, it’s down to you and how you perform on the day. Role-playing the interview in advance with somebody you trust is always good prep for this.