For over 20 years I have sat-in on thousands of interviews; in person,
over the phone, via video and whatever other scenario is available. Some of
these interviews have been impromptu, others well planned, some with just 1
interviewer and others with a panel of interviewers. In almost every
interview that has gone off the rails, the people being interviewed have failed
for the same reason, they are not succinct in their answers.
Open ended questions – the questions that require more than just a
“yes” or “no” answer, tend to send candidates off on rabbit trails, which will
derail an interview in a matter of minutes. Short and concise answers are
ideal, but even the most polished professionals can get lost in their
responses.
Here is a prime example of a popular open ended interview
question: “Tell us about yourself” – I’ve heard people go off on tangents
about their hobbies, their pets, their middle school heartbreak, college sports
achievements, health issues, prior employment issues, and other even less
appropriate topics. Consider the industry you’re in and think about how
you’d answer that question in an interview…..(I’ll wait)….. Are you at a
loss, or do you feel you know exactly what to say? Here are a few things
to consider prior to answering:
1. What do you know about the company
you are interviewing for? (Culture, Philosophies, Environment etc.)
2. What do you know about the people
that are interviewing you? (Background, Education, Personality etc.)
3. What do you know about the position
you are interviewing for? (Management, Responsibilities, Why the position is
open, Who was in the position before etc.)
Now let’s dive into those 3 areas a
bit: (1) Prior to your interview you should have researched the company’s
web site to review their mission statement, their vision statement and learn anything
else you can about the company history – where they started, WHY they started
and where they’re going. Armed with that information you can align your answers
to their company objectives.
(2) Your second internet search should be to Google the person or
people interviewing you – what is their title at the company, where did they
come from and where did they go to school, have they done anything interesting
(charity work, etc). If Google doesn’t turn up anything, search
LinkedIn.
(3) And finally, do you have a complete job description of the
position you are interviewing for? If not that is something you should
request prior to interviewing. With this information you will be able to
express your past experience in other roles and give the interviewers spot on
information on why you are a fit for the role.
Once you’ve completed your research, you can prep for the
interview by jotting down questions you have about the company and the
position, along with some guidelines on how to answer anticipated questions
like the one I mentioned above.
Below is an example of how interviewers want the “tell us about yourself” question answered:
Interviewer: “Now that we’ve
discussed our needs, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” –
The
interviewers want RELEVANT information, not what is relevant to you, but what
is relevant to the job you’re applying for. They also want the
abbreviated version. Let’s pretend you are applying for a Healthcare IT
position (since that is the industry I’ve recruited in for the majority of my
career).
You: “I began my career about 20 years ago in nursing, a few years
after I began my nursing career, the hospital I was working in upgraded to a
new EMR system and I was able to assist with the end-user training
process. That really piqued my interest in technology, so after the
implementation was complete I started my transition into the IT dept.
Over the last 15 years I’ve gained substantial EMR application build experience
in both Inpatient and Ambulatory settings (naming the applications you
specialize in and touch on any qualifications you have that are a match for the
job requirements) I’ve also gone back to college and obtained my MBA in
Informatics Management and have led multiple upgrade projects.” “What else
would you like to know?”
By providing a targeted description of your career in bullet
points, you’ve used the time you have wisely and reopened the floor to the
interviewer to ask more decisive questions about your experience.
If you learned during your research that you
have something in common with someone that is interviewing you, you might bring
that up as well - such as "Tom, I see that we share an alma mater, we both
attended Southern Illinois University!" or "Tom, you may not
remember, but we both worked at NYU 15 years ago" etc. This can help
to build rapport.
Personality plays an important part
in whether a person is offered a position or not. Not all people will be inclined
to take the time to do the pre-interview research or stay focused during the
interview, however the people that do are most likely to land the job.
