What I call the “Heavy Lifting” is the main part of the interview and it’s all about defining yourself in the context of what the company actually wants.
1. KNOW YOURSELF: As part of your Housekeeping, you’ll have prepared what I call an “ELEVATOR PITCH”. At the start of the interview, you’ll often be asked about yourself. This should be no problem and your pitch should be ready to go. This is where you talk through your CV and give strong examples of how you’re building your career. This pitch shouldn’t change much and should be at your fingertips. Be able to talk through why you took a particular job on the CV, why you left it and what you achieved in that job. This demonstrates that you take control of your career.
2. CLARIFY: Right at the beginning of the interview, it’s essential to CLARIFY what they’re looking for. You would be surprised how many times candidates think they’ve done a really good interview, emphasising elements of their experience according to what they think the company wants only to find out that the company is looking for a different emphasis that the candidate could have dealt with if he had known at the beginning.
So, at the outset, ask, “Can I just clarify, when the job spec says “good communicator”, does it mean this…..?” You can model your pitch around where they see the emphasis.
3. GIVE EXAMPLES: Always be in a position to give examples. For instance, going back to the “good communicator” example, ask why they need that. If your pitch is going to be all about how you set up an Intranet in a previous company, and their answer is, “Well, we have loads of people here who have 40 years’ experience and we want to bring them through a period of dramatic change. We are having a problem getting some to adapt to change…”, you’ll need to dial down talk of Intranets or else pivot to how the Intranet idea can work in that environment.
4. CLARIFY AGAIN: If you’re asked a specific question, clarify it so that you’re dealing with what the interviewer thinks is important. For example, let’s say you’re asked’ “Tell me about a time you did a budget review…”. Come back with, “As I understand the role, I’ll have full control over X, Y or Z….”. This ensures you’re not barking up the wrong tree. Always try to establish how the interviewer sees the job and answer the question they are asking, not the one you would like to be asked or want to answer.
5. DON’T CRITICIZE YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER: Regardless of how unhappy you were with a previous employer, DO NOT criticize your ex-boss and coworkers. It’s a small world and you never know who your interviewer might know. Let the interviewer know that you’re a professional and a team player.
6. DON’T RAMBLE: Try to be concise with your answers. Interviewers often pull the long silence trick to see if you will fill it with self-defeating gibberish. You’re not on a leaders’ debate for the election. You know what you’re talking about so say it crisply, intelligibly and confidently, and then stop and let the interviewer do a bit of work.
7. STAY FOCUSED: Presumably you won’t have gone out on the batter the night before and you will be well-rested. Try to stay focused and if you make a mess of a question, don’t dwell on it – recover the situation. Keep your interviewer engaged, look them in the eye and keep your energy levels up for the whole interview. It sounds easy but if you really want the job, you’ll be going in there with bundles of nervous energy. So just keep your focus and discipline.
8. READ THE BODY LANGUAGE: Yours and theirs. If they seem distracted, try to re-engage with a question. If you find yourself ‘sloughing’, sit up straight. If the tone is drifting into a very informal tone, don’t be fooled, keep it professional at all times.
