Job Interviews

To my mind, I have no doubt that in the history of mankind a candidate has ever walked out of a job interview and thought to him or herself, "That was fun," and actually meant it. Maybe it happened one hundred years ago. Maybe it happened yesterday. I do not know. What I do know is I have yet to meet such a person. The closest I have come to that is hearing someone indicate they felt the interview went well or that it was interesting or that the time really flew by. But fun? Not yet any way. Certainly the traditional job interview process is not designed to show the candidate a good time. It is stressful, a bit intimidating and, in many ways, unrelenting. The candidate sits down in front one person or a committee who may be smiling but are thinking thoughts that range from "Show me" to "What can this person do for us?" to "I hope this doesn't take long cause I have a lot of work piling up on my desk" to "I hope this isn't a waste of time." Without question, interviewers are a tough crowd.

The reality is job interviews are challenging situations for any and all candidates. There simply is no getting around that. Candidates need to be prepared, have a good idea what it is they want to say about themselves, be well versed on the job and company to whom they are applying, and take these interactions very seriously even if they happen to know people who are doing the interviewing. From a communication standpoint, one piece of advice I give people who are preparing for upcoming interviews is to always keep in mind one truism: interviews are a lot more about the people doing the interviewing then they are about the candidate. I understand this may seem at odds with conventional wisdom, particularly since the candidate is there to promote him or herself and do most of the talking. But think about it. The prospective boss wants to know what you can do for them. How can you make their professional life easier? How can you help their company produce a record number of widgets next year? What skills do you have to help make their company regain its mojo?

The candidate must know their audience. By this I mean answers or responses to all questions or comments from the interviewers must be framed in a way that speaks to their needs and wishes. For example: Question: "Tell us about your background, candidate X." Response: "Since graduating from college I have gained experience and developed skill sets that speak directly to the responsibilities of this position and to the mission of the company." Here's another: "Why are you interested in this position?" Response: "Your company is seeking an employee who is creative and who works well with others. My background melds perfectly with what you are seeking." All responses should be framed in a way that first speak to the needs of the company and then to the strengths of the candidate. Doing this consistently still may not make a job interview fun, but it will certainly increase the odds of making it successful.