What's your strategy for quickly gathering relevant information in an interview?

One thing that is important is to see how far you can match the person's opinion or goals, in this case is the quality of personality that can match the goals.

Knowing the purpose of an interview is crucial, but it's equally important to emphasize the significance of proper preparation and having guidelines in place. These factors ensure that every candidate is treated fairly and given a fair chance to showcase their qualifications. By having a clear idea of what you want to achieve, along with well-designed questions and a structured interview process, you can effectively evaluate candidates and make informed decisions. Remember, a thoughtful and fair approach leads to successful outcomes.

I've interviewed senior executives for senior roles for over 25 years. I now work with them (as well as aspiring senior executives) as a career strategist. If I was interviewing I always sent questions 2 days in advance. I'm not interested in "gotcha". I'm interested in a thoughtful, considered response. Plus it gets the nerves out! And, my questions always focused on this: What is relevant in your background to my client's need? What do you know about my client's competitors? What gets you excited about this role? What is cause for concern. And, then I wanted people to ask me hard questions that showed they had done research on the industry and the competition.

Preparation is the KEY! If you're not willing to invest even a few minutes in learning about the company, its products, and what they do, how can you determine if it's the right fit for you? Taking the time to understand the company culture before your interview can help you formulate questions that shed light on the leadership style you can expect. Researching beforehand allows you to gather relevant information, avoid asking obvious or irrelevant questions, establish rapport, and demonstrate your interest and professionalism. Remember, being well-prepared will greatly enhance your interview experience!

As a candidate, preparing by grasping knowledge both on the company and the interviewer helps be more at ease on the day of the interview ; feeling like we are already a bit in the project or mission.

This is so key ! Both for those going into the interviews and those interviewing the applicants. A lot of hiring managers walk into interviews without reviewing the profile, and end up wasting a lot of time obtaining information which can be found on a profile or resume. For job interviews in specific, I would advise hiring managers to review CVS beforehand and look for things like, gaps between jobs or key achievements. Its probably better use of time when asked to elaborate on those experiences.

The best way to know about a product is to either use the product or see reviews about the product. If you cannot get any of these thenTalk with the Employees about the product. Employees are the brand ambassadors of the company and they will give your more information which will be really handy.

I'm a big fan of asking common questions in an uncommon way to gain more information. An example would be asking "who was your favorite leader to work for and why do you think that relationship worked so well"? Instead of "what would your prior manager say about you"? You'll get so much more honest answers and all you did was reverse engineer the question.

As mundane as this sounds, employers still use the " tell us about yourself " question. This is because, this question can be answered in so many ways and gives so much insight to the applicant beyond a CV. Open ended questions are great, but applicants should be careful not to ramble on for too long. The response should still be able to answer the question.

Just listen. Don't lead or mislead by agreeing a ton or verbally and/or nonverbally giving cues on if the answer is "good" . Many make this mistake or comment after about their competitive personal experiences thinking it's including the candidate more but it's important to just paraphrase or acknowledge their response after they are completely finished. The silence isn't as bad as it feels!

Listen to see and observe the cues, do not be in a rush to talk. Notice the body language and gestures, and notice the pitch of the tone this will help you more than being in a hurry to share your point.

A lot of this now revolves around technology. Several interviews have moved over teams or zoom, where things can be transcribed. Summarizing or picking key themes from those transcripts is also a useful technique alongside taking notes.

Being able to come back from an interview and putting down a reflection can be very useful sometimes. In specific to job interviews, hiring managers can reflect on how the applicant presented themselves. Here the focus is on what has been observed like signs of nervousness or being late to an interview. This strategy helps when comparing a few applicants for a role. Almost works like a pros and cons list !

An interview should always be more of a discussion than an interrogation. It's crucial to foster an environment where candidates feel at ease. I have witnessed numerous interviews falter due to excessive candidate stress, even when their qualifications were impeccable. It's important to remember that the interview process can be incredibly stressful for candidates, and it's essential to view their authentic selves rather than their anxious counterparts.

For the longest, it was always whether the candidate is a good fit with the employer, but now its more about having a 2 way conversation. Applicants shouldn't hesitate asking questions around ED&I initiatives at the organization or team structure. It is important for you to also like the organization and the team, while they also gauge best fit.

Our conversation starts when I greet you at reception. Or when I enter the video meeting space and we’ll have a few minutes to chat while I ping/admit any other participants. I always ask if this is still a convenient time to talk - because life happens and if you aren’t in the right headspace, then here’s the time to say so and let’s take a few moments to center/use the facilities/reschedule.