Interview techniques – shifting from good to great

Over the last year, around the world, I’ve seen a significant increase in the appetite for people to change jobs, coupled with employers creating new jobs and looking to bring onboard new talent. That’s great news for a recruiter, but the flip side is that competition for roles in many sectors is getting tougher while at the same time competition for talent is also increasing.

If you are looking at landing your dream job in this increasingly competitive environment, a critical part of the process will be the job interview. This is singularly the most powerful opportunity for you to showcase your skills and personal qualities, and set out a compelling case for being offered the job over other similarly qualified candidates.

We all know the basics for interview preparation: research the firm, check out who will be interviewing you, fully understand the role, anticipate questions, and practice your answers. The trouble is that all the good people you are competing against will also know how to prepare. So, how do you shift from being a good candidate to being a great candidate in a crowded marketplace?

I recently hired a new Group HR Director. By the time I interviewed the short listed candidates, I had read and assessed their resumes, and assured myself they all had the requisite skills, competencies and experience to do the job. They were all strong candidates, but to differentiate who was going to be the exceptional candidate, I kept three simple questions in the back of my mind.

1) Would I enjoy working with you?
The Group HR Director is a critical person in my management team. We will work long hours together. I need to rely 100% on this person. Unless I’d really enjoy working with them, and vice versa, we may both underperform. Can you prepare for this at interview? Maybe not. However, as many recruitment failures stem from a cultural mismatch between individual and organisation, you need to give your interviewer enough insight into your character to assess whether you have the humour, resilience, adaptability, initiative, ambition, passion and integrity to work well together.

2) Would you work well with the team?
In this role I didn’t want a high achiever who would work solely for their own benefit. I want collaborative people who have the best outcome for the team in mind. No amount of skills and experience make up for the innate ability to work well with the team. Think of examples of how you have created effective and valuable working relationships, particularly with more difficult colleagues. Share instances where you have put aside personal ambition for the benefit of the wider team.

3) Will you help make my firm succeed?
In one interview, a candidate asked me questions about a challenging industry issue we face, and in discussion, they outlined a clever solution. That was impressive and stood out. Similarly, I want to hear specifically what they had done to solve problems and deliver successful results in their previous roles. I don’t want people who will just do their job, I want people that consistently make a positive difference.

All of the short-listed candidates could have done the job. However, the above questions helped me decide which one would make the biggest difference and fit the best with my business. That’s how one individual looked great in a very good pool of candidates.

If you are confident, well prepared, have the right skills, qualifications and experience, and are very clear about the value you’ll bring to the organisation, you will make a compelling case for being offered the job. To stand out however, you also need to convince how you will bring success to an organisation – as well as making it a more collaborative and enjoyable place to work. That’s the person most likely to land the job.