The 5 Things The Interviewer Didn't Tell You!

Some things are unspoken at interview, but an expectation exists that a lot of people aren’t aware of.

Employers spend a lot of time and money advertising positions because they know that this investment will be returned as long as they find the RIGHT person for the role. It takes time and effort to prepare for scheduling interviews, clearing diaries, spending time shortlisting and ensuring they’re all on the same page for what qualities, skills and experience they’re looking for on the day. They hope that their detailed recruitment pack was clear enough to attract candidates with the right values and personality, so once they get to interview they do actually have a vested interest in candidates performing well and showcasing all that they can do.

Here is an honest guide on what interviewers REALLY think, but DIDN’T request in the invitation to interview.

1. Be Genuine!

Interviewers expect for you to sell yourself, so in an interview you have a free pass to ‘sing your praises’ without judgment. However, there’s nothing worse from the employers perspective to have a show off with no substance, or an actor in front of them whose playing a character that clearly is a fake. The employer doesn’t want to risk their investment on someone who is pretending they can deliver when they can’t.

Being GENUINE and your WONDERFUL SELF creates warmth and likability and most importantly CONNECTION. So in your next interview give yourself permission to be genuinely and authentically yourself!

2. Sell Your Expertise!

You would have thought this is a given, that one would go to interview and showcase their suitability and evidence that they’re the best person for the job, however, UNDERSELLING expertise features very highly as a key reason why people lose out on job offers.

Competency based questioning is the most popular method used by interviewers to test and challenge candidates to prove that they have what it takes to do the job. With so much emphasis on the questions, this leaves a lot of reliance on the answers to provide enough EVIDENCE that the candidate is up to the role. The most effective way to answer these questions are to provide examples of your skills and experience but in many cases candidates choose weak, unimpressive examples, or they talk about strong examples in a way that comes across uninspiring or flat.

To avoid this, having STRONG interview examples are of the utmost importance. So what makes a strong example?

• They have clear, impressive, TANGIBLE results.

• They showcase the BEST version of you at work, at the very TOP of your potential.
• They are described as a CELEBRATION of your achievements, with a clear journey of HOW you achieved the result.

3. Be Impressive!

The interviewer could be scheduled to conduct interviews back to back all day. The last thing anyone wants is for the interviewer to be zoning out on when their lunch is, or subtly checking their watch because they’re bored and disconnected to the candidate before them. They WAN’T you to give them a performance, to grab this opportunity with both hands, they’re only going to give the job to the candidate they feel is most WORTHY, so appearing impressive is important. A way to do yourself justice at interview is to change your whole approach towards them ….

Think back to when you have sat through the most dull and forgettable presentation. Now switch this and think of the most engaging, refreshing and memorable presentations. What was it that sticks in your mind? Did the presenter have a special something? ... Personality, passion, conviction in their message perhaps? 

An interview is very similar. It’s just like presenting on the topic that is YOU, but rather than relying on ‘slides’ you rely on the confidence in your abilities to bring the bullet points of your achievements, skills and successes to life!

4. Don't Forget Your Personality!

It’s a really common assumption to focus on your professional achievements for the purpose of an interview, and stick strictly to work experience and relevant skills for the job. BUT, the job of the interviewer is to work out the best candidate for their position and they’re not going to be able to do this without working out what the person is REALLY about. The employer would have attempted to state the ‘type’ of person that they’re looking for, so assuming you are already aligned to the role, you have permission to demonstrate these traits at interview.

It is difficult to showcase personality if you don’t know your PERSONAL BRAND, but like marketing and promoting a product, it’s important the interviewer can FEEL what you represent, what offer you bring and why they should ‘buy’ into you. Having inner confidence in the authentic version of yourself will really help to achieve this, as will dialing up your personality to 100%.

5. They’re Not Bothered About How You Answer The Question! 

So many people have gone into an interview with strong examples, personality, confidence and the performance factor, but thought that they HAD to answer the question in a certain way, such as using the STAR interview technique where they describe the Situation, Task, Action and Result. This is an outdated assumption and needs to be updated, in that the interviewer isn’t concerned about the order of the answer, they just want the candidate to answer the question in FULL, in a way that clearly demonstrates what the candidate achieved and how they did it, while being impressed, engaged and connected.

It’s a TALL ORDER to expect this one technique to pack this much into an answer, and that is why having a technique that suits YOU as an individual is imperative. The interview technique that you choose is the MEANS that will enable you to communicate everything that the employer wants to see, feel and hear at interview, as well as enabling you to showcase all your skills, attributes, personality and passion for the role. So the question that you need to ask yourself is …. Does the technique I use currently enable me to;

• Talk naturally and authentically.
• Bring my examples to life.
• Showcase expert status, personal brand and a clear offer for the employer.
• Sound and look impressive.

If the answer is ‘no’ in any of these areas, your technique could be sabotaging your interviews, so choose one that works for YOU.

If you would benefit from finding out about an alternative interview technique that will equip you with everything mentioned above, connect or follow me to find out more.

If you are want to honestly find out how prepared you are for your next interview, take this Interview MOT which will quickly highlight your strongest and weakest areas right now.