Master the Art of Job Interviewing
Larry LaBelle
CUTTING EDGE CAREER COACH | Pioneer in Winning Job Search Strategies | Resume Writer | Cover Letters | Networking | LinkedIn Expert | Interview Coach | Work Samples | Salary Negotiations
At the beginning of an interview, be sure to ask for 10-15 minutes at the end of the interview to ask questions and show your work samples. Otherwise, you may not get the time and you’ll lose out on an opportunity to really WOW them. Try to estimate how much time how many questions and how many work samples you can handle in the time you reserve. Always have more questions on your list that you can ask, since some of them may get addressed earlier in the interview. If you say you don’t have any more questions (e.g. they were all answered during the interview), you won’t look good.
WHY HR, RECRUITERS AND HIRING MANAGERS HIRE YOU
Remember, HR staff, recruiters and hiring managers hire people because:
- They really LIKE you
- They think your passionate about your work
- They think will fit into their team & company culture
- They think you have the best skill set for the job
BASICS OF A JOB INTERVIEW
If you want to succeed in a job interview and eventually get a job offer, you have to master interviewing skills.
The first thing you must do is to practice answering at least 20 questions from the 50 Interview Questions & Tips on How to Answer (click on this link to download a copy - https://www.trainingtamer.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/50-Interview-Questions-and-Tips-on-How-to-Answer.doc) and write out your answers. Have a family member or friend run you through a mock interview using the list of 50 questions “Practice makes perfect” so PRACTICE A LOT!
Be sure to stop rehearsing at least 1 hour before the interview so you can let your mind settle down and relax. Trust that you’ve got it down and you’ll do fine. Leave enough time to get to the interview –there’s nothing worse than being late and losing out because you were. Consider the traffic or construction in the area and plan your travel time accordingly. Whether you know the area or not, it’s a good idea to go to the employer’s site the night before so you know the route and can adjust your time if necessary based on traffic, constructions, etc.
PRE-INTERVIEW ISSUES
Job Application Issues
These days, it’s common for employer to have you complete a job application (paper or online) prior to your actual interview. It’s a good idea to complete a copy of our portable Master Job Application form (click on the below link to download a copy of the Master Job Application form - https://www.trainingtamer.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Master_Job_Application_Form.doc ) before you have to fill out the employer’s paper or online version. You can complete this form in advance to ensure the information you put down is always consistent and accurate. Be sure to identify three professional references to put on this form where at least one of them is a previous manager.
Company Research
Be sure to do your research on the company and its products and services before the interview.by checking their website. If you have questions about what you’ve read, write it down and ask about them at the interview. If you fail to do this and the employer discovers you haven’t done it (e.g. asks you a question about info on the company’s website), you’re likely to lose the job opportunity.
Criminal Background & Background Check Issues
Do your own criminal background and credit check and correct any problems before you do any interviews. Have a friend call your former employers as if he were your prospective new employer. Find out what they would say about you and find ways to address any issue. Call and coach professional references before they get called by your prospective new employer to check on you. Tell them your new position title, job responsibilities, etc. and prep them for the types of questions they might be asked. Tell them what accomplishments of yours you’d like them to mention.
Dress Issues
It’s imperative that you dress appropriately for an interview and understand how your body language can influence your interview success. For dress, men should always wear a suit, dress shirt and tie, dress shoes and socks, etc. have a fresh shower, shave and haircut, and void using cologne (come people are allergic to it). Women should have a fresh shower, wear a suit (if you wear a skirt, keep the length at the knee), a professional looking blouse (no cleavage please), dress shoes with a modest heal), and not wear perfume (for the same reason as men).
NOTE: If you want to download a comprehensive article on Dress Issues, click on the below link.
If you want to download a copy of my Mock Interview Rating Sheet, click on the below link. This sheet lists all the things you need to do effectively in a job interview. If you do a mock interview with a friend or family member, this sheet allow your friend or family member to rate your performance on each element of the interview so you can see where you are weak and need to improve. This is a very useful tool!
https://www.trainingtamer.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Mock_Interview_Rating_Sheet.doc
If you want to download a copy of the Interview Questions & Answers Recording from the Cox Radio Show, click on the below link. This talk show was hosted by a Dale Green, who is also a professional at Career Source Tampa Bay, which is a one stop center that provides help for the unemployed. I prepared a list of 20 interview questions that Dale asked me to answer on his show and with his experience, he was able to ask in depth follow up questions that made this recording very valuable for job seekers. Check it out!
Body Language Issues
When it comes to body language, remember that about 70-80% of your communication is non-verbal. Interviewers see your non-verbal cues and can read things into it that can either help or hurt you chances of advancing in the interview process. For example, if you tap your foot a lot in an interview, the interviewer can’t miss it and may think you overly nervous. If you’re going for a management job, your nervousness could get you ruled out. What if you slouched in your chair (maybe it’s a habit you have). The interviewer might think you’re not interested in the job and knock you out of the running. Get the picture!
NOTE: If you want to download a comprehensive article on Body Language Issues, click on the below link.
Assessment Tests
A common practice today is for employers to give you a battery of Assessments Tests before the interview to try to pre-qualify you for the position. If you don’t pass the assessment tests, you will be screened out and sent on your way. Be sure to ask the employers before the interview if you will have to take any kind of assessment test and if so, ask what kinds of tests. Then ask the employer to give you some sample questions so you’ll have any idea of the difficulty of the questions you’re going to face and can prepare appropriately. If you found you were going to be tested on Basic Algebra, you might want to bone up on these skills before the test.
Some employers may ask you deliver a presentation in PowerPoint. This usually happens at a second live interview if it’s going to happen at all. You need to ask about this in your very first interview with the employer so you can start preparing your presentation NOW. If you’re considering being a manager at any level, you need to master presentation skills and become adept at using PowerPoint so start learning these skills now.
CATEGORIES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
5 Categories of Interview Questions
Employer will ask you 5 categories of questions during the interview:
- Traditional/Basic Interview Questions (the easiest)
- Situational/Scenario Interview Questions
- Behavioral Interview Questions
- Stress Questions (designed for sales and marketing people to see if you can handle stress)
- Case Study Problem You Must Respond to On the Spot
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Telephone Pre-Screen Interview
Telephone Pre-Screen Interviews are usually done by an HR person to see if you are a strong enough candidate to be brought in for a face to face, live interview. These interviews are used to weed out inappropriate candidates and leave a reasonably sized group that appears to be well qualified for the position. Here are a couple of tips being successful on the phone. First, stand up during the interview since it will increase your energy. Put up sticky notes on the wall with all you key points, answers to tough questions, etc. Make sure you organize them so you can find what you need at a glance. This will make you more confident and help you win. Remember to smile and be enthusiastic since this comes through on the phone.
Skype Pre-Screen Interview
A Skype Pre-Screen Interview is the same as a Telephone Interview except that the interviewer can see you. Your body language now becomes an issue (smile, don’t fidget, look relaxed, sound enthusiastic, etc.). It’s still okay to put sticky notes on the wall behind your webcam as long as they can be seen by the viewer. Be sure to remove any furniture, paintings, etc. from view so the room you’re using looks professional. Dress up for this interview too.
Face to Face Interview
A Face to Face Interview typically involves interviewing with the Hiring Manager and possibly members of his team or upper management.
One-on-One Interviews
In a One-on-One Interview, you typically meet with one person and that’s it. This is the simplest and easiest type of interview.
Panel Interviews
In a Panel Interview, you face a panel of people who take turns asking you questions. This can be unnerving since you are facing so many people at once but if you remember to just focus on the person asking you a question, you can manage it quite well. As you get more comfortable during the interview, try to look at all the players in the room to connect with them and see how they are reacting to your answers.
TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVELY ANSWERING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below are 15 tips to help you become a great interviewer:
- Speak as if you’re talking to your best friend (but still be professional)
- Smile & maintain eye contact
- Speak with passion about what you’ve done: If you're truly invested in what you're saying, you'll be better able to keep your audience's attention
- Be patient with yourself. It's easy to get frustrated if you make a mistake. Remember that interviewing is not easy and it takes time and practice to hone your skills.
- Avoid using filler words like um and ah too often and be sure to use correct grammar.
- Show enthusiasm in your voice and use various intonations to keep it lively.
- Maintain good posture & no fidgeting
- Take 5 seconds to think of an answer before responding
- Keep answers short and concise to be effective (30-45 seconds)
- Try to address the question from the employer’s perspective
- Provide enough detail so interviewers don’t have to dig to get the information they want.
- Answer the “What is your greatest weakness?” question with a medium weakness you used to have but have worked on and overcome (so it’s now a strength)
- Practice answering questions with family/friends to get feedback on your performance or leave a voice mail for yourself with the answer to see how it sounds to you.
- Use concrete work examples to support your answers and include quantifiable accomplishments/testimonials whenever possible.
- Show 1 -2 work samples (e.g. copy of a brochure you developed) accompanied by a 3 – 4 line explanation of how the work sample benefitted the company, your department, your customers or vendors, etc.
CRITICAL NOTE: Your answer should include:: 1) What you did, 2) How you did it, 3) What the benefit/value was, and 4) Who benefited from it (e.g. you manager, a co-worker, customers, suppliers, vendors, resellers, etc.). Make sure you keep your answer short (approximately 2 lines long if you wrote it out) and compelling so it really sells you to the employer. If you do this, you have a much stronger chance of beating your competition (they won’t think to do this), getting invited back to a second interview and getting a great job offer!
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 SELLING POINTS?
You need to be able to identify, label and describe your top 3 selling points and be able to articulate them to the employer in an interview. Most people can’t do this and lose a great opportunity to sell themselves to the interviewer. You need to prepare yours, memorize them, and practice delivering them with family, friends and co-workers before an interview. Below are 3 examples for a person who is currently in a Director of Training position in one company and pursing the same level job at a different company. Notice that for each selling point, there is a 3 word label with a concrete example underneath.
INCREASE TRAINING REVENUE
- Expert at finding ways to significantly increase training revenue, such as a Platinum Technology where I increased revenue from $1.2 to $ 3.5M in less than a year
EFFECTIVE LEADER/COACH
- Effective leader and coach that drives the my division to excel, outperforming all the other divisions in the company
REDUCED TRAINING EXPENSES
- Coached instructional designers on the team to develop online eLearning training that students could take at the office, saving customers significate money on travel expenses (airline tickets, hotels, food, car rentals, etc.) and increasing training revenue.
What Are Your 5 Year Goals?
You need to define your long term goals for the next 5 years and be able to articulate them to an interview when asked. This is a common question the employers ask in interviews so be prepared.
Have a good answer prepared that you fully believe in and you think the employer will buy into! Never include any references re wanting to work a job outside the company you’re interviewing with – THIS IS THE KISS OF DEATH!
For example: “As a trainer, I want to enhance my knowledge of training delivery, instructional design and training management so I can be an effective contributor at many levels and eventually rise to a training management position.”
4 PARTS OF A JOB INTERVIEW
OPEN PHASE
Introduction
You need to prepare an introduction that you can deliver when you first meet the interviewer.
Example: “Hello Mr. Jones. My name is Linda Smith. I’m here to interview for the Customer Service Representative position. Do you have a copy of my resume?”
Ice Breakers
This is the getting to know each other part to make the interviewer and you more at ease. If the interview is in the interviewer’s office, look for pictures, trophies, etc. in the interviewer’s office to find clues for starting a conversation. Use what you find to help break the ice and allow both of you to get to know one other and create a more relaxed atmosphere Example: “I noticed that picture of you fishing. What’s your favorite fishing spot? I love to find great new fishing spots whenever I can.”
If you’re interviewed in a conference room where you have no clues, ask general questions instead For example: “How long have you worked here?” or “What attracted you to this company?” Be careful not to do this too long since it will cut into your interview time (just a few minutes) Remember, base your interview strategy on what hiring manager tells you vs. what was in the formal published job description.
Stage Setting Questions
Before the interviewer starts to ask you questions, make sure you ask the following stage setting questions that will help you get strategic information that you can use to give powerful and effective answers to questions during the interview that will help you win. The 5 questions you should always ask are listed below.
- Can we leave some time at the end of the interview for me to ask you some questions and show you my work samples?
- Is it okay if I take notes in my notebook during the interview?
- Can you give me an overview of the duties of the job from your point of view?
- What problems/pains and new initiatives are you dealing with right now?
- What do you expect the person filling this position to do during his/her first 90 days on the job?
Remember, base your interview strategy on what hiring manager tells you vs. what was in the formal published job description.
THE JOB INTERVIEW
Interview
Below are 5 key things that occur in the interview:
- Hiring manager asks you questions first - be sure to answer using concrete work examples and explain how what you did benefited your company, customers, vendors, etc.
- Then you get to ask hiring manager questions
- Ask questions about the company, your manager/co-workers, your job, and the benefits
- Show samples of your work to prove your worth
- Take notes so you can evaluate the interview later to see if the job manager/co-workers, and company are right for you
SALES CLOSE
After the interview question phase is over, be absolutely sure to ask the following Sales Close questions. They are critical to prevent getting ruled out by the interviewer (or panel, if you faced a panel) due to the interviewer having an negative unconscious reaction to you in the interview and remembering it later on the way home (or whatever) and ruling you out without you’re ever knowing why.
Ask the hiring manager the following questions:
- “Based on our discussion, my resume, and my portfolio examples, do you think I’m a good fit for the job?”
- If yes, ask “Do you have any reservations?”
- If yes, provide examples to eliminate reservation
- Keep asking this question until there are no more reservations
- What is our next step (e.g. second interview, job offer, etc.)?
FINAL CLOSE
After the Sales Close, it’s time to leave. This is what you should do at this point:
- Shake hands
- Use manager’s name & thank for time
- Give a mini-version of your “Sales Pitch” to close out with power.
- “I just want to remind you that I have over 3 years experience in customer service and I have the communications, listening, and problem solving skills to make an immediate contribution to your team.”
- Write down your mini Sales Pitch NOW before the interview and memorize it. It should focus on your strengths and value for the job you will be interviewing for.
TAKING NOTES
Interview Notebook
Before you go to an interview, you need to prepare an Interview Notebook with the following information in it:
- Interviewer’s Contact Information
- Name, address, building number, phone number, email address
- Company: ________________________________________________
- Interviewer’s (Hiring Manager) Name: ___________________________
- Interviewer’s Address (including Building #): ______________________
- Interviewer’s Phone: ________________________________________
- Interview Date & Time: ______________________________________
- Position Title (for the job you’re applying for): _____________________
- Answers to the 20 questions you wrote out earlier that you think the Hiring Manager might ask you
- List of questions you want to ask Hiring Manager
- Leave space underneath each question for taking notes during interview
- Your long and short versions of your Sales Pitch
IMPORTANT: Take notes during the interview so you can assess the job, manager, co-workers, company, and benefits to decide if this job is for you.
POST INTERVIEW ISSUES
If your interview goes well and employer is considering hiring you, they will typically do some or all of the following based on the position you’re applying for:
- Reference Checks: Employer check out references you supplied to see what they have to say about you
- Employers will typically call your references and ask them questions about your skills, performance, attitude, etc.
- Be sure to call your references in advance and fill them in on the details of the job so they can support you well when the employer calls
- Credit Checks: Done for jobs involving money, such as a job in a bank, credit card company, investment company, etc. Poor credit score could be used as a basis for screening you out
- Criminal Background Checks: Typically done for positions involving money, credit information, etc. If you fail, you will be screened out
- Drug Tests and/or Lie Detector (Polygraph) Test: If you fail, you will be screened out.
- Show 1 -2 work samples (e.g. copy of a brochure you developed) accompanied by a 3 – 4 line explanation of how the work sample benefitted the company, your department, your customers or vendors, etc.
- Educational Background Check: If your education is not corroborated by your college/university, you will not get an offer or you could be fired if they check after you start
If you don’t hear back from the employer after my interviewer, what should you do?
- Call the hiring manager and ask about the status of the position
- Reiterate your interest, enthusiasm and fit for the job
If you don’t get the job, can you ask for feedback as to what you need to improve so you do better next time?
- You can always ask but typically, most employers won’t answer (concerned about being sued)
- Some employer’s will respond so it’s always wise to ask anyway
FINAL WORD ON INTERVIEWING
Practice, practice, practice and do this before every interview if you want to win!
And remember ..........
