Tips for Interviewing

How to manage the magic hour

You feel nervous, which means you care about and want the job. You feel prepared, which helps your self-assurance. You feel you have dressed and groomed appropriately, which helps you feel a little more at ease. You have done all you possibly could to get ready for this magic hour. Now, what will you do in the hour itself?

Show Your Manners

The interviewers inevitably will ask you, “How are you today?”. Do not misread a polite question as an open invitation to detail your financial nightmares, existential dilemmas and the fact that you have no idea where you parked you car or how you got from the car to where you are right this minute.

Wait to sit down until you are invited to take a seat, and then sit down with attention to posture. Slouch and you’re dead. You may seize this opportunity to take out your pencil and paper - just to show you’re ready. If they asked you to bring a copy of your resume, you may take this moment to offer it.

Take just a moment to look at your surroundings, and take just another moment to look at the people interviewing you. Try to make significant eye contact with each interviewer, and give each one a friendly smile. Even if you feel terrified, because you imagine these people hold your fate in their hands, stay cool, calm, polite, and friendly.

Simple, Direct Answers

If you’re not quite sure about a question, or if some of the vocabulary seems unfamiliar, ask for clarification. In the worst case, the interviewer will inadvertently use one of the company’s jargon terms, something only an employee could understand. Do not hesitate to ask, politely, for a definition. Suggest simply, “I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with the term widgetizationality”.

Do not ramble or tell long stories. If you hear yourself say, “There was this one time,…”, stop and reconsider, rethinking and simplifying your answer: If the interviewers want more details, they will ask. No matter where the questions lead, keep your answers positive. If the interviewer inquires about your worst job ever, the one you hated every minute you had it, answer simply, “I learned a great deal about the business”. If the interviewer suggests, “You don’t seem to have a lot of experience with our business…”, explain how you have skills that will transfer from your old job to this one, saying, “No, I have not worked in the widget industry, but my previous experience has taught me how to use the tools to make widgets.”

Take Command of Your Language

Keep it real, but proper and professional. Yes, they are grading on your grammar and vocabulary. Avoid anything even remotely inappropriate. Avoid “you” when you really mean “I”. For example, if you hear yourself say, “You know how when you open your computer file,…”. Stop, breathe, and revise: “When I open my computer files, I find…” . First, your interviewer doesn’t want to be implicated in the conversation as “you” suggests and, secondly, when you say “I”, you get credit for your own great ideas.

Avoid anything personal, political, religious or controversial. Show that you understand the sharp line between personal and professional, and prove that you respect it. Everything that inspires your passion, conviction, commitment, and worship has its place in your life; but none of them has a place at work. If you feel passionate about your work, however, you could feel free to mention it.

Specifics Matter

If the job description says that you will supervise others, explain how you supervised others. “Well, I made the guys do a bunch of stuff” doesn’t tell the interviewers nearly as much as, “My team and I increased sales 7.8% by improving customer service”. The two statements express the same idea, but the specifics have a lot more impact, because they show how you lead and what you have accomplished.

The “I’m really a people person!” phrase tells interviewers absolutely nothing. They want to know exactly which inter-personal skills make you feel so confident about interacting with the public. Tell them, for example, that you “listen patiently and carefully to people’s concerns”. Better yet, as your high school English teacher used to explain, show them, “When my client felt concerned about the details in his widget warranty, I took out a copy of the warranty and asked Mr. DePoe to show me which parts were unclear. I encouraged him to keep asking questions until it all made sense to him. We spent nearly an hour on it, but after our discussion, the customer thanked me and praised me to my supervisor”. By demonstrating how you listened and explained, you enable the interviewers to conclude, “Wow, he’s really a people person”.

If you see a reasonable opportunity, feel free to work-in some of the knowledge you gleaned from your homework: “The Wall Street Journal reports that the whole market is down 12%, but The Big Company is only down 4%; and, in fact, The Big Company is actually up in a couple of areas…”. Do not show off or pretend that you know it all.

Take a Moment to Interview the Interviewers

Almost inevitably, at the end of your hour, the interviewers will ask whether or not you have any questions. You don’t need to ask, “So, how did I do?”. They cannot really tell you right there at that moment. You don’t need to know, “How soon can I get my first raise?”. The Human Relations specialists will cover that information in orientation and training.

You do want to know either, “How did you start your career with The Big Company?” or “What do you like best about working here at Big?”. In psychology, they call it “the rule of primacy and recency” - the first and last impression remains in the person’s mind; the in-between becomes obscure. If you handled yourself well during the first few minutes, you made a good first impression, and the interviewers will definitely keep that in mind. Now that you have engaged your interviewers, asking them to open-up just a little, the last impression clinches the idea, “…and she is so engaging.”. If you do it right, “Polite, professional, and engaging” is what the interviewers’ notes will read. How could they not want to hire you?