Bound For Sucess Interviewing- Chapter 2

To start the New Year we will be posting our frequently asked for series on interviewing. It will be broken down over the next six postings. The breakdown will be:
1- Preparing yourself for the interview
2- Doing practice interviews
3- The most often asked questions at an interview
4- What you should bring up at an interview
5- The dynamics of a job interview
6- Understanding the stresses facing the interviewer

PRACTICE INTERVIEWS- TIME WELL SPENT

If you are the type of individual who exudes self-confidence and welcomes the challenge of meeting with a hiring authority, you probably don’t need any preliminary interviewing experience. You are secure enough about the positive impression you will create to go directly into the job interview itself.

However, most individuals faced with the prospect of a one-on-one discussion with a manager they do not know, when the job they want is at stake, tend to feel nervous and tongue-tied. These feelings are normal and understandable. One way to relieve this kind of tension is to gain experience in the interviewing process - first in a low-stress, non-threatening environment, and then in practice high-stress interviews for the specific job itself.

Low-Stress Practice Interviews:
This technique is designed to help you become comfortable talking with people you do not know. In this type of interview, you are seeking knowledge about an interest or enthusiasm you have; you are not looking for a job. Approach the interview by talking with:
Someone who works in an environment that fascinates you – a museum, gourmet shop, TV station, etc.
Someone who has the same hobby or leisure activity that you have – gardening, skiing, painting, music, etc.
Someone who is working on an issue that interests you – ecology, assertiveness, lower taxes, etc.

Just “drop in,” do not formalize this process and heighten your anxieties by arranging an appointment. For example, on one of your trips to a museum, talk with the curator who may be arranging an exhibit; begin a conversation with a fellow visitor to a flower show; or stop by after an assertiveness class has just ended and ask the instructor for ten minutes of their time. Because you are suggesting a brief conversation about a topic you both enjoy, a mutual enthusiasm, the individual will usually be happy to talk with you.

Four questions which you may ask that will give you experience in the “interviewing process” are as follows:
1) How did you become interested in this type of work?
2) What do you like best about doing this?
3) What do you like least about doing this?
4) Where else can I find people who share this interest/enthusiasm?

Practice doing this type of interviewing until you feel relaxed and self-confident.

High-Stress Practice Interviews:
Very few companies practice this type of interviewing. They have found that it is not a good technique to be abrupt and adversarial. They attempt to relieve your anxiety and allow you to interview in your best possible manner. However, it is possible to run into a company or person who still believes in high-stress interviewing. Regardless, it is very good practice for you to interview using this framework. Practice being interviewed by your spouse or a friend, especially someone knowledgeable about the industry who can judge your responses from an educated platform. Practice the answers to typical questions such as those listed below. However, DO NOT memorize, or you will sound like a recording. Just sort out your thoughts. Don’t worry if you are nervous – it’s very natural -- and most interviewers expect you to be a slight bit nervous at the start of the interview. By practicing, you will get rid of a lot of your anxieties.

Do not get too cute -- pretend that the person who is doing the practice interview is someone you are meeting for the first time, and behave accordingly.

Research has shown that the individual who talks about 50% of the time during an interview is more likely to get the position. The person who talks too much has no time to hear what the interviewer is saying, and the feeling projected is that they aren’t really interested in the company. The person who talks too little can convey the impression that they have something to hide or are not a self-starter. It is very important to try and be an equal partner in directing the discussion. Neither undersell yourself nor monopolize the conversation.

Be sure that you represent your accomplishments honestly. Stress your strongest qualifications for the job in question. Use specific examples of successful past performance. Prepare in advance – write down what you know to be your main skills, and then next to them the accomplishments and achievements within in which you have demonstrated them. You must be able to give the interviewer a thorough explanation of the skills that will qualify you for the position.