So, we understand the importance of my first two points around nailing the interview. To recap: you must know the person you're interviewing with and do your due diligence. This is critical. Secondly, you have to ask yourself "Do I really want this?" If the answer is yes, you must demonstrate that. Passion and motivation are essential in an interview process and can separate you from the pack.
Let's examine my last two guidelines — which are lesser known, yet in my experience, just as (if not more) important than the first two.
Rule 3: Talk less
Sounds a bit counter-intuitive, doesn't it? However, if one person dominates the conversation, it throws the balance of the interview off. There's a saying among negotiators that whoever talks the most during a negotiation loses. The same truth applies to interviews.
When in front of an interviewer, our first instinct is to try to sell ourselves. We talk about our experience, our background, and how great we are. We'll go into all the exciting details about our qualifications, our college degrees, and everything we've done. However, we don't need to go through all of that. Why? Because any good interviewer has already seen our resume. Why go through all of that again?
Let's use a real life example. Imagine you just met a friend at a pub for a few beers after work, and he starts telling you about his weekend. He went for a run. Had a protein shake. Took a shower. He got groceries. He ran into an old friend…
Are you bored yet?
Talking at a person, instead of with a person, will damper your chances of landing that big job. If you're just communicating data without any calibration for who you're talking to, you're losing their attention. Stop the one-sided monologue about yourself and try to figure out whether the information is interesting, relevant, and peaking the attention of your listener. Believe it or not, more details are not always helpful.
Don't let the interviewer get bored
You know that you should do your best to speak more directly and not have a one-sided monologue. You also know that you need to focus on presenting the information that the interviewer needs in a conversational manner. Remember to use stories, details, and hard numbers to back what you're saying up. Keep your responses to interview questions quick and succinct.
Most of the books you'll read on interviews will tell you the same thing: figure out what the most common questions are, and prepare elaborate stories to demonstrate your uniqueness, passion, and value. This is fine — but by following this advice you'll do exactly what everybody else is doing. To really stand out, you have to be the exception to the rule. And to do this, you want to keep your responses under about one minute. Rambling, long, excessive stories will bore the interviewer and they will start to daydream about the actual work they have to do, or their kids' soccer practice, or that vacation that is coming up — ultimately taking the attention off of your response.
Most interviews are between 30 and 60 minutes, so it's very easy to waste valuable time with long-winded, "beat around the bush" answers. Answer questions quickly and efficiently to reduce the chance of being cut short or having their mind wander elsewhere.
This also allows for one obvious advantage: you will be able to provide more information throughout the interview — simply put, you'll have the opportunity to answer more questions.
To stand out, you must be an exception to the rule
Many people may be asking: what happens if you need more than 60 seconds to answer? The main thing to remember is that an interview is about the company and their needs as much as it is about you. They need to match the two, and they have certain criteria they will interview on. So if they don't feel they've got the right information, they'll simply ask for more. That's their job, after all.
By being the exception and following rule four, you'll immediately differentiate yourself from the norm. You become memorable and will stand out from the average, needy candidates only saying what they think an interviewer wants to hear. Your answers will be much more succinct and likely more relevant — which will allow you to engage in deeper, more interesting dialogue. You'll also come across as much more confident, subtle, and well-established.
Rule 4: Create flow
How can you keep a conversational flow and avoid awkward silence? There is a simple and effective way that involves creating a bridge between question and answer. This fuses all of the rules and will help you engage in fluid conversation during the interview process.
Scenario: an interviewer poses a question. You respond with your answer. But now what?
After responding to that question, the goal is to link in a question of your own. By doing this, you effortlessly bind the previous rules (concise responses and demonstrations of your interest in the role) — allowing you to lead the conversation and obtain a level of control.
It's not easy to achieve this all the time. Picture your friends at that pub again. Some are natural conversationalists; some sit on the sidelines only speaking when called upon. The dynamic of a conversation can be one-sided, two-sided, or multi-sided — so the key to making this work is how you use it.
Once the interviewer starts asking the questions, follow rule three: be concise and limit that response to under a minute. Then link an interesting, smart, and relevant question of your own and have them elaborate, following rule one: whoever speaks the most, loses.
So, what do you ask?
Here's the best thing about this rule — it allows you to easily demonstrate value points around your commitment to professional development, understanding of the job/industry, and your interest and desire for the role.
Have a list of ready-to-go questions, written down or in your head. Each should be applicable to the interview while delicately projecting one of those qualities.
Questions on growth & development:
- What types of training programs do you offer internally?
- If I succeed in the role I am interviewing for, what can be next for someone with my skill-set?
- Can you tell me about new products? New ideas? Where is the growth coming from?
- Do you offer continued education and training?
- How have the best performers found their success?
- Do you have any formal mentoring programs?
- How will my performance be measured?
Questions that show industry awareness:
- How has "X" played a part in your success over the last few years?
- What factors are driving the recent successes in "X" country?
- What do you think differentiates you from your competitor?
- How are you changing the way you do business as technology becomes more important?
- Is continuous improvement a part of day-to-day processes?
Questions that show you want the job:
- Do you have any hesitations on my background or qualifications? (This one is gutsy and shows confidence.)
- What is the ideal start date?
- Why is the incumbent leaving the role?
- If I could study anything prior to joining, what would it be?
- What will make me successful in this role?
During an actual interview, keep the questions conversational. Don't wait until the end to ask them all in a row. By linking the questions at the end of your responses, you can control the flow of the conversation while demonstrating confidence.
Listen, listen, listen
One of the most important points to consider: listen. To calibrate effectively and to ensure flow, you must really listen to the answers of the interviewer. If a question on your list has already been answered, you're going to lose points by asking it again — interviewers hate that.
So there you have it. You should now have all the ammunition to nail the interview. You'll separate yourself by showing that you're not going to accept just any job, but instead want to work with them for very specific reasons. Lastly, you'll show that you're capable of thinking on your feet while calibrating your responses to the needs of others. You'll be able to communicate effectively and efficiently — leaving the interviewer with an easy decision on who to hire.
In other words: you will be the exception to the rule. You will stand out. You'll be seen as confident, intelligent, prepared, and savvy. And you'll be seen as a great candidate for the job.
PS — If you're nervous about trying these or have an extremely important job interview coming up, it's sometimes worthwhile to apply for a few roles you know you will get interviews for. Go to those interviews for practice for the big one.
