The Successful Interview - May Not be an Interview

Both as the interviewee and the interviewer. . .I have experienced the hiring interview from both sides of the table.  Candidly, it's fraught with difficulties.

• The interviewee often is very concerned about how they are coming across and, consequently, is not coming across very well.   Crazy enough, I have witnessed that interviewers are perhaps equally concerned about how they are presenting themselves.    Consequently, you have two parties who are not really meeting but instead both are presenting a monologue in which they are constantly interrupting each other.
• The "insightful" interview questions. . .where do people come up with this stuff?  "Give us an example of an utter catastrophe that you created in your previous position and how you tried to regain your compromised integrity and what shreds you may have had left of a  professional image after making a  complete and utter buffoon of yourself."    Okay, that may be an exaggeration - but not by much.
• The panel interview defined:   "Up to 32 people (who wish they were doing something else), who you may never see again, who are probably more concerned with how clever their questions look to their peers versus gleaning information from the potential candidate."

So here's a thought. . .ditch the tricky questions (or tricky answers), drop the "address to impress" demeanor, stop trying to please everyone (and in the process, pleasing no one in the slightest). . .and have a conversation already!

As an employer, you know your business and what you are looking for - have a conversation around that.  Invite your candidate to ask questions about the business (you will learn a lot from what they choose to ask and how they choose to ask it) and do this early on vs. at the end of the interview as a closing volley.  Make the interviewee comfortable  and relaxed . . .by being comfortable and relaxed yourself.  And remember, you need to sell yourself and the job. . .you want that candidate to want to work for you!

As an interviewee, often it is implied you are the one without the power.   Not true.  Re-read the last sentence of the previous paragraph.   It is incumbent upon you to not only  present your skills and strengths - but to know the business well enough that you can converse intelligently about what your contribution can be.  Often by the why you choose to interact you can create a conversation.   Don't wait to be invited to ask questions - but ask questions early on so that you are engaging your potential employer.

This is a truth. . .I knew I wanted to hire the candidate who would end up being one of most valued team members from  a fly-by conversation with her in the hallway.  It was relaxed, informative and in just a few minutes, I knew she was a great candidate.

It wasn't an interview. . . it was a conversation.

By the way - I would love to know the very worst interview questions you have witnessed - comment on the blog or comment on my pages on LinkedIn or Facebook.   Be prepared - I may share these (anonymously, of course) in a future blog.

My book, "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available for e-readers, tablets and PCs on Amazon Kindle.