Interview Advice from a Recruiter
By: Todd Kearns
Good recruiters have a privileged insight into what tends to work well – and what leads to abject failure – for candidates as they interview with companies. During my three years as a professional recruiter, I’ve had the luxury of partnering with some of the largest (and smallest) companies in the Washtenaw County Area – from large-scale automotive production companies to start-up tech firms. Although these clients have their idiosyncrasies as it pertains to what they want out of a candidate (e.g., what kind of personality works for the atmosphere of the worksite, the types of skill sets they must possess, etc.), there are some expectations of an interviewee – tacit and explicit – that almost categorically hold true. Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years:
1. Listen to the “Afterschool Special” and just be yourself.
One of most reoccurring pieces of feedback I’ve received from clients regarding candidates I’ve sent for an interview is that they were just “too much.” A candidate has to precariously toe the line between clearly and confidently articulating their relevant work experience and trying too desperately to be someone they think will impress the interviewer. It’s like your mother always told you; the best thing you can be is yourself. If you’re stretching when trying to make the connection between your experience and the job description, or you’re trying too hard to meet the “tone” of the office/interviewer, then it’s not the right fit. Imagine that you pull this bit of artifice off and land the job; most likely, you won’t be happy – either because your skillset isn’t proportionately matched such that you can pick the job up in an adequate time (and thus you have the anxiety of trying desperately to play catch-up and cram as quickly as possible), or because the general disposition of the office doesn’t accord with yours. If you’ve prepared for the interview and made your case with confidence and you still don’t get the job, it wasn’t meant to be. The right job will come around. Don’t try and force the square peg in the round hole.
2. If working with a recruiter or staffing specialist, make sure they tell you about the job!
The relationship between a recruiter and candidate can be difficult for a multitude of reasons. One cause is that the recruiter is the intermediary and communicative liaison between the client and the candidate. As a result, the candidate can’t see the struggles recruiters have with certain clients, nor can clients see what happens when there are roadblocks put forth by candidates. Just know that a recruiter does the best with the information they have. With that said, at the point in which an interview is established, your recruiter should give you all the information necessary to adequately prepare you for the interview. It’s well-known in the employment field that one of the leading contributors for turnover is that the actual job can differ wildly from the initial description and what was discussed during the interview. This mismatch in expectations leads to dissatisfaction in the candidate (and, later, employee) and possibly mistrust. Think about being a new college grad with a degree in HR management. You get contacted by a recruiter for an “HR coordinator” position. You get to the interview only to learn that, instead of plying your education and experience to perform full-cycle recruitment, handle benefits enrollment, or track workers’ comp claims, you’re simply doing clerical work on behalf of the HR department. Where this gets particularly dicey for a candidate is when they walk into an interview without being properly armed with the information necessary to represent themselves. Recruiters can fail their candidates in this way. Know what the job is. Ensure you get a job description. Ask your recruiter to tell you what they know of the company and its culture. In short, if you do extensive research and ask questions, you can minimize misunderstandings.
3. Occam’s razor.
Your responses to questions should be simple and thoughtful. They should demonstrate to the interviewer that you have a clear command of your experience and can make the proper connections between what you’ve done and what they’re looking for. Your responses should also be – above all – succinct. Be direct and explain your accomplishments as simply and clearly as possible. Bogging your answers down in unnecessary job-or-company-specific jargon or speaking for a distended period of time could work against you. Your point could get obfuscated in the rambling. The more you talk, the greater the possibility of saying something off-putting. Stick to the question and answer it. If you’re confident and you did your homework, you’ll be fine.
4. Make the case: the interviewer won’t do it for you.
Remember that an interview is actually an argument (the kind in which conclusions are supported by solid reasoning) where you make a case for why you should get the job. It’s up to you to explain how the experience you’ve gained elsewhere has enabled you to do the job for which you’re interviewing. In order to do this well, you must do your homework. Read the company website and the “about us” section. Be mindful of the language used in the job description and website. Their phrasing and idioms – the way they talk and what things they talk about – illustrate what the company cares about. Frame your responses to their questions using similar language. This will bridge potential communicative “gaps” between what you’ve done and what they want (as long as you’re being honest). Make sure you understand the job description. Without knowing what the job fully entails, you can’t properly make – and win – an argument for why you are the most desirable candidate. If there’s anything that’s unclear or ambiguous about the job description, make sure you write it down and ask about it.
5. Ask questions!!!
If ever there were a rookie mistake, this is the one. Many new professionals fail to take advantage when the interviewer asks if you have any questions. Moreover, you don’t have to (nor should you necessarily) wait until that section of the interview to ask questions. Questions demonstrate that you’ve done your homework – you’ve read the website, you’ve learned things about the company, and you know the job description. Asking questions also shows that you’re engaged, interested in the opportunity, and that you want to know more! Try asking open-ended questions in order to get the interviewer talking. People like to talk, and it endears you to them if you create the space for them to do so. Get someone talking, and you also might find commonalities and things you can bond over (in a professional manner). Maybe they divulge that they like baseball or playing cards. If you’re a fan, you can make a little small talk if appropriate. What’s more, you may learn additional things about the job or company.
6. Take the temperature of the room.
Another issue that plagues candidates is that of being too formal or informal. To some extent, you want to match the tone and conversational tempo of the interviewer or interview team. I’ve often heard clients tell me that a candidate seemed entirely too informal. A frequent example of this is when a candidate divulges personal information that was not solicited. A variation of this faux-pas is revealing why you need this job by citing personal situations that have nothing to do with the job or your ability to perform it. Although you may feel as if you’re just “being honest” by talking about your mounting bills or your need to support [x person], what you’re actually doing is weaponizing your unfortunate situation in such a way as to use sympathy to get the job. Your poise, professionalism, and experience should sell you. Citing personal problems comes across as desperate and is – unknowingly or knowingly – a form of manipulation on your part; you’re attempting to leverage your personal life to engender a feeling of pity in the interviewer. It often times has the opposite effect of what you intend and can make interviewers uncomfortable to the point they see you as unprofessional.
The other side of the same proverbial coin is being too formal. In my experience, this is much less likely a deal-breaker, but if the company is dependent on having outgoing people, being too cold and aloof may hurt. How do you avoid the informal/formal problem? There’s no sure-fire way except to try and match the energy and warmth (or lack thereof) of the interviewer. This isn’t to say you should mirror them entirely. You still want to be you, after all. However, seeing unspoken boundaries is crucial to a successful interaction. If an interviewer asks you something about yourself, answer it (as long as it’s within the bounds of appropriateness). You can even ask if they’ve ever done [x] if it’s part of your answer. (For example: you enjoy snowboarding. You can ask if they’ve ever been to a city/state in which you went snowboarding. Either they haven’t, which allows you to say something brief about it, or they have, and you find something small to bond over.) If they mention an interest you share, there’s a quick way to connect with them. Levity can also be used to find common ground with your interviewer. However, it is incredibly important to be respectful and make sure to avoid political, religious, and stereotypical humor!!!). Finally, don’t push beyond the boundaries they’ve put forth. Allow them to build and maintain the conversational fence, but use the space they’ve created to show why you are the best candidate for the job.
Proviso.
Although the six tips almost always hold true, it would be irresponsible of me to not offer a caveat to all of this: interviews can fluctuate wildly depending on the company, the position, the interviewer, and a multitude of other variables. Although these interview tips are applicable in most contexts, they’re not unassailable. Above all, read your audience and be mindful of the atmosphere. If there are times that call for a deviation from these tips, do it.
Ultimately, there are no absolute principles for interviewing. There is only preparation, intuition, self-awareness, and a little bit of luck. Availing yourself of these tips can – and in many cases from my experience, do – assist candidates and increase the likelihood of success. Thank you for reading.