Getting into the mind of your Interviewer

 An “interview”, as defined by Wikipedia, is said to be “a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee”. Interviews are a standard part of qualitative research.

Have you ever wondered what the recruiter is looking for when you are being interviewed? This article attempts to address what the interviewer is looking for when you are interviewed as well as providing tips that would enable you succeed at interviews.

HR Managers are looking for interviewees that have the right employee attitude that would add value and create the kind of culture that would make them a great company.  Successful Interviewees can be trained to acquire skills; however, attitudes are difficult to change as they are acquired over time.  If a successful interviewee has the right skills but lack the right attitude, then this is a recipe for problems and headaches in future for the organisation.  As a result, organisations are not considering just skills alone, when hiring or interviewing, but also care more about the attitude that the candidate is bringing to their organisation.  For a list of these attitudes, read my article titled “Do You Have The Right Employee Attitude?”

An interviewer would expect the fresh graduate with little or no experience to show passion for the role being interviewed for.  The candidate should research the position in order to understand what the role is all about, how the role contributes to the overall goal of the organisation.  The candidate must also know and understand the vision, mission and core values of the organisation.  The candidate should be able to show or explain how his personal belief or what he has done in the past aligns with the vision, mission and core values of the organisation.  For candidates with no experience, their focus on the first job should be to learn and gain experience on the job and not the salary.  I have had cases where fresh graduates are interviewing for a job and all their focus is on how much does the job pay instead of what is the job all about and how can I deliver.  Although the starting salary might be small, this should not discourage the fresh graduate. As the fresh graduate begins to contribute to the organisation, his/her value will increase and consequently rewarded with higher pay.

There are several reasons why a candidate who feels that they did well might not be selected. It could be that the candidate might have been ranked with the others and although you feel that you performed well, you actually ranked very low against the other candidates. Dressing for the interview is also key as people are addressed by the way they appear.  Remember also that first impression lasts very long which is why candidates are advised to put their best foot forward.  Candidates should be smart in their dressing to interviews as dresses meant for clubs are a NO NO for interviews. Shoes should be comfortable and well polished, dresses should not be revealing, and must be neatly pressed; guys should put on a necktie while the ladies should avoid loud makeup and multicolour nail paints and hair styles which might send the wrong signals to interviewers. Above all, candidates should smell nice by putting on a perfume with nice and mild fragrance.

As you prepare to attend interviews, you need to watch out for these dos and don’ts that could make or mar your experience at interviews:

Interview DOs

1.  Dress appropriately for the industry; err on the side of being conservative to show you take the interview seriously. Your personal grooming and cleanliness should be impeccable.

2.  Know the exact time and location of your interview; know how long it takes to get there, park, find a rest room to freshen up, etc.

3.  Arrive early; 10 minutes prior to the interview start time [or earlier if the event or employer instructs you to do so].

4.  Treat other people you encounter with courtesy and respect. Their opinions of you might be solicited during hiring decisions.

5.  Offer a firm handshake, make eye contact, and have a friendly expression when you are greeted by your interviewer.

6.  Listen to be sure you understand your interviewer's name and the correct pronunciation.

7.  Even when your interviewer gives you a first and last name, address your interviewer by title (Ms., Mr., Dr.) and last name, until invited to do otherwise.

8.  Maintain good eye contact during the interview.

9.  Sit still in your seat; avoid fidgeting and slouching.

10.  Respond to questions and back up your statements about yourself with specific examples whenever possible.

11.  Ask for clarification if you don't understand a question.

12.  Be thorough in your responses, while being concise in your wording.

13.  Be honest and be yourself — your best professional self.  Dishonesty gets discovered and is grounds for withdrawing job offers and for firing. You want a good match between yourself and your employer. If you get hired by acting like someone other than yourself, you and your employer will both be unhappy.

14.  Treat the interview seriously and as though you are truly interested in the employer and the opportunity presented.

15.  Exhibit a positive attitude. The interviewer is evaluating you as a potential co-worker. Behave like someone you would want to work with.

16.  Have intelligent questions prepared to ask the interviewer. Having done your research about the employer in advance, ask questions which you did not find answered in your research.

17.  Make sure you understand the employer's next step in the hiring process; know when and from whom you should expect to hear next. Know what action you are expected to take next, if any.

18.  When the interviewer concludes the interview, offer a firm handshake and make eye contact. Depart gracefully.

19.  After the interview, make notes right away so you don't forget critical details.

20.  Write a thank-you letter to your interviewer promptly.

Interview DON'Ts

1.  Don't make excuses. Take responsibility for your decisions and your actions.

2.  Don't make negative comments about previous employers or professors (or others).

3.  Don't falsify application materials or answers to interview questions.

4.  Don't treat the interview casually, as if you are just shopping around or doing the interview for practice. This is an insult to the interviewer and to the organization.

5.  Don't give the impression that you are only interested in an organization because of its geographic location.

6.  Don't give the impression you are only interested in salary; don't ask about salary and benefits issues until the subject is brought up by your interviewer.

7.  Don't act as though you would take any job or are desperate for employment.

8.  Don't make the interviewer guess what type of work you are interested in; it is not the interviewer's job to act as a career advisor to you.

9.  Don't be unprepared for typical interview questions. You may not be asked all of them in every interview, but being unprepared will not help you.

10.  A job search can be hard work and involve frustrations; don't exhibit frustrations or a negative attitude in an interview.

11.  Don't go to extremes with your posture; don't slouch, and don't sit rigidly on the edge of your chair.

12.  Don't assume that a female interviewer is "Mrs." or "Miss." Address her as "Ms." unless told otherwise. (If she has a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree or medical degree, use "Dr. [lastname]" just as you would with a male interviewer. Marital status of anyone, male or female, is irrelevant to the purpose of the interview.

13.  Don't chew gum or smell like smoke.

14.  Don't allow your cell phone to sound during the interview. (If it does, apologize quickly and ignore it.) Don't take a cell phone call. Don't look at a text message.

15.  Don't take your parents, your pet (an assistance animal is not a pet in this circumstance), spouse, fiance, friends or enemies to an interview. If you are not grown up and independent enough to attend an interview alone, you're insufficiently grown up and independent for a job. (They can certainly visit your new city, at their own expense, but cannot attend your interview.)

In conclusion, see yourself as the product, the employer as the consumer and interviews as the marketplace. The consumer would only purchase what appeals to them at the marketplace, hence you should never attend an interview casually.

Credits: www.career.vt.edu; www.recruitingdivision.com