Most Important Interview Technique Revealed

March 14th, 2008 by hragitator | Posted in Recruiting |

There are many sources of good advice on interviewing for a job, so I’m not going to re-hash them.  However, there is one critical technique that is almost always ignored.  One technique that has personally made a huge difference in my own interviewing abilities.  One device so devastatingly powerful that I caution to even mention it here…but I will anyways.  The key to nailing almost any job interview is this - listen.

photo credit: abbyladybug

That’s right, shut up and listen.  Here’s an axiom that will help you to remember this all important skill:

You can talk your way out of a job, but you can’t listen your way out.

But, you might say, they brought me here to talk to them.  They want to hear me speak.  They’re asking me questions for goodness sakes!  This is all very true, and I’m not suggesting that you can get out of the interview without answering some questions.  However, given the first opportunity to turn it around and start asking some questions, you should.

At the very beginning of the interview, you’re often asked, “Do you have any questions before we begin?”  Most people say no to this, thinking the interviewer is just being nice and many times they are.  I wouldn’t lose this opportunity, though.  You have a perfect chance to control the pace and flow of the interview and dictate where it goes.  Why wait for them to ask you a question?  You have no idea what’s coming.

A better approach is to be prepared with questions on subjects you’re confident in discussing.  Once you ask them a question, they’ll want to answer it thoroughly and completely.  This will then give you time to think of follow up questions while they’re talking.  You want to make them feel almost like they’re being interviewed.  Like you have the upper hand in deciding whether YOU want work for THEM.  Most people feel the company has control in an interview, but only if you let them.

True story, at a very young age I went into an interview with a CVP.  I could have and should have been easily intimidated - the guy made five times my salary!  However, when he said, “Do you have any questions before we start?”, I said, “Yes, perhaps you could tell me a little about yourself and your own career.”

Remember, people love to talk about themselves, and executives are often very boastful.  It’s like an excuse to brag.  Also, it’s a reasonable request.  I just wanted to know a little more about the person I was talking with.  He may have even been a little embarrassed that he didn’t tell me more to begin with.

To cut the story short, 45 minutes into an hour long interview, we were still discussing (i.e., having a conversation) about his career.  What mistakes had he made?  What were his successes?  What would he do differently?  And so forth.  He actually said, “Gosh, we only have a few more minutes, I guess I should ask you a few questions.”  In the end, he saw me more as a peer than a person in need of a job.  I wasn’t desperate, I wasn’t being interrogated, I was almost a colleague.  Yes, I got a job there.

To sum things up, don’t be afraid to use every opportunity to get the interviewer talking.  The more they talk, the better you sound!