14. The interview

The previous chapter focused on preparation. This chapter takes you through what to do on the day of the interview to perform at your best.

When you arrive

Aim to arrive five to ten minutes early to allow time to check your appearance in the bathroom. Putting your phone on silent might be enough but as you don’t want it to vibrate, it’s probably best to play safe and switch it off. You may be kept waiting so bring something to read.

Be in a positive frame of mind. You may or may not feel confident but for the interview, you must portray a positive image. There’s some research that says smiling can help make you feel happy. So put on a big smile and keep your eyes smiling afterwards.

Interviewers will often seek a general view on the candidates from administrators and so on, so be friendly and positive with everyone you meet. You know you will have to shake hands so have a firm handshake, and use antiperspirant if you have a tendency to sweaty hands.

At the interview

Many interviewers make up their minds about a candidate within seconds of meeting them. This is known as the ‘halo effect’. When we observe one good thing about someone, we assume all kinds of other good things about the person. It’s not fair, but we do it anyway. For example, if you are well dressed, many interviewers will assume you are probably responsible in other ways.

With the ‘halo effect’ the interviewer is subconsciously seeking to have that initial favourable impression confirmed by the subsequent discussion. The opposite is the ‘horns effect’. If you start off badly, perhaps by the way you are dressed, your clammy hands or tripping up as you go into the interview room, you’ll have an uphill struggle for the rest of the interview.

You can make the interviewer feel good right from the start. As you are greeted by them, you could say, ‘I just want to let you know how much I appreciate you meeting with me. This position sounds so exciting and I’ve heard nothing but good things about [company name].’

Talent and experience are not enough; you need to come across as relaxed and enthusiastic. Expect to enjoy the interview and see yourself as an equal partner.

Remember this iconYou only have one chance to make a first impression.

Put into practice the techniques of relaxation and alertness. Make sure you breathe and listen. Be confident in your ability and how you will behave. Also be assertive: if, for example, you have the sun in your eyes, ask for the blinds to be dropped or to move your chair.

Use your body language to good effect: use hand gestures to emphasize a point – but not too much – and make eye contact. Too many people look shifty, as they don’t want to look at the person interviewing them. If you find it hard to look directly at someone, imagine you are looking at a triangle made up of their eyes and nose.

Demonstrating confidence means that you will stand, sit, and walk with good posture and confidence. You will have a firm and decisive handshake, call the interviewer by his or her name, and say how pleased you are to be there (and mean it!).

Expect to get on with your interviewer, and show you do through your verbal and non-verbal behaviour. Younger people, and those who haven’t been interviewed for a long time, in particular, can be nervous and emphasize a lack of confidence by a quiver in the voice and a shaky hand when picking up a glass of water.

Remember this iconDeveloping rapport

We discussed the importance of rapport in Chapter 5 (‘Fact-finding interviews’). We are more favourable towards others when we are in rapport; salespeople know that techniques such as mirroring voice tone and posture work, and use them to make the sale. You need to use such techniques to help you perform well at interview.

Positive signs that you are in rapport include the interviewer smiling, leaning forward in their chair and nodding affirmatively. Negative signs include the interviewer frowning, checking their watch and not making eye contact with you.

Speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard. Make sure you stress your good points and show how well informed you are about the organization. Keep your attitude businesslike and respectful. Sell yourself by giving solid reasons why you want to work for the company and showing how you can help them.

Make sure you recount things in an interesting and positive way so that the interviewer will remember you. Listen closely as the interviewers introduce themselves. You should try to address them by name at some point during the interview.

Be natural, relaxed and enthusiastic. Remember, you are already more than halfway to the job. You are at interview because the selectors consider you can do the job. Unless you’re a professional actor/actress, most employers will be able to see through any ‘mask’ you’re trying to project. Be self-assured, but not over-confident, overbearing or arrogant.

Remember this iconShow your passion

If there are two equally qualified candidates, the more passionate one will likely get the job.

Think before you talk. Take a few seconds to collect and organize your thoughts, and then answer each question simply and directly. If you do not understand the question or the motivation behind it, ask for clarification. Use jargon or technical terms only if you fully understand them and if they will help to show your knowledge of a subject.

Facial expressions

Eye contact is important in communication. Research undertaken by the psychologist Michael Argyle emphasizes the importance of facial expression in communication. For example, if we want to know if the other person is interested, we can look into their eyes – our pupils dilate (get bigger) when we are aroused/interested. So that can encourage us in our communication. People will look at you more as they finish speaking, helping you to know that it is now your turn. If you look at someone while you are speaking you will appear more confident and sincere.

Answering questions

Before you start to answer a question, in your head say to yourself, ‘Now I need to answer that question in a way that will show how I can be of value to this employer.’ If you start to ramble, interrupt yourself by coughing or pausing. This will give you time to collect your thoughts and you can say ‘Sorry, can I start that answer again?’

As you cover them at interview, mentally tick off the five or six key reasons why you should be considered for the job. Find opportunities to raise any topics which have not been covered. You might be asked whether you would like to add anything or you might make the point yourself: ‘Would it be helpful if I mentioned something else relevant to this job?’ Take every opportunity to explain your achievements and abilities within the context of the job description.

Never hesitate to ask the interviewer to repeat the question if you haven’t fully heard or understood it. You can also use the technique of restating the question in different words to check your understanding.

Let the interviewer control the interview, but always be prepared to take the initiative. Have a strategy for handling interviewers who monopolize the talking, or ask only closed (‘Yes/No’) questions. Be prepared for the deliberate question which the interviewer knows you cannot answer. Such questions are useful to interviewers as much to see how you will cope as for the content of your reply.

If the interviewer starts asking questions where you need to imagine yourself in the role, for example, asking you ‘How would you handle …?’ it is very helpful to pretend that you are not being interviewed for a job. Instead, imagine that you are a respected consultant helping a new client with a problem. Adopt a probing approach so that you can understand their situation in sufficient detail before providing an answer. Relate your answer to their business objectives rather than to theories or models (unless specifically asked to do so).

Similarly, when asked about your past achievements, relate them to issues your employer was trying to address and the business (organizational) benefits they gained. This way, you will be giving very useful examples, and, by not trying to ‘perform’, you will be more relaxed.

Remember this icon

Your questions

You will have prepared your questions; you may like to use some of the ones listed in the previous chapter. Open your folder and read them out. You must include a question to identify some of the organization’s problems. You can then focus your thank you letter on addressing these issues.

A perfect close

Once you have asked your questions, you have a final chance to make a positive impression. You can now make a one-minute closing statement. Summarize your qualifications, skills and accomplishments and emphasize your interest in the job. Thank the interviewer, and be sure to ask about the next step or stage. Make sure you say goodbye to the receptionist as you leave.

Post-interview evaluation

Once you are out of the building, and in your car or at the train station, jot down a few notes, outlining the main points discussed.

As soon as you can, complete a review of how you think you came across. It will be invaluable to refer to if you get a second interview and you can also use it to monitor your performance. Be honest with yourself, noting what you did well, and where improvements are needed. Talk through the result of your review with a friend and practise your revised answers.

There are many questions you can ask yourself, such as:

Useful tip iconGive yourself a reward after the interview – perhaps a nice lunch or your favourite coffee and cake!

Contacting the recruitment agency

If you have been put forward by a recruitment agency, call them as soon as you can to enthusiastically let them know how you got on and to confirm your interest in the job. They will almost certainly feed this straight back to the interviewer and it will be viewed positively.

Follow up with a thank you letter

Very few candidates write a follow-up letter. If the interviewer is still deciding between you and another candidate, this may just tip the balance in your favour.

The purpose of your thank you letter is to reinforce your strengths, experience and accomplishments. Include anything that relates to and expands on what was discussed at interview. It is not just to thank them for their time.

Your thank you letter can address areas of weakness, and any reservations or concerns that were mentioned during the interview. You can also explain how your strengths and past work history (with examples) can over-compensate for any areas of weakness.

Most importantly, you will provide brief details of how you can solve the recruiter’s problem. But you don’t want to tell them everything – you want them to get back in touch with you.

A sample letter:

Thank you for the opportunity to interview with you last Tuesday for the position of Business Development Manager. During the interview you asked why I was a good candidate and I could only give you a vague response. I have spent time evaluating my strengths in relation to your needs. After serious consideration I can comfortably state that I am a good candidate because ___________.

You also said that one of the problems you have is XXX, I’ve been thinking of ways to solve this and would love an opportunity to discuss my ideas further. I have identified one area in particular …’ and then you explain how you could solve this problem. You should aim to explain what you would do, but not how you would do it, that’s what you want to discuss with them at a second interview.

Hold back some key details though – you don’t want to give everything away; you want them to call you back for a further interview.

Second and third interviews

You will need to do some extra research for subsequent interviews, but don’t forget to review your notes from the first interview. The more knowledgeable you are in advance, the more effective you will be. Remember that everyone you meet, from division head to support staff, is evaluating you, just as you are evaluating them. Always ask about the next steps after the interview and when you will hear from them. Then make a diary note to get in touch the day after.

What to do if you don’t get the job

If you are offered the job you still need to make sure it is the right job for you and Chapter 17 will be useful. But you may get a rejection letter.

In some cases it will be what you expected. In your post-interview review, you will have identified where you could have done better, and can use this learning for next time. In other cases you may not be able to identify anything wrong. You may have done a brilliant interview and still not have been offered the job.

It could be that there was more than one person who was capable of doing the job and the final decision may have been based on factors outside your control. The person who got the job may have been an internal candidate or had something extra to offer. Or there may never have been a job available. The head office may have wanted to fill the vacancy but the job had already been offered to someone, and the whole interview process was a sham.

Whatever you think is the reason you didn’t get the job, contact the organization and ask for feedback.

Finally, even if you do not get an offer, you can still write one last letter. The person who has been offered the job may turn it down. Quite regularly, a new employee leaves fairly quickly as it hasn’t worked out for them. Your letter could bring you to the top of the list when a new person is being considered.