IN THIS PART of the book you will learn why interviewers do the things they do. You’ll also learn the formulas for answering tough interview questions in ways that are honest, unique to you, and advance your candidacy without making you sound like a snake-oil salesman. Along the way you will also learn some useful strategies to make a greater success of your career.
“LIKE BEING ON TRIAL FOR YOUR LIFE” is how many people look at a job interview. With the interviewer as judge and jury, you are at least on trial for your livelihood, so you must have winning strategies. F. Lee Bailey, one of America’s most celebrated defense attorneys, attributes his success in the courtroom to preparation. He likens himself to a magician going into court with fifty rabbits in his hat, not knowing which one he’ll really need, but ready to pull out any single one. Bailey is successful because he is ready for any eventuality and because he takes the time to analyze every situation and every possible option. He never underestimates his opposition, he is always prepared, and he usually wins.
Another famous attorney, Louis Nizer, successfully defended all of his fifty-plus capital offense clients. When lauded as the greatest courtroom performer of his day, Nizer denied the accolade. He claimed for himself the distinction of being the best prepared.
You won’t win your day in court just based on your skills. As competition for the best jobs increases, employers are comparing more candidates for every opening and becoming more skilled in the art of selection. To consistently win against stiff competition, like Bailey and Nizer, you have to be prepared for the questions that can be thrown at you, and that requires understanding what is behind them.
During an interview, employers ask you dozens of searching questions—questions that test your knowledge, skills, confidence, poise, and professional behaviors (we’ll address this in some detail in a few pages). There are questions that can trick you into contradicting yourself and questions that probe your analytical skills and integrity. They are all designed so the interviewer can make decisions in these critical areas:
• Can you do the job?
• Are you motivated to take the extra step?
• Are you manageable and a team player?
• Are you professional in all your behaviors?
• Are you a problem solver?
Being able to do the job is only a small part of getting an offer. Whether you are motivated to make an extra effort, whether you are manageable and a team player, and whether you think of yourself as a problem identifier and problem solver are just as important to the interviewer. In this era of high unemployment and deep specialization, companies look more actively at the way you behave in the workplace and your professional behavioral profile. Specific desirable professional behaviors cannot be ascertained by a single question or answer, so the interviewer will seek a pattern in your replies that shows your possession of such behaviors—I discuss them in detail in Chapter 15.
You not only have to make a case for yourself in these five areas; you need to avoid these deadly traps that can damage your candidacy:
• Failing to listen to the question.
• Answering a question that was not asked.
• Providing superfluous, inappropriate, or irrelevant information.
• Being unprepared for the interview.
The effect of these blunders is cumulative, and each reduces your chance of receiving a job offer.
The number of offers you win in your search for the ideal job depends on your ability to answer a staggering array of questions in terms that have value and relevance to the employer: “Why do you want to work here?” “What are your biggest accomplishments?” “How long will it take you to make a contribution?” “Why should I hire you?” “What can you do for us that someone else cannot do?” “What is your greatest weakness?” “Why aren’t you earning more?” and “What interests you about this job?”
The questions and answers in the following chapters come from across the job spectrum. Though a particular example answer might come from the mouth of an administrator, while you are a scientist or in one of the service industries, the commonality shared by all job functions in contributing to the bottom line will help you draw a parallel to your job. I’ll give you the question and explain what is behind it and the types of information the employer will be looking for in your answers.
Notice that many of the example answers teach a small lesson in professional survival—something you can use both to get the job and to help you climb the ladder of success.
The answers provided in the following chapters should not be repeated word for word, exactly as they come off the page. You have to tailor them to your profession, and illustrate them with examples from your own real-world experience, and, as you have your own style of speech, you’ll need to put the answers into your own words.