Interviewing Archives - Page 8 of 10 - Palladian Career Resources

Assessing Sarah Palin’s Job Interview

Sarah Palin answers a question in the first Vice Presidential debate and demonstrates some important interview principles.

I’ve assessed the job interview performance of three of the candidates, and am now on to Sarah Palin. As I have done in the previous articles, I am critiquing each candidate based solely on the content of the first answer they gave in their debate. I chose the first answer because it was very predictable – a question about our current financial crisis – and it is likely the candidates scripted some or all of their answers.

The transcript of Palin’s answer is in the gray area to the right.

Palin’s Answer

In this answer, Palin begins and focuses the majority of her answer on empathizing with the hiring managers. She describes very clearly how she feels and her understanding of how others feel about the financial uncertainty and hardship.

Palin then provides an example of what McCain did in the past. She then states what McCain will do to address the problems, and what he is doing now to make this happen.

Interview Criteria

I am using the same criteria as I used with the other three candidates:

Organized clearly and concisely
Focused on the values and needs of the hiring manager and company
Reinforces the skill and experience of the job seeker
Separates the job seeker from their competition with a strong positioning statement
Backs up the positioning statement with accomplishments that demonstrate an ability to succeed
Demonstrates enthusiasm for the job and company

Palin’s Assessment

Palin’s answer measures up very well against the criteria above:

The answer is concise and easy to follow.
The answer discusses the concerns of the hiring managers in great detail, with more than half the answer devoted to this.
The answer discusses McCains experience very specifically by describing how he pushed for reform two years ago.
The positioning statement is very direct – “John McCain thankfully has been one representing reform.”
The positioning statement is supported by an example of how McCain pushed for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past.
The answer doesn’t directly state that the candidate wants the job, but it does imply this by describing the current efforts of McCain to work on the financial crisis.

The answer has a very good structure that makes it easy to follow.

Palin focuses on the concerns of the hiring managers – fear about investments, paying for college, or managing a small business. Although implied, she doesn’t directly say that she will aliviate these concerns. The answer would be stronger with an example of what her ticket will do if hired and what specific results they will deliver.

Palin is the only candidate to provide a tangible example of past experience. She discusses McCain’s roll in attempting to reform the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac two years ago. Giving an example of a situation that deals directly with the job being pursued is a great way to stand out from your competition. Palin reinforces this idea by showing what McCain is currently doing to help fix the situation.

Looking at the example provided, it could be interpreted as either a success or failure. McCain saw the potential for financial problems and took action to avoid them, but he was not able to get passed the reforms he promoted.

This is a great lesson for any job seeker. The same example from your work history could be a great selling point or a major distractor. In this case, Palin emphasizes the foresight to identify and work to fix a problem as the accomplishment. She deemphasizes the inability to drive the changes and pursuade others to support the reform.

If I was coaching this candidate, I would recommend reducing the time spent discussing the concerns of the hiring managers. This could be more concise and accomplish the same thing. I would then add a little more detail to the reforms McCain pushed for in the past, ideally describing what the reforms were and how they would help today. The clearer and more specific the example is, the more effective it will be. Finally, I would relate the candidate’s plan to the concerns of the hiring managers, stating clearly how they will benefit.

Overall: This is a strong interview answer. It focuses on the needs of hiring managers and gives a clear example from the candidate’s (McCain’s) experience that demonstrates an ability to satisfy these concerns.

Transcript:

IFILL: The House of Representatives this week passed a bill, a big bailout bill — or didn’t pass it, I should say. The Senate decided to pass it, and the House is wrestling with it still tonight.

As America watches these things happen on Capitol Hill…was this the worst of Washington or the best of Washington that we saw play out?

PALIN: Thank you, Gwen. And I thank the commission, also. I appreciate this privilege of being able to be here and speak with Americans.

You know, I think a good barometer here, as we try to figure out has this been a good time or a bad time in America’s economy, is go to a kid’s soccer game on Saturday, and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, “How are you feeling about the economy?”

And I’ll bet you, you’re going to hear some fear in that parent’s voice, fear regarding the few investments that some of us have in the stock market. Did we just take a major hit with those investments?

Fear about, how are we going to afford to send our kids to college? A fear, as small-business owners, perhaps, how we’re going to borrow any money to increase inventory or hire more people.

The barometer there, I think, is going to be resounding that our economy is hurting and the federal government has not provided the sound oversight that we need and that we deserve, and we need reform to that end.

Now, John McCain thankfully has been one representing reform. Two years ago, remember, it was John McCain who pushed so hard with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform measures. He sounded that warning bell.

People in the Senate with him, his colleagues, didn’t want to listen to him and wouldn’t go towards that reform that was needed then. I think that the alarm has been heard, though, and there will be that greater oversight, again thanks to John McCain’s bipartisan efforts that he was so instrumental in bringing folks together over this past week, even suspending his own campaign to make sure he was putting excessive politics aside and putting the country first.

Full Transcript of the Debate

Assessing Joe Biden’s Job Interview

Joe Biden gave a very concise answer in the Vice Presidential debate. His answer illustrates several important facets of interviewing.

I looked at the Presidential debate and assessed the interview performance of Obama on Monday and McCain on Tuesday. Today, I am assessing Joe Biden in the Vice Presidential debate.

Although this debate has many similarities to a job interview, there is one big difference. The candidates in a Vice Presidential debate are focused on getting their running mate hired. Despite this difference, the debate does illustrate some excellent interview principles.

I am assessing each candidate based solely on the content of the first answer they gave in their debate. I chose the first answer because it was very predictable – a question about our current financial crisis – and it is likely the candidates scripted some or all of their answers.

The transcript of Biden’s answer is in the gray area to the right.

Biden’s Answer

In this answer, Biden begins with a clear positioning statement – that the economic problems are a direct result of the policies of his opponents. He then outlines the criteria for assessing a bailout bill. Biden concludes by stating the benefit of helping the middle class, in an attempt to imply that he will deliver this benefit.

Interview Criteria

I am using the same criteria as I used with Obama and McCain:

Organized clearly and concisely
Focused on the values and needs of the hiring manager and company
Reinforces the skill and experience of the job seeker
Separates the job seeker from their competition with a strong positioning statement
Backs up the positioning statement with accomplishments that demonstrate an ability to succeed
Demonstrates enthusiasm for the job and company

Biden’s Assessment

Biden’s answer is very similar to the Obama answer, in both structure and content, and the assessment is also similar:

The answer is very concise and clearly organized.
The answer explains how helping the middle class will benefit the hiring managers. It does not state how Biden will help the middle class. He only implies this with his answer.
The answer is very light on experience, and only references prior actions in the proposed criteria Obama has put forth.
The positioning statement is very clear. Biden goes one step further by reinforcing that his side’s policies are in fundamental disagreement with his opponents.
The answer has no statement of accomplishment backing up his positioning statement. Biden relies on criticism of the his opponents’ policies to imply that his policies will be successful.
The answer is mainly a statement of position and does not provide the candidate’s motivation for seeking the position.

The clarity of the answer is very good. The wording mirrors the answer Obama provided in his debate. I expect that the positioning statement has been scripted and worked on by the two candidates.

This is excellent tactic to help keep an answer on topic. Write your positioning statement in advance so that you can use it and adapt it during an interview.

The answer is very weak on demonstrating the ability of the candidate to succeed. Biden omits any statement showing his experience. He also does not provide a single example of an accomplishment.

In a typical job interview, you cannot boost yourself by attacking your opposition. You must stand on your own merits. In Biden’s answer, he fails to do this.

The answer concludes by saying that improving the middle class will help everyone. This is an attempt to show a benefit to the hiring managers.

If I was coaching this candidate, I would work with the candidate to change three things. First, I would condense the section that outlines Obama’s criteria for a bailout bill to save time for other topics. Second, I would add an accomplishment that demonstrates success and experience. Third, I would make it very clear how the candidate will directly benefit the hiring managers when hired.

Overall: This answer is a very poor interview answer for one important reason. The only justification given for hiring the candidate is to replace their opponent. In a job interview, it is essential to give a strong positive reason to be hired.

Tomorrow, I’m going to assess the answer from Sarah Palin.

Transcript:

As America watches these things happen on Capitol Hill, Sen. Biden, was this the worst of Washington or the best of Washington that we saw play out?

BIDEN: Let me begin by thanking you, Gwen, for hosting this.

And, Governor, it’s a pleasure to meet you, and it’s a pleasure to be with you.

I think it’s neither the best or worst of Washington, but it’s evidence of the fact that the economic policies of the last eight years have been the worst economic policies we’ve ever had. As a consequence, you’ve seen what’s happened on Wall Street.

If you need any more proof positive of how bad the economic theories have been, this excessive deregulation, the failure to oversee what was going on, letting Wall Street run wild, I don’t think you needed any more evidence than what you see now.

So the Congress has been put — Democrats and Republicans have been put in a very difficult spot. But Barack Obama laid out four basic criteria for any kind of rescue plan here.

He, first of all, said there has to be oversight. We’re not going to write any check to anybody unless there’s oversight for the — of the secretary of Treasury.

He secondly said you have to focus on homeowners and folks on Main Street.

Thirdly, he said that you have to treat the taxpayers like investors in this case.

And, lastly, what you have to do is make sure that CEOs don’t benefit from this, because this could end up, in the long run, people making money off of this rescue plan.

And so, as a consequence of that, it brings us back to maybe the fundamental disagreement between Gov. Palin and me and Sen. McCain and Barack Obama, and that is that the — we’re going to fundamentally change the focus of the economic policy.

We’re going to focus on the middle class, because it’s — when the middle class is growing, the economy grows and everybody does well, not just focus on the wealthy and corporate America.

Full Transcript of the Debate

Assessing John McCain’s Job Interview

John McCain’s performance in the first Presidential debate demonstrates several important lessons to remember in a job interview. McCain’s answer is assessed based on six criteria used to prepare and assess the interview skills of job seekers.

Yesterday I assessed Barack Obama in the first Presidential debate. Today, I am critiquing John McCain. The political debates are essentially job interviews, with the American people the hiring managers.

The transcript of McCain's answer is in the gray area to the right.

McCain's Answer

In this answer, McCain begins by expressing concern for the medical condition of a political adversary. This ties in with the overall theme of his answer, unity and bipartisanship.

McCain begins his discussion of the financial crisis in a similar manner to Obama, by stating his understanding and empathy for the situation.

He then discusses how the current political situation is unusual with both sides working together. McCain then reviews the significance of the economic situation and reiterates that both parties are coming together to address this. McCain then reviews the reasons why the bailout proposal is advantageous. He concludes by stating that the challenges are significant and will not be solved quickly.

Interview Criteria

The first question of a job interview is typically Tell Me About Yourself. A successful answer includes the following characteristics:

Organized clearly and concisely
Focused on the values and needs of the hiring manager and company
Reinforces the skill and experience of the job seeker
Separates the job seeker from their competition with a strong positioning statement
Backs up the positioning statement with accomplishments that demonstrate an ability to succeed
Demonstrates enthusiasm for the job and company

It isn't entirely fair to judge the candidates on this standard, since the question wasn't Tell Me About Yourself. Despite this, the criteria do very well with the answers the candidates gave.

McCain's Assessment

McCain's answer is typical of the answers I hear from many job seekers. It discusses values and the challenges of the position, but doesn't sell the candidate with accomplishments. Below is the assessment of the six criteria:

The answer is clear, it repeats one theme three times
The answer describes specifically the benefits to the hiring managers – avoiding the negative outcomes of losing a job, poor credit and home foreclosure.
The answer very briefly reviews the candidate's experience with the statement "…certainly in our time, and I've been around for a little while."
The positioning statement is clear but not stated strongly. The candidate positions himself as a catalyst for cooperation between the parties, but doesn't state this specifically.
The candidate does not give an example of an accomplishment that demonstrates his ability to succeed.
The answer implies that the candidate wants the job by stating the desire to meet the current challenges.

If I was coaching this candidate, I would start by changing the positioning statement. The candidate positions himself as catalyst for cooperation. The mistake is implying this instead of saying it. Let's look at a stronger way to reword this:

This answer gives a specific action that was taken with results. The results are not a solution to the problem, just an effort to develop a solution. Despite this, it is a much stronger positioning statement than the candidate gave.

When you are interviewing, your goal is to create a clear message of why you are the best candidate for the position. You do not want to create puzzles that the hiring manager needs to put together. Don't assume the hiring manager will make the connection to the message you are implying. Make it simple and deliver a clear message.

To make an even stronger impact, the candidate should relate the positioning statement directly to the benefits of the hiring managers. Here is how I would reword the answer to do this:

I went back to Washington, and met with Republicans in the House, and found they weren't a part the negotiations. I worked with Democrats to bring the two sides together, to meet and discuss this issue. My efforts helped both sides to focus on the solution to the problem, not the differences between them. We are in the process of developing a package that will address our problems. The package has transparency, accountability and oversight. When we finalize negotiations and implement the plan, it will help avoid the crisis on Main Street – lost jobs, ruined credit and home foreclosures will be reduced with this plan.

Everything I wrote in this version is in the answer that McCain gave, either directly stated or implied. All I changed was the order and wording. This change results in a strong positioning statement for the candidate.

I do a lot of interview coaching, and in a coaching session, I would take this positioning statement one step further. I would dig into the candidate's work history to find an accomplishment that reinforces the positioning statement. Unfortunately, the candidate didn't use an accomplishment in their answer and I'm limiting this critique to the answer's content.

Candidate Comparison

Obama and McCain made some of the same mistakes. Neither candidate promoted their experience much and only implied their capability. Additionally, neither candidate gave an example of an accomplishment that demonstrates their potential to succeed. This is common with many job seekers. A clear, specific accomplishment can be extremely effective in an interview. Both candidates worked to empathize with the hiring managers. Finally, both provided a clear theme to position themselves.

Tomorrow, I'm going to move on to the Vice Presidential debate with a review of Joe Biden.

Transcript:

Lehrer: Gentlemen, at this very moment tonight, where do you stand on the financial recovery plan?

McCain: Well, thank you, Jim. And thanks to everybody.

And I do have a sad note tonight. Senator Kennedy is in the hospital. He's a dear and beloved friend to all of us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the lion of the Senate.

I also want to thank the University of Mississippi for hosting us tonight.

And, Jim, I — I've been not feeling too great about a lot of things lately. So have a lot of Americans who are facing challenges. But I'm feeling a little better tonight, and I'll tell you why.

Because as we're here tonight in this debate, we are seeing, for the first time in a long time, Republicans and Democrats together, sitting down, trying to work out a solution to this fiscal crisis that we're in.

And have no doubt about the magnitude of this crisis. And we're not talking about failure of institutions on Wall Street. We're talking about failures on Main Street, and people who will lose their jobs, and their credits, and their homes, if we don't fix the greatest fiscal crisis, probably in — certainly in our time, and I've been around a little while.

But the point is — the point is, we have finally seen Republicans and Democrats sitting down and negotiating together and coming up with a package.

This package has transparency in it. It has to have accountability and oversight. It has to have options for loans to failing businesses, rather than the government taking over those loans. We have to — it has to have a package with a number of other essential elements to it.

And, yes, I went back to Washington, and I met with my Republicans in the House of Representatives. And they weren't part of the negotiations, and I understand that. And it was the House Republicans that decided that they would be part of the solution to this problem.

But I want to emphasize one point to all Americans tonight. This isn't the beginning of the end of this crisis. This is the end of the beginning, if we come out with a package that will keep these institutions stable.

And we've got a lot of work to do. And we've got to create jobs. And one of the areas, of course, is to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.

Full Transcript of the Debate

Assessing Barack Obama’s Job Interview

The Presidential and Vice Presidential debates are a form of job interview and demonstrate interview techniques that can help job seekers. I’m going to review the interview techniques of all four candidates starting with Barack Obama.

The Presidential and Vice Presidential
debates are a form of job interview and demonstrate
interview techniques that can help job seekers. I’m going
to review the all four candidates. For this
purpose, I am assessing each candidate based solely on the
content of the first answer they gave in their debate. I chose the
first answer because it was very predictable – a question about our
current financial crisis – and it is likely the candidates
scripted some or all of their answers.

I am following the order of the
debates. Barack Obama was the first to answer. The transcript of his answer
is in the gray area to the right.

Obama’s Answer

In this answer, Obama begins by framing
his understanding and empathy for the situation. He then outlines
his values, impling the actions he will take if hired. The last two
paragraphs are the core positioning statement that Obama is promoting
in his answer. He differentiates himself from his competition
and clearly states why he should be President. Let’s look at these
paragraphs closely.

The first of these two paragraphs attack the economic policies of
his adversary. He defines these policies as a lack of regulation and
consumer protection, valuing the rich over poor and promoting trickle down
economics.

In the second paragraph he outlines what makes him different. He
defines economic success as fairness for the middle class and
reinforces his values by saying this is his motivation for seeking the
Presidency.

Interview Criteria

The first question of a job interview is typically Tell Me About
Yourself. A successful answer includes the following
characteristics:

Organized clearly and concisely
Focused on the values and needs of the hiring manager and
company
Reinforces the skill and experience of the job seeker
Separates the job seeker from their competition with a strong
positioning statement
Backs up the positioning statement with accomplishments that
demonstrate an ability to succeed
Demonstrates enthusiasm for the job and company

It isn’t entirely fair to judge the candidates on this standard,
since the question wasn’t Tell Me About Yourself. Despite this, the criteria do very well with the answers the candidates gave.

Obama’s Assessment

Obama’s answer does well on most of the criteria:

The answer is well organized and concise.
The answer focuses on the needs of the middle class – the targeted "hiring managers."
The answer addresses the skill and experience of the
candidate by reviewing the four criteria that Obama has proposed for assessing the bailout bill.
The positioning statement is clear in the last two paragraphs
– Obama will implement greater regulation of the financial markets
to benefit the middle class.
The candidate does not give an example of an accomplishment
that demonstrates his ability to succeed.
The answer clearly states that the candidate wants the job.

If I was coaching this candidate, my advice would be to condense
the content in the second, third and fourth paragraphs, and add an
example of an accomplishment. The ideal answer would have a very
easy to understand success that directly relates to helping the hiring manager (the middle class) with this type of problem.

Most job seekers make the same mistake. They recap their
responsibilities and assume that this demonstrates their
ability to succeed. A specific example of a time when the job seeker
overcame a similar challenge can be very powerful in an interview and
will usually set the candidate apart for their competition.

Tomorrow, I’m going to review John McCain’s answer to the same
question.

Transcript:

Lehrer: Gentlemen, at this very moment
tonight, where do you stand on the financial recovery plan?

Obama: Well, thank you very much, Jim, and thanks to the
commission and the University of Mississippi, "Ole Miss,"
for hosting us tonight. I can’t think of a more important time for us
to talk about the future of the country.

You know, we are at a defining moment in our history. Our nation
is involved in two wars, and we are going through the worst financial
crisis since the Great Depression.

And although we’ve heard a lot about Wall Street, those of you on
Main Street, I think have been struggling for a while, and you
recognize that this could have an impact on all sectors of the
economy.

And you’re wondering, how’s it going to affect me? How’s it going
to affect my job? How’s it going to affect my house? How’s it going
to affect my retirement savings or my ability to send my children to
college?

So we have to move swiftly, and we have to move wisely. And I’ve
put forward a series of proposals that make sure that we protect
taxpayers as we engage in this important rescue effort.

No. 1, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got oversight over this
whole process; $700 billion, potentially, is a lot of money.

No. 2, we’ve got to make sure that taxpayers, when they are
putting their money at risk, have the possibility of getting that
money back and gains, if the market — and when the market returns.

No. 3, we’ve got to make sure that none of that money is going to
pad CEO bank accounts or to promote golden parachutes.

And, No. 4, we’ve got to make sure that we’re helping homeowners,
because the root problem here has to do with the foreclosures that
are taking place all across the country.

Now, we also have to recognize that this is a final verdict on
eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush,
supported by Senator McCain, a theory that basically says that we can
shred regulations and consumer protections and give more and more to
the most, and somehow prosperity will trickle down.

It hasn’t worked. And I think that the fundamentals of the economy
have to be measured by whether or not the middle class is getting a
fair shake. That’s why I’m running for president, and that’s what I
hope we’re going to be talking about tonight.

Full Transcript of the Debate

How to Prepare for an Interview at the Last Minute

This post is my first video post!

I recorded a short video on how to prepare for an interview when you only have little bit of time to get ready. The video follows the post I had Monday pretty closely (7 Things You Need To Do Before Your Next Interview). I thought that the post had a lot of potential and have been looking for a topic for my first video. The video goes into more detail than the text post, so even if you read the post Monday, you will hopefully find the video helpful too.

I would really appreciate some feedback – do you like the video more than the regular text posts? Would you like to see more videos? Would you like me to stick with what I have been doing and drop the video thing? Feel free to post a comment or email me directly at [email protected].

Should You Script Your Answers to Interview Questions?

The simple answer is yes. Scripting the answers to questions ahead of time gives you the opportunity to think through the answers more thoroughly. You can work on your answers and try different things.

What Questions Should I Prepare For?

When I work with someone to improve their interviewing, I usually pick out questions that are most likely to be asked in the types of interviews they will have. I also try to ask questions that get to the heart of their weaknesses. I don’t do this to be mean; I just want them prepared for these questions.

Hopefully, you have an idea of the types of interviews you can expect in your field. If you don’t, work on a wide range of questions, or research the industry until you have a better idea.

Then, script as many questions as you can.

But If I Write My Answers Out, Won’t It Sound Canned?

That’s true only if you try to memorize the answers. I don’t recommend memorizing answers. This can make it very difficult to adapt to unforeseen questions. The reason you want to script your answers is to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

Have you ever been talking with someone and ended up on a tangent that went in a direction you really wish you had avoided? I know I have. Having an idea of what the concepts you want to emphasize can help keep you on track.

Early in my career, I made a lot of mistakes interviewing. I can remember getting a lot of the same questions over and over. Every now and then, I would try answering a different way. Usually, this didn’t work out well, and I would know as I was finishing the answer “that was a mistake – better not use that story again.”

It’s a lot better to practice when it doesn’t count, instead of waiting to experiment in an important interview.

Should I Write Out The Entire Answer?

For the few answers you script, yes. Get a few answers on paper and get comfortable with preparing this way. Then, practice by answering out load and rehearse a lot of questions. Pay attention to where you get hung up. Revise it and keep reading it until it’s smooth.

When you get into the interview, just relax and create your answers as you go. Don’t worry about remembering any of the answers that you wrote. You will naturally develop answers that are similar to your practice. Even though you will never use any of the answers you scripted verbatim in an interview, you will remember the practice and, you will be more confident.

How To Practice

Once you have rehearsed a bit, find someone to do a practice interview with you. The interviewer should be someone you respect, and ideally, someone you don’t know very well. You want to simulate a real interview as much as possible. Unfortunately, a close friend can’t do this for you. A friend or family member won’t be able to create the same level of tension that exists in most interviews. The best interviewer for a practice interview will also have a lot of experience interviewing and be able to critique you relative to other job seekers.

If you can’t find someone that can help you prepare, get a practice interview from an interview coach. If you do this, you will not only be less likely to make a mistake in an interview, but you will also be more comfortable and confident with your interviewing.

7 Things You Need To Do Before Your Next Interview

When you go to an interview, good preparation is essential. It will help your confidence level, avoid getting surprised by unexpected questions and allow you to provide the best presentation of your skills, abilities and potential.

There are a ton of things you should do to get ready for an interview – so many, it’s almost overwhelming. I like to keep things simple, so I broke it down to the seven most important steps. If you cover these, you’ll be in better shape than most. Don’t stop here – the more you prepare, the better, but make sure you hit these:

1. Why should the company hire you?

This question is huge and something many job seekers struggle to answer. You need to be able to state, clearly and concisely, what value you bring to the company and to the specific manager you would work for. Giving a compelling reason why you should be hired will set you apart. One of the reasons people struggle with this question, is their reluctance to brag. You shouldn’t be arrogant, but you need to be confident in the value you will provide and be able to talk about it.

2. What is the company looking for?

You need to know what the company and hiring manager are seeking. This will help you tailor your answer to their specific needs. If they need someone extremely good at managing projects, you want to emphasize your attention to detail, organizational skills, abilities to coordinate people and overall project management skills. If you don’t know this is important, you may skip discussing it entirely – and hurt your chances of being hired. To research this, study the job description and the job descriptions of similar positions. They will clue you in to the key priorites.

3. What’s new at the company?

You need to do your homework. At the least, check out the company’s website and read the press releases and other news they have published. After that, Google the company – I like to search under both Google News and Blogs to find out what people are writing about them. You need to have good questions to ask at the end of each interview. Ask about something major going on at the company that will impact the position you are interviewing for. This will show that you did your homework and help you understand the company better. It’s amazing how many job seekers skip this basic step.

4. What are the company’s mission statement and goals?

Most companies will publish their mission statement and corporate goals on their website. Read these and get a feel for what’s important to the company. This can give you an idea of the culture of the company and their values. If you really like what you hear (the company’s values are probably consistent with yours) this can make a great question in the interview – “I saw in your mission statement that doing XYZ is really important to the company. I value that a lot and was really impressed. Can you tell how well the company is at following and achieving this mission?”

5. What are three things you have done successfully in your career that will help the company?

You need to be able to talk about your accomplishments. Some accomplishments will be directly relevant to the company, others will just show your talent and track record of success. Make sure you have at least three accomplishments, that you can discuss in detail, that are directly related to the job you are pursuing.

6. Why is this position a good career move for you?

Companies want to hire people that will stay. Turnover is expensive and minimizing turnover is a big priority. As a result, it’s important for the hiring manager to see that the position is a good career move for you. Be able to discuss why you want to leave your current job (or why you have already left). Have a clear explanation of what you are looking for and why this motivates you. This is where a lot of job seekers get tripped up with "being overqualified.” If the hiring manager thinks you are only considering this job because you need a job right now, they may assume you will continue looking from the day you start. This is a bad situation for them if it’s true. Know why this is a good job and why you would want to stay long term and be able to talk about it.

7. Do you have all the details you need for the day of the interview?

There is a bunch of basic information you need to have ready before you interview. Directions to the location, the time of the interview and who to ask for when you get there, are some of the basics. Make sure you have this information written down at least a day ahead of the interview. On the day of the interview, you want to focus entirely on interviewing confidently. Getting distracted and stressed out because you realize you forgot to MapQuest the location, right before you’re walking out the door, won’t help. Take care of these tasks ahead of time and your interview will go more smoothly.

If you work on all seven of these questions, you will be much better prepared and more confident at your interview.

Interview Recording Assessment

I’m continuing this week with the interview recording from the administrative assistant I started last week. The question in this recording is:

Tell me about a time when you helped a coworker improve their performance.

Listen to the Interview Answer(Time 1:37)
This is interview was recorded and posted with the permission of the job seeker.

The answer is in two parts – the initial answer and the follow up. The initial answer was pretty good. She described the situation and the actions she took well. I thought the description of the 360 feedback was great. This answer also gave her the opportunity to talk about the person she supervises. Many admin assistants have little to no supervisory experience. Highlighting that she manages someone in this role demonstrates leadership experience and shows that she was successful enough to be put in a lead position. All of this is good.

The thing that is missing is whether she was successful. My follow up question addressed this by asking what success she had had with this. Her answer focused on providing more details about the situation. She did indicate that there was improvement but it wasn’t clear how much improvement was made or the benefit to the company.

A much better answer would have included specific results. Did the person she coached perform better after the coaching? What feedback did they receive from others in the office? The coaching process started with a 360 feedback exercise – results of a follow up to this would be great to discuss. If there wasn’t a follow up, then the comments of one or more people in the office would help.

The key is to show a hiring manager success. Telling them that you were responsible for something doesn’t mean you were successful. You have to give examples to stand out.

Recorded Job Interview

For the last month, I’ve been posting recordings from an interview with a transitioning military officer. This week, I’m making a shift to another job seeker – a professional administrative assistant. Top-notch admin assistants are unbelievably valuable to the companies and executives they work for. This individual has some great experiences, but has never been trained to interview effectively.

This is the first question from the interview:

Tell Me About Yourself

Listen to the Answer

(Time 1:08)
This is interview was recorded and posted with the permission of the job seeker.

Like many job seekers I’ve interviewed, this individual didn’t see the point of the Tell Me About Yourself question. It’s not designed to find out about an individual’s personal life. It’s intended to get picture of the professional’s background, experience and potential. (By the way, I’ve heard how many dogs and cats job seekers have as an answer to this more times than I can count – it has yet to persuade me to hire someone or put them in front of a client.)

After her answer, I had to ask the follow up question, “Walk me through your career progression” to get at the information I was looking for. Even with the answer to the follow up question, the job seeker missed a great opportunity to highlight why she should be hired. This answer was a list of facts about what roles she had held. This is the time in an interview that she should be highlighting her best accomplishments and why she is successful.

Another problem with this answer is that it’s way too short. This candidate has done some great things in her career but the entire question, answer, follow up and answer took only a minute and eight seconds. The amount of time she spent on her current role – a position she has held for several years, was two seconds.

One last note about this answer… The job seeker starts by saying they are a “full adult.” This may seem like a very odd thing in an interview, but it’s a result of the misconceptions that surround admin assistants. It stems from the stereotype that admin’s are teenagers right out of high school doing menial hourly work. The truth is far from this. Good admin assistants are not kids and the work they do is not menial. Many executives will say that a good admin assistant is the most valuable member of their team. It unfortunately most don’t get the respect they deserve.

Unusual Interview Settings

The vast majority of interviews will be in a similar setting. An individual’s office or a conference room with one or two interviewers and the job seeker. This is typical and what most job seekers expect when the go for an interview.

It’s not the only format used, though. Hiring managers have a wide range of motivations to deviate from the standard. The first step is knowing what to expect.

Off-site Interviews: When companies replace key managers, they often don’t want the employees to know of the change until they have found the replacement. They do this to maintain stability in the organization during the change. Because of this, early interviews are often conducted at an off-site location. This can be a hotel lobby, a private meeting room, another companies office such as a law firm the company uses or a recruiting firm’s offices. Most of these locations will provide a private setting conducive to an interview and shouldn’t differ from a traditional interview setting much.

Lunch Interviews: Some hiring managers will schedule interviews at a restaurant. This could be a breakfast, lunch or dinner, although lunch is most common. If you have a full day of interviews at a company, one of the interviews should be a lunch interview. There are two big differences between a lunch interview and a standard interview. First, there are constant interruptions when you need to order, get your food and have your plates cleared. Second, there’s a couple extra phases to the interview – ordering and eating. When you receive your menu, find a safe pick on the menu quickly. Often the hiring manager will pick a location they frequent and not need to look at the menu long. After ordering, the interview will be most similar to a standard interview, since there are few distractions for the next 5-15 minutes. Once the food arrives, the interview will slow so you both can eat, but it won’t stop. Prioritize the interview over the food. Good preparation should help avoid problems caused by distractions.

Facility Tours: Often, a facility tour will be part of an interview. In large facilities, such a manufacturing plants and distribution centers, it can take upwards of an hour to walk the facility. The tour becomes an interview. In a production facility, don’t touch anything and be careful. It’s an unfamiliar environment and you haven’t been through the safety training – don’t find out where the hazards are by getting hurt. During the tour, pay attention to the environment but focus on the interviewer.

Open Office Interviews: Some interviewers will choose a setting that has activity and traffic. Either they meet with you in their office and keep the door open with people coming and going, or they meet with you in an open area, such as a bullpen. This environment can be intimidating since you don’t know where the next distraction is going to come from or who is listening to the interview. The key is to stay relaxed. Don’t let the distractions throw you off your game.

Airport Interviews: When the hiring manager travels a great deal, they may propose a first meeting at an airport during a layover in the city where the job seeker lives. Ideally, you will find a quite, low traffic area for the interview, but often, this endsup being in a noisy restaurant. Usually, this will be the first face-to-face interview. The goal of the hiring manager is to learn a little about the job seeker’s personality and assess a few key skills.

There are a lot of other settings for interviews. Don’t let an unusual setting sabotage your next interview. The key is to prepare thoroughly. Have a clear idea of the message you want to deliver and the details from your background that you will discuss. You don’t want to be thrown a curve that you can’t hit in an unusual setting with a lot of distractions.

Do you have any examples of unusual interview settings? Please email me or post a comment with your experiences.