Thursday, August 12, 2010

Night & Day

After multiple interviews this week, I feel as though I’ve seen two extremes in candidates that I think is important to call out. On one side there was a candidate that had a very solid background and she was able to articulate specific examples; however she was lacking passion and energy (i.e. no personality). The other candidate was the extreme opposite, she was full of energy and engaging but she lacked solid experience and was not able to articulate the key measures of success for the position. These two candidates were night and day in comparison to each other and what I needed was the best of both of them.

When you go into an interview be sure to put your best foot forward and bring the complete package. You want to be engaging and conversational but you want to make sure the employer knows what you are capable of doing. Follow these tips to help you through the interview process:

Build rapport quickly: Rapport is more than “how’s it going and tell me about yourself”. A good interviewee is able to connect with their audience and adapt their communication style, gestures, and examples to meet the situation. An interview is a conversation, so be interesting and engaging to keep the listener’s attention. A good interviewer will pick up on this and reciprocate or try to guide you along.

Read the job description: Focus your examples and conversation on what the job requires as a starting point; but then be ready shine and show what else you are capable of doing.

Think before you speak: Take a few seconds to collect your thoughts before you begin to answer the question. The silence is okay and is not as long as it may seem. The time you spend gathering your thoughts will help focus your response.

Be professional: Remember that you are in an interview and it is important to be yourself but also to remain professional in your conversation. You should try to remain positive when speaking about others or providing examples from your work experience.

Ask questions: the best candidates have a list of questions ready to go when they are given the opportunity to ask. It is always great to see a candidate come in with a written list of questions. Don’t be afraid to jot down notes based on the response to your questions.

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