The Rap on Interviews

In Lecture 2, we focused on informational interviewing. This week, we will address how to master the bonafide job interview when there is more at stake – for both interviewer and interviewee.

Interviewing as Risk Management
First, let's flip conventional interview advice on its head. While we will cover many ways that you as the candidate can put your best foot forward, it is valuable to first understand what is at stake for the hiring organization:

• Getting it right. For the hiring manager, who has probably jumped through umpteen budget hoops to fund this position – even if it is a re-hire -- the margin for error is slim to none. Therefore, a thorough, multi-stage interview process is perceived as the best way to contain risk (along with meaningful reference checking). Keep in mind that at the outset, interviewing is a game of elimination. Only when one or two key finalists are selected does the mindset shift to confirmation of favorable impressions.
• Closing the job requisition. For the internal company recruiter (not to be confused with an external recruiter), there is an added layer of pressure. In addition to being responsible to the hiring manager to fill this one position, this individual may be working on anywhere from 10 to 50 other openings at the same company, with accountability to several line managers who have competing priorities. Can you imagine needing to screen for the right organizational fit in functions ranging from finance to IT to communications?
• Finding the time to interview. Typically, by the time a search is fully underway, the hiring executive is short-staffed and stretched for time. Shutting off the world to spend "quality" time with several candidates is stressful in itself, not to mention investing the time beforehand to thoroughly review each candidate's background.
• Lack of confidence in interviewing skills. Even the most accomplished executives can stumble when it comes to conducting interviews that yield meaningful information. They are trying to make a decision based on a very limited – and often stilted – dialogue. While many human resources managers are implementing interview training at all levels, some managers are just better at it than others.
• Navigating internal politics. The hiring manager may make the ultimate decision but he or she has to balance several sources of input. That is why so many interviews involve meeting with what can seem like a cast of thousands. The manager wants as much buy-in as possible before committing to a candidate. While in the long-run this also serves the incoming employee, it can be a major source of frustration to candidates who aren't privy to what is happening behind the scenes.

If you're starting to feel stressed, that's the whole point. In order to ace the interview process, you need to have some empathy for the people on the other side of the desk. It may seem like they hold all the cards, but in reality, they are daunted by the process as well.

Insight Equals Advantage
If you view the interview process with this risk management mindset in mind, you will be lightyears ahead of most candidates. For one thing, you will not take the inevitable process bumps along the way, from time delays to repeated questions, so personally. You will learn to take the initiative in suggesting areas of discussion when the interviewer seems frazzled or time-pressed. And you will actually put your interviewers more at ease in the process, making the opportunity for good rapport and connection far more likely.

Advice from the Experts
Let's listen to some words of wisdom from some veteran interviewers and hiring executives.

Katherine Woodall, APR, ABC and a Principal at Towers Perrin offers the following advice based on two decades of experience in both consulting and on the corporate side at Hewlett-Packard and Levi Strauss:

1. "Pretend you're the interviewer. Think about what you'd like to see in terms of skills, initiative and thoughtfulness from a potential candidate and then do your best to demonstrate that during the interview."
2. "Prepare. Although it sounds pretty basic, I am always surprised by the number of candidates who don't do any basic research about the company beyond the most superficial and anecdotal information."
3. "Be creative. Within the realm of reason, I think it helps to have candidates who are somewhat creative in their approach to an interview. It can be demonstrated simply in terms of the research that they're done about your firm or even you, as the interviewer, but mainly something that shows spark and energy. The point is to distinguish yourself and how you might be as a resourceful, energetic employee."
4. "Cover the basics. Arrive on time. Know the protocols of the organization before you arrive, down to appropriate interview dress. Send a thank-you note to each person you meet and be sure to reiterate and emphasize information that you think enhances your qualifications for the position."
5. "Demonstrate why you'd be an immediate asset. Some candidates are able to demonstrate insight and great ideas during an initial interview. Perhaps they've studied your website or read your employee publications in advance. It's impressive when someone can show immediately how they could add value, even before they're working with you."

Kathryn Yates, Global Communication Practice Leader for Watson Wyatt, offers two ends of the spectrum:

"On a positive note, I recently interviewed a seasoned professional who offered to facilitate a discussion on a topic of mutual concern. He suggested that we invite several on the interview team (to participate). We got to see him in action and we actually learned together…very impressive.

On a less successful note, I can't believe how many candidates still walk into an interview having done little to no research on my open position and company. Many have never been to the website and so have that ‘deer in the headlights' look when I ask questions. They don't get invited back."

My executive search colleague Tom Lutzy of Chaloner Associates adds that candidates should "remember that they are selling themselves and that the more specifically they can talk about their ‘features and benefits' and how they relate to the job at hand, the better" and at the same time that they should simply "be genuine."

Finally, Kathy Collura, longtime Southeast Communications Practice Leader at Hewitt Associates and now president of her own consultancy, weighs in with some insights into the thought process of a thorough and thoughtful interviewer:

Says Kathy: "I interviewed several hundred candidates for my consulting staff at Hewitt over the years. Because we often needed senior consultants and project managers, we typically conducted nationwide searches and interviewed 20-plus year communication professionals along the way.

"Corporate communicators who want to go into consulting should have several down and dirty conversations with consultant acquaintances before they interview. They should learn about billing rates, billable time goals, selling expectations, client acquisitions, ownership, budgeting and the politics and hierarchies of consulting firms. Being an in-house consultant to a line of business does not provide these insights. I'm sure there is a corollary for consultants going into corporate communication.

"I always ask candidates how they organize their time. This gives me insight into how organized they are, how well they can multi-task, and whether they focus on details, the big picture, or both, how they deal with work/life balance, etc.

"I often ask candidates about their passions in life. I don't think that your job has to be your passion, but it should help support your passion or have some relationship to it, for the job to be satisfying long term.

"For senior candidates, whose success in large part will come from their ability to work effectively with key people, I ask the candidate to describe the kind of person(s) with whom they most enjoy working as well as the types of people with whom they have a hard time working. Then, how do they deal with it when they have to work closely with someone who isn't on their favorites list, with some specific examples. This gives a picture of how the candidate will work with the personalities of people important to this specific role. If I get the Miss America response to this question and probing doesn't reveal something more realistic – it's a red flag.

"I also listen for ‘math phobia' comments. Senior communicators don't have to be mathematicians, but they should have a solid understanding of how companies make, spend, and lose money, how to set, track and stay on budget, how to manage project efficiently, along with research basics and how to define a business case. All of these skills require number-crunching ability and basic financial know-how."

Kathy offers this anecdote in closing: "On NPR's Weekend Edition last week, Scott Simon was talking to the retiring Bob Edwards. They played some of Bob's favorite interviews including one with Dolly Parton. Bob said that he loved interviewing Dolly "because she does all the work…she answers the questions you wish you would have asked and does it only as Dolly can." I'm with Bob. Over the years, the interviews I have enjoyed the most (and that have led to a higher percentage of offers), were often like Bob's description of Dolly: The candidate did all the work and answered the questions I wished I would have asked. And we had some fun along the way."

Thanks again to all of our guest experts – Katherine Woodall, Kathyrn Yates, Tom Lutzy and Kathy Collura – for their valuable interviewing advice. For more can't-fail preparation tips, click on this handy checklist.