Hitchhiker in the Corner Office

Yesterday, a candidate called my right after his phone screen interview. Most candidates think that they nail the interview and that they are going to get the job. But this candidate was much different. He came away thinking that he did not do well and questioned why the hiring manager wanted to even talk to him. His take away was that he felt that the hiring manager was looking for a more experienced engineer. I let him know what the hiring manager told me which was a five year candidate that wouldn’t mind some of the grunt work involved. 

After circling back with the hiring manager, I later found out that the candidate was not listening to many of the cues that the hiring manager was revealing. Primarily, he did not ‘hear’ that the hiring manager was actually more open to having someone who may be a bit junior like my candidate. Instead the candidate only heard that the hiring manager originally thought that he wanted a 15 year engineer but was willing to look at some engineers with a more junior of a skill set. In fact, the hiring manager qualified his statements by saying that he would reconsider retooling his original plan to fit a more junior employee if they were a right match. 

In the end, the candidate will be moving on to the next round of face-to-face interviews, but I think that he could have made an even better case for himself if he would have listened more to the interviewer. Often times in the middle of an interview, the candidates only hear what they want to hear or worse off, they let the bad stuff bring them down. In this case, the candidate was able to pull off getting to the next interview because he is a good candidate. But a B Level candidate may not have done so well. 

As much as I prep candidates for the interview, I can never stress how important it is for them to be in the moment and listen. Often times candidates don’t listen and that can be a problem because the interviewer will often give away key clues. 

Here are some things to keep in mind during the interview: 

1. Take and active role in the interview. Be proactive, rather than reactive (simply waiting for the next interview question), in providing and obtaining up-front information.
2. What can you do for us? Remember that no matter what they ask you, what they are really asking you is, “What have you done in the past and (most importantly) how does it apply to what we are doing here?”
3. Always give examples of what you have done. For example, “When I was at ABC Company, I was the team lead in charge of implementing our new accounting software and training our division on how to use it. There were four people on my team and we integrated and tested the application in a four month period. The application was implemented and in full use by our staff within 1 year’s time, which was sooner than management had anticipated.” Careful thought should be given to all questions and corresponding answers. Interviewers want to know what you have to offer them, so be prepared to tell them!
4. Choose your words wisely. Remember, they only hear what you say, not what you think! Be careful and certain that you are verbalizing your thoughts clearly and concisely.
5. Turn negatives into positives. If they ask you about something that you don’t have experience with, don’t try to cover it up. Also, never just say “No, I do not have experience with that.” Let them know you don’t have experience in that area but give them an example of a time when you had to pick up a new skill and how you applied it in a given period of time. For example, “When I started at my last company, I didn’t know X software at all. Within two months, I was able not only to master it, but I knew it well enough to assist in the training of new associates.”
6. Take time after the interview to assess. Do NOT decide if you want the job during the interview process.