During the Interview

Approach

An easy way of deciding on the appropriate actions for interviews is to consider how a 'unsuccessful interviewee' would act, behave or communicate. Think it through before the interview and obviously plan to act, behave and say the opposite, your goal is to get across how you can increase the companies effectiveness, service and bottom line. You have got to be very clear about your strengths and how they will contribute to your success in the job. If you are unclear about this before the interview you need to clarify it during. Ask - What are the three most important aspects to the role in your mind? You are in effect making an oral proposal of what you can do for the potential employer, to help them with their problems. This needs to be followed up with a written proposal on the same theme - a thank you note.

Resource Person

You need to stay focused on what you can do for the employer, rather than what the employer can do for you. You need to be seen as a resourceful person rather than someone just looking for a job. You could pre-prepare a two minute summary on yourself (summary of CV) - that really sells your skills, experience and expertise and refer to the relevant part of the summary to answer questions. Give examples of your achievements, perhaps, new business wins or account or people development successes.

Speaking/Listening Mix

Ideally you need to mix speaking and listening fifty-fifty during the interview, people who ignore the rule generally don't make a positive impression. You should try not to speak for more than two minutes when answering a question, an answer may only take 20 seconds but if you are framing your answers along these lines you shouldn't end up rattling on endlessly. Listening is an active not passive interaction. Effective listeners:
• Concentrate on the speaker, following not only words but also body language which, through the use of eyes or gestures, often underlines meaning and gives life to the message.
• Respond quickly to points made by the speaker, if only in the shape of encouraging grunts.
• Ask questions frequently to clarify meaning and to give the speaker an opportunity to rephrase or underline a point.
• Comment on the points made by the speaker, without interrupting the flow, in order to test your understanding and demonstrate that the speaker and you are still on the same wavelength. These comments may summarise something the speaker said giving them the opportunity to reconsider or clarify the point made.
• Make notes on the key points - even if the notes are not referred to later they will help to concentrate the mind.
• Continuously evaluate the messages being delivered to check that they are understood and relevant to the purpose of the meeting.
• Are alert at all times to the nuances of what the speaker is saying.
• Do not slump in their chairs - they lean forward, show interest and maintain contact through their oral responses and positive body language;
• Are prepared to let the speaker go on with the minimum of interruption. Page   1  |  2