What your interviewer wants to tell you but won't

Over the years I’ve interviewed many people for a wide variety of roles ranging from entry level to management. It’s a facet of my job that I truly enjoy, because I not only get to meet new people but I frequently see people at their best, their most positive and animated. Recently I had the opportunity to conduct several for my employer and it reminded me of one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place, which was to help people prepare for job interviews. A lot of it is what we would now consider common sense, such as dressing appropriately or maintaining eye contact and good body language. I’m going to skip those for today and share with you the things that I, as a hiring manager and interviewer, wish candidates would take a little more seriously.

There are thousands of questions you might encounter during a job interview; even if you narrow it down to the most likely to be asked, there are still hundreds you might expect to hear. There are numerous books out there with great ideas about how to answer these, but you’re not going to have time to read them all. If you did have time to read them all, maybe that’s time better spent researching the companies and jobs you’re applying for. Which brings me to my first point...

Do your homework and understand the nature of the job you’re interviewing for. This includes learning as much as you can about the specific responsibilities for the position. In addition to reviewing the job description, talk to anyone you can, and read anything you can, about it ahead of time. Try and find out what the actual hiring manager is looking for in a successful candidate.

During the interview itself, pay attention to cues from the interviewer that may give you some insight to the duties and expectations for the role. If you give off the impression that you don’t really know what you’re getting into, the hiring manager may well decide that you’re not a good fit for the job. If you have no idea what your potential future employer does at all, you’re giving off the clear sign that you don’t put a lot of effort into important tasks (like landing a job).

Listen to the questions being asked and make sure you address their points. This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed how often job candidates start formulating their response before the question is even fully asked. There’s a reason Jeopardy doesn’t let players hit their buzzer until Alex is done reading the clue.

I’ve heard lots of very interesting stories, and of course some of these have showcased great skill sets. However, if I’m asking you to give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond for a customer, and you simply tell me how many customer service awards you’ve won, that doesn’t actually answer my question. It does tell me you’re not an effective listener, though. A follow-up to this point is to make sure you ask some questions of your own. Intelligent, non-redundant questions let me know you were in fact listening and engaged in our conversation.

Speaking of examples, try to be as specific as possible. You won’t always have a perfect anecdote to share with your interviewer that’s 100% relevant to the job you’re interviewing for, especially when you’re changing career fields. But the person interviewing you isn’t asking just to hear the sound of his own voice. Rather than just list your job responsibilities - he’s already seen your resume after all - show off your decision-making ability as well as reinforce that you’re not just making things up by telling a story with humanizing details. Your interviewer wants to know your thought process and how you handle yourself. Giving specific examples suggests that you’re not merely being hypothetical about your ability to do the job; it suggests you’ve been there, done that, and proven yourself.

Finally, for your bonus tip, timing is important. Familiarize yourself with the location where you’re going to be interviewed ahead of time, and know the traffic patterns - there are very few excuses for arriving late to an interview. Although it goes without saying that you should arrive early, you don’t want to get there too far ahead of time. When I was in the Marines, we took the “15 minutes early IS on time” thing a little bit too far -- I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say my platoon once showed up over two hours earlier than we were required to for a routine event.

That’s ridiculous. In today’s world of smartphones and GPS, so is showing up half an hour early to a job interview. Honestly, if you arrive more than about 10 minutes early (especially if you request to see me right when you arrive) it makes me feel like you don’t know how to manage your time, and you don’t respect mine. Your appointed time was most likely set for a reason. In many situations, if you arrive too far in advance there will be other employees - store associates, receptionists, and the like - who will observe your behavior and report it to the interviewer. You’re better off waiting around the corner or down the street. Take that time to review the job description, your resume, or work samples once more, and please, just try and relax.

Got any great interview tips you want to let people know about? Please feel free to share them in the comments section! If you’ve enjoyed spending a few minutes reading “The Boss Perspective,” subscribe and share this site with your friends, Like me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @BossPerspective.