CHAPTER 6

JOB INTERVIEWS

“What do they want to know?”

“What are they going to ask?”

These two questions haunt job candidates from the moment they get the email to show up for an interview to the moment they walk through the company's front door. They shake hands, say “no thank you” to coffee, and sit up straight in a chair. Instead of preparing to answer predictable questions about themselves, they are still falling victim to the ear-worm that those two questions have become.

We suggest a shift in the mental preparation. There will be questions in the interview focused on your competence and character, but think of the interview itself as a conversation. If you have a strategy to encourage interaction—and we are giving you that here—then your responses to questions open the door to conversation.

A STRATEGY TO ENCOURAGE INTERACTION

Your strategy to turn a standard question-and-answer interview into a conversation requires three actions:

1. Identifying the type of question that you are being asked.
2. Weaving more than one subject area into the answer.
3. Active listening.

You will have a much easier time accomplishing all three if you aren't a nervous wreck, so the first tips we're going to offer involve taking your emotions down so your mental abilities rise up.

Tactics to Take Tension Down

Many people enter a mild state of fight, flight, or freeze when walking into a job interview. Unfortunately, the physiological responses to this state undermine your ability to make a great impression. Among the changes that occur are blood flowing away from your brain and into your muscles so that you are prepared to act, and your chest pounds—an annoying reminder that you are stressed out.

Before you go into the interview, find a private spot like the bathroom. Take a deep breath and throw your arms in the air with tremendous power. Straighten up so you feel as strong and in control as possible. Smile. Hold that power posture. Rest a few seconds and do it again until you feel like your head is clear and your personal power is flowing through your body. Then go to the interview.

Steps that help you counter the nervous feeling once you're in the interview include these:

• Deliberately slow your breathing.
• Try to do something physical. If it helps to move around a bit, you might walk to the table where there's a pitcher of water and pour yourself a glass.
• If you're sitting down, order your muscles to relax. Drop your shoulders, sit up straight so your neck is stretched out. Open your hands. Put your feet flat on the floor.
• You need to put your brain into an analytical mode. Focus on the other person's body language. Is he tense too? Is he doing anything, deliberately or inadvertently, that's triggering a stress response in you? Is the person using verbal cues that are setting you off? Is it the power this person has in your life right now that's making you stress out? The important action here is to think, not feel.

Beginning with the power move can trigger a significant state change; you replace the perception of weakness with the feeling of strength. The other actions you can take during the interview will support you in trying to keep that feeling coursing through your body.

Identifying Question Types

We did an exercise as part of our preparation for this book that we recommend to you. It will be particularly useful if you are preparing for a job interview, a media interview, or another encounter with a major question-and-answer component.

Throughout the day, when someone asks you a question, categorize it. The question will pertain to a particular subject, that is, person, place, thing, or event in time.

At first glance, that seems easy. Consider how context, intent of the questioner, and your own agenda and priorities can affect what type of question it is, though. To start exploring how the type of question may not be as obvious as you might think, think through ten of the most common questions in an interview:

• What is your greatest strength?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• What do you want me to know about you?
• How would your last boss and coworkers describe you?
• Why should we hire you?
• Why are you leaving your current job? (Or why did you leave your last job?)
• Why do you want this job?
• What was your single greatest accomplishment in your last job?
• What has been your greatest professional challenge?
• What is your ultimate career goal?

How would you classify each of them—people, thing, place, or time? The answer is not necessarily straightforward because it may depend on your goals in wanting the job. It could also depend on the job itself. For example, “Why should we hire you?” could be any type of question:

• People: You want a job in human resources. Daily, you would need to field concerns and requests from employees with problems and needs. A core job requirement is good interpersonal skills.
• Thing: You know the company needs software engineers with your unique expertise; it's the thing that should make you more desirable than anyone else.
• Place: The job is in Southeast Asia, and while lots of Americans might be able to do it, they don't want to move to Southeast Asia.
• Time: You have immediate availability and the company has an immediate need.

The answer to “Why are you leaving your current job?” could be equally multifaceted. First and foremost, be authentic.

• People: You are drawn to the ethos and human energy of the hiring company.
• Thing: You've maxed out on what you can do there and see a chance to contribute at the hiring company.
• Place: Your energy gets sapped by a ninety-minute commute every day.
• Time: Layoffs are imminent at my company; the time to move is now.

Weaving In More than One Subject

Once you feel comfortable quickly identifying the type of question, it's time to make a conscious effort to add the other three elements to your answer. If you don't want to do that at the time, then just remember the question and think about what you could have said.

For example, a typical job interview question is, “What is your greatest strength?” This is essentially a “thing” question. A typical answer for a management position might be, “I invest a lot in planning.” That is potentially a good answer, but only 25 percent of a great answer.

Here's a way to weave in all the subject areas:

A great general once said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything,” and I invest a lot of in planning with my team. Then, whether we're together in the office or on a call, we share a sense of purpose, timing, and methods.

Bringing in more than one subject area at a time is skill that demands practice. You may find at first that you have no trouble weaving in people, but seem to have a mental block when it comes to time—or vice versa. Being adept in covering one type of information over another is normal. Getting past the block with preparation will not only make you a better interviewee but also a better storyteller.

Another way to do the same exercise is to listen to news or talk shows and consider alternative ways of answering the questions the interviewee was asked. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace sat down for a friendly interview with former NFL guard Derrick Dockery, who left football after ten years to join House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan's staff. Wallace began by asking him: “Which is tougher: politics or football?”

I was born to play football. And now having to transition from the field to the hill obviously was a tough transition, but with the help of a great team around me, it's easy now.¹

In a straightforward way, Dockery brought place (field to hill), people (team), and time (now) into the answer to a “thing” question.

Here is how Jim answered a question posed by Maryann, as well as the subsequent analysis. The hypothetical job is training staff technicians who maintain electronic equipment the company sells to clients.

“HOW DID YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR MOST RECENT BOSS?”

My most recent boss came on board just last year, and it was a process of getting into a rhythm with him. He listened to how we do our jobs, and then he wanted us to demonstrate our capabilities. He wanted to know what we do in the office and onsite with customers.

I appreciated that he wanted to know about the quality of interaction with our client. I gave him specific examples of what I did, quantified the results in terms of follow-on contracts, and invited him to join me on client calls. That solidified our working relationship.

Analysis:

• This is a “thing” question; the interviewer wants to know something like “good,” “not so good,” or “okay.”
• The answer includes all subject areas:
  • how long there had been interaction with the most recent boss.
  • the fact that the job was done in multiple locations.
  • insight into the boss, who cared about the quality of contacts with clients.
• The answer also adds critical, relevant “thing” information such as:
  • Your action resulted in follow-on contracts.
  • You felt confident enough to invite him on client calls with you.
• The initial part of the answer both baits the interviewer and helps frame the answer. It baits in the sense that it doesn't answer the question, although it strongly suggests that a positive answer is imminent. The interviewer expects to hear how the candidate got into a rhythm with the boss.
• The answer is fewer than 100 words, so despite the detail, this requires only twenty-five seconds to deliver.
  • The answer can be bifurcated into a “we” and an “I” response as the paragraphing suggests. The value of this is that “we” answers share credit and perspective, but “I” answers mean, “I did it!” An “I” response claims full responsibility for the action—and that means you claim full credit for it.

The alternative answer is, “Just great!” That tells the interviewer absolutely nothing of value. You've wasted a few seconds being direct, when you could have spent a few more seconds being complete.

Many websites list popular job interview questions and suggest the best ways to answer them. Our answers don't necessarily conflict with those you will find on the top websites, however, our focus on weaving in all the subject areas is different and gives you more advantages for these reasons:

• You first identify what kind of question it is: people, thing, place, or time.
• You have a framework for every response. If you've identified the question as a “thing” question, your brain immediately focuses on how people, place, and time information help strengthen the answer. (If one of the subject areas doesn't work for your answer, just drop it from the framework.)
• You give color and distinction to the answer. Weaving in more than one subject area often means giving an example or telling a short story to make your point. Instead of sounding like the audio version of your resume, you bring the resume to life.

Going through four of the previous sample questions, let's look generically at how some or all four subject areas could be used in responses to them to deliver the most compelling narrative about yourself as a job candidate.

“WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH?”

This comes across as primarily a “thing” question because the expected response is a skill or skill set required for the job. What we have seen as recommended answers logically tend to focus on that. Our logic is a little different, though.

Step back from the expected response and figure out what you would say if the question came from a friend. Among the answers might be your sense of hospitality (people), facility doing mental math (thing), adaptability in different environments (place), and ability to process information quickly (time).

How does your genuine, greatest strength apply to the job you want? You are in a position to respond with clarity and authenticity if you give the answer to that question. The alternative is inserting vocabulary from the job description into an answer. It's a robotic answer like, “I have excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.”

An alternative might be:

Storytelling. Whether I'm writing or talking with people, anchoring a message with a good story is my strong suit. I make it relevant and keep it short.

With a response like that, you don't waste ten words, you deliver twenty-seven good ones that cover the areas of thing, people, and time to start a conversation. Needless to say, regardless of whether you give the “job description” answer or the engaging one, you must be prepared to follow it up with specific examples.

“WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS?”

In providing a reference for a job candidate, Maryann was asked by a recruiter, “What is her greatest weakness?” Maryann responded by telling her one of her greatest strengths: “Diligence.”

“Excuse me?” the woman asked.

“Diligence and reliability are weaknesses when you put the needs of the company and the team above your own needs. In other words, she has a tendency to push herself hard—sometimes too hard—in order to get the job done right.”

The woman got the job. The point is that being asked about a weakness is an opportunity to talk about a strength.

If you know the reason you have been late for a few meetings and late in delivering a few reports in your last job is that you have children who do unpredictable things, then occasional lateness may be your greatest weakness from a corporate perspective. That is not inherently a negative, however:

My greatest weakness is my children. My husband and I are meticulous in scheduling, but sometimes even the best-laid plans run off the track.

The elements of time, context, and people support the explanation of your “greatest weakness,” that is, delays due to your children's needs. But you didn't present your weakness as lateness: You presented it as family. This response would not work with every interviewer, of course; this is a case when doing your homework about the interviewer could make the difference! (Note: Always do an online search on the interviewer before you go to the meeting.)

Another example of a common weakness is a basic administrative requirement—paperwork. In that case, your weakness might be expressed as “competitiveness.” You focus on closing the deal to the detriment of your “household chores.” Admitting that shortcoming is an entrée to talking about your accomplishments.

“WHAT WAS YOUR SINGLE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN YOUR LAST JOB?”

When Maryann posed the following question to Jim, he had no idea what the question would be in our exercise, and therefore, had no time to prepare. It was one way of checking out if we could do what we were asking you to do!

“What was your single greatest accomplishment in your last job?”

I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream that began when I was ten years old—to invent something. The president gave me the opportunity, the funding, and the mission to save the company money and enhance the training ability of our company by inventing a device called the electronic language simulator.

Jim's answer wove in all four subject areas, with the “time” part of the response humanizing the answer in a memorable way.

When asked about your greatest accomplishment in a job interview, don't be hemmed in by the description of the job you are applying for. Just as Jim opened with an authentic statement about a lifelong dream, give the response that's true for you. If you feel your greatest accomplishment was getting your company to sponsor Science Friday (Public Radio International), you should say that. It provides insight into you and fodder for conversation; that is, the response is multidimensional and stimulates interaction rather than leading to a dead-end like, “Uh huh. Okay. Wow. Thanks.”

“WHY DO YOU WANT THIS JOB?”

A number of years ago, Jim interviewed people for full- and part-time sales positions at the famous Forest Lawn Memorial Park, now the permanent home of celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor. He found that people who really wanted the job but didn't need it were generally unsuccessful. People who desperately needed the job also tended to be unsuccessful. People who presented a balance of want and need had the highest rate of success. No doubt, Jim is not the only hiring manager who found that to be true with potential salespeople.

The challenge is integrating “need” without sounding needy. The way to do that is to weave in all four subjects. In the summer of 2015, TheStreet ran an article entitled “10 Tech Companies with the Highest Paying Sales Jobs.” Combining base pay plus commission, the total annual pay for these jobs ranged from $150,000 to $191,000.²

If you were a candidate for one of these jobs, it's easy to see why you would want it. But how could you express your need? Here is one possibility:

I both want and need this job because it's part of my career plan. Ten years ago, I designed the trajectory of my sales career. I cultivated interpersonal skills as I built up my knowledge of this industry. Based on how I see my career taking shape, this job is a dream come true.

Active Listening

Active listening is one of the most critical tools you can have in building rapport with someone. It's a magical way of getting people to connect with you and share information.

Active listening has three components: physical, intellectual, and emotional.

The intellectual component involves listening for keywords, which might be indicated by emphasis or how frequently they are used. For example, you have no military background, but the person interviewing you is a Navy officer. He talks about ships, not boats. So, you talk about ships, not boats. Adopting keywords shows you are paying attention.

Sometimes keywords give an overt message. If the person interviewing you makes a few references to taking a break or getting away for a while, she might actually be focused on her upcoming vacation. Maybe that has more of her attention than your job interview. In a case like that, the person may be either extra chatty or rushing to get the job done. Active listening will help you move the pace of the conversation accordingly.

Your body language—including your tone, pitch, and pace of speaking—can signal to the other person that you are listening carefully. Keep your focus on the person you're talking with, but avoid staring. Use mirroring to promote a sense of relationship between you. Mirroring does not mean mimicking; it is positioning your body comfortably in a way similar to the other person. People do this naturally when they feel a connection to another person.

The emotional part of active listening is realizing that you are in a conversation, even though it's called a “job interview.” Be normal: If the person interviewing you shows some emotion, there is a quid pro quo in play. In other words, it's the exchange of “something for something,” or “this for that.” Express enough emotion to show that you care and want to connect with the person, but keep your personal life to yourself. This is about listening and exhibiting empathy, not about exposing your deep dark secrets or greatest longings.

EXERCISES

If you are currently going through job interviews, then we recommend you do this exercise with each of the ten popular interview questions. On the other hand, if you are lubricating your brain cells for a future experience in interviewing, then we recommend focusing on these two questions and answering them with the four subject areas in mind:

• What has been your greatest professional challenge?
• What is your ultimate career goal?

Tips

These questions involve superlatives—“greatest” and “ultimate”—so the answer to both is something significant. Your greatest professional challenge would not be moving your office from one floor to another.

Each could focus primarily on a person, place, thing, or event in time. You want to be honest, but you also want to consider the nature of the position you're applying for. If you want a job in sales, leading with a “thing” as your greatest challenge might not be so bad (“Our signature product needed updating”). One the other hand, leading with “people” could get you in trouble (“Our sales team had some real slackers on it”).

When someone asks you about a superlative like your best or worst moment, the highest point in your last job, and so on, let your body language rise to the occasion. You don't want an over-the-top display of emotion, however, using your hands and face to express your point is appropriate when talking about an unparalleled experience.