Keep in mind that the interviewer is really on your side. He wants someone who can do the job, and he wants to find that person in a minimum amount of time. The way you answer questions has more to do with building chemistry than what you say. For example, suppose you get the old standby, the number one question in the world of interviewing: "Tell me about yourself."

      Many interviews include a form of that question. You'll want to answer, but chances are you're not sure what they want to hear. You could start out by talking about the kind of person you are and some of your attributes, but that may not be what the interviewer is interested in.

      Faced with such a dilemma, a safe way out is to self-qualify your answer: "Certainly, Charles, I'd be happy to tell you about myself, and I'm sure you are interested in my work experience. I'll focus on the past few years and how they relate to your position. I can start with my most recent experience if you like."

      When you self-qualify, you give the interviewer opportunity to respond, and to direct the conversation to another area. That way, you can avoid talking for ten minutes about the wrong things. Ideally, when confronted with the "tell me about yourself" question, you should have your own 60_120
second commercial ready.

      You will also want to answer questions with good, action-oriented stories. If you fail to tell a story, do you think the conversation will be remembered? Don't count on it. What people remember are good stories.

      When you answer questions, remember to gear your comments to potential contributions relative to sales, profits, cost reduction, innovations, etc. When there is a silence, make sure you have prepared some questions in advance about the field, for which you have answers. Create an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge. Being prepared builds confidence and allows you to be more spontaneous. Always maintain eye contact, and establish your sincerity and integrity.

      When you encounter difficult questions, one way to handle them is with the "U-turn" technique. Let's say an interviewer says, "You look very impressive on paper, Marge. If you're this good, you ought to be able to solve all of our problems. Tell me, why should we hire you?"

      Now, of course, you know the person doesn't believe you're that good! However, if you begin to talk about why they should hire you, you run the real risk of going on about all the wrong things.

      With the "U-turn" technique, you don't give an answer. Instead, you turn the question around in a way that acknowledges the status of the interviewer and pays an indirect compliment. A comment might go like this:

      "I have a lot of experience I think you could use. But it would be presumptuous of me to tell you what you need before I've shown the courtesy of listening to what you think the priorities are. If you'd be kind enough to share some of your thoughts on them, perhaps I could give a more intelligent answer."

© 2010 Robert J. Gerberg    All rights reserved