Call it a hunch, ESP, or simple intuition. Most job candidates have an innate sense of how well they performed on a job interview before the elevator even arrives to whisk them out of the building. They may not know how their competition will stack up, but they usually have a very clear idea of which portions of the interview they aced, and also, where they might have done better.
After a bit of interviewing practice, your intuition will become razor sharp. But even if you’re an interviewing novice, it’s generally a good idea to take a leap of faith and believe in your gut instinct, until proven otherwise.
Clueing into your intuition can really help you with the next phase of pursuing the job. Let’s try it, with an exercise called: “Red Light, Green Light, Or Yellow Light.”
At the end of your interview, ask yourself if the meeting that you just had was “red, green, or yellow,”—yes, just like the colors of the traffic lights.
If you feel that your interview was a “red light,” it means that the search for this job stops now. On some primal level, you know that you will not be offered the position. If this is the case, ask your interviewer what your next steps are anyway, and resolve to give it your best shot by following the advice in the next chapter.
Was your interview a “green light”? Then it’s probably a “go.” Congratulations. Follow up with a killer thank-you email, and anticipate that your interviewer will get back to you shortly with your next steps.
What if your interview was a “yellow light,” otherwise known as a “firm maybe”? If the company will be continuing to meet other candidates, or if you feel, in your heart of hearts, that some of your responses could have been sharper, ask your interviewer if he would be open to you emailing him occasionally, say, every two weeks, until a decision is made. Chances are, he will honor this simple request, and it will keep you in the running. Then, try to bolster your case with brilliant follow-up letters and the periodic phone call.
1. If your interviewer feels uncomfortable asking you questions, you need to reverse roles with him and ask some questions that will make him open up to you. Take care to keep your questions easy, and also not to behave like a drill sergeant. Play Twenty Questions with yourself, not your interviewer.
2 . All questions are not created equal. Those that demonstrate that you’ve researched the company put you in your best light and make interviewers take your candidacy seriously. If the company has recently reorganized, be sure to ask about it! Alternatively, questions that reveal you know some great fact about the person interviewing you also receive very high marks. Remember always, you are selling yourself to a “target market of one”: your interviewer.
3. Asking about the internal structure of a company or details about the specific job description can also help you position yourself as the ideal candidate. If you’re going to be working for several bosses, it’s important to understand the lay of the internal land, also known as the “pecking order.” If you’re going to be managing several people, it’s a good idea to try to meet with them.
4. Often, an interviewer will say, very politely, at the end of a meeting, “if you have any more questions about the position, feel free to contact me.” But it’s frequently awkward to follow up about things that you should have asked in your initial meeting. Use your interview to figure out if the job is right for you. After all, it’s your career. Think about what you’re really looking for in the job, and then determine if the company can come through.
5. In a one-sided interview, it’s important to keep a discreet eye on the clock. If, after thirty or thirty-five minutes, you’re still the one who’s asking the majority of the questions, then you need to gently redirect your interviewer back on track and encourage him to ask you some questions of his own. Mentioning that you brought an extra copy of your resume or portfolio to the meeting can help you accomplish this mission seamlessly.
CHAPTER 11
If Only I Had Said X
Instead of Y, I’d Be
Hired (Or, How to
Change Your Answers
After the Interview)
I
f you flubbed one or two of your answers in a job interview, do not despair. It’s still possible to revise your answer, post-interview. You will need to write a thank-you email or letter to the person whom you met. This gives you a real opportunity to explain the answer you gave a bit more, add some depth to it, or even, to completely reverse yourself and give an entirely different answer, if you so choose.When employing this approach, the trick is to pull it off without sounding either defensive or wishy-washy. This is a bit of a feat, but with some practice, you’ll soon become adept at it. The effort is well worth it. For starters, it’s a lot more productive than banging your head against the wall and chastising yourself for your lackluster performance. And nothing feels better than landing a job that you were certain would be offered to someone else!