When you interview for job, your success depends on
how well you understand what the interviewer wants and
hopes to learn from the interview. One way to think of
it is that the interviewer goes into the interview
with an employee-shaped template in his or her mind.
He’s got an ideal version of the candidate that he or
she would like to hire and a minimally required
version of the candidate. He or she recognizes that
the candidates will fall somewhere between the ideal
and the minimum, and seeks to find those which are as
close to ideal as possible. If you know how the
interviewer creates that ideal template of the
candidate, then you will better be able to represent
yourself as that when you go into the interview.
Before you interview for job, do the research and
questioning that will allow you to know what an ideal
job candidate would look like. The answer, you will
find, is not that difficult to deduce. In short, that
ideal candidate is the candidate who can perform the
needed tasks immediately, has the attributes necessary
to perform the additional needed tasks of that
position in the future, and fits productively into the
corporate culture. All of these elements – required
tasks of present and future, valued attributes and
personal fit – can be learned through research. This
research should encompass both published material and
the informal, socially transmitted information such as
input from friends who are familiar with the target
company.
How to Interview for a Job Continued...
Since you know more or less what the interviewer is
looking for in the interview for job, you should be
able to predict with certainty what questions he or
she will ask. Namely, he or she is going to ask you
the questions which will reveal whether you possess
the desired elements of the ideal employee. You will
be quizzed to discover your ability to do the required
tasks, to reveal the desired characteristics, and if
how you would fit into the new corporate environment.
Now your interview strategy is simple. Prepare for the
questions you know you will receive in a way that will
convincingly demonstrate that you are the kind of
candidate the interviewer wants.
Your interview for job answers should be structured in
a way that convinces the interviewer on all these
points. A productive preparation exercise is to say
all the things that you know the interviewer is
looking for, such as “I am great working with
details,” and imagine that the interviewer would
respond by saying “prove it.” Though it’s unlikely
that the interviewer will blatantly state it in that
way, the stories and examples which you would provide
as proof are exactly the kinds of responses which will
best persuade the interviewer. As a general rule,
examples and stories which parallel or mirror the
realities of the target job are the most convincing to
the interviewer. These stories create a vivid image of
you performing in the target position.
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