Job interviews can be extremely stressful, both for the candidate and for the hiring manager. Unfortunately, due to lack of preparedness, some interviews can be unproductive in their outcomes, and lackluster in their impressions on both parties.
So, how do you improve the effectiveness of your interviews? Here’s a few tips for candidates and hiring managers.
3 Tips for Improving Your Interviews.
1. Discuss Who You (Really) Are
Candidates: Don’t just regurgitate your resume, talk about yourself as it relates to the resume. Tell the interviewer what they can’t read from the resume – what you bring to the table, how you accomplished your past achievements, and provide color to the specifics of the items listed on the resume.
Hiring Managers: Don’t give the same description of your company that candidates can get from your website. Give them an inside peak of what the mission, vision and values of the company are, and how the job they’re interviewing for helps improve them. Detail the job and its particulars to the candidate in a way that relates the skills and experience required to do the job helps improve the organization.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Brag
Candidates: The interview is your time to shine. Here, bragging is encouraged, not frowned upon. Confidently tell the interviewer how good you’ve been in similar situations, and how sure you are that you can handle the role and all of its responsibilities. The interviewer is judging you, your responses, and your composure. Timidity or passivity won’t help you succeed in this moment.
Hiring Managers: Likewise, the interview is also your time to shine. Brag about the company’s accomplishments, how the staff drives its success, and how this role helps improve or repeat success going forward. Linking this role to positive social, economic, and/or environmental outcomes will help candidates mentally and emotionally connect to the opportunity as well.
3. First Impressions Count
Candidates: First impressions are very important. Dressing your best is still necessary for both in person and virtual interviews. Coming prepared with questions and topics to talk about will help ensure an easier, more engaged level of conversations. A major “No” is bad mouthing your prior employer – regardless of how toxic or dead-end that role or staff may have been, keep it professional.
Hiring Managers: Be sure you also come prepared with good, solid questions that speak to the specifics of the role. They should be leading questions that require detailed answers, while formulating the idea of whether the candidate is sufficiently prepared to handle the responsibilities and requirements. Praise colleagues and staff, never bad mouth employees that have left, and prepare to honestly answer the question of why the role is currently open.
A well-prepared interview should play out like an engaging conversation between two people who have just met. By following these 3 tips, your interviews should be less stressful and disconnected, and more inviting and welcoming.
Good luck, and Happy Hunting!
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