Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
If I told a lot of potential hires that sometimes they have
as much or more to do with getting a job offer as I do as
the interviewer, most of them would not believe me. After
all, I am the interviewer and, in many cases, I might also
be the owner, manager, supervisor or personnel specialist
charged with the responsibility for making an offer.
Having said this, I would also share with you that
sometimes the potential hire talks himself or herself into
an offer and then right back out. The reason why is they
commit the biggest mistake a person could make when
interviewing for a job, and this is it:
They are asked a question, they answer the question, and
then they feel compelled to explain or justify the answer
they have given.
I might ask, "Where are you educationally?"
They might answer, "Well, I thought about going to college
but I only completed high school." Then they will launch
into a big explanation of why they could not go to college
because of their circumstances at the time. Too often, the
reasons given are lame excuses and it becomes pretty clear
that they simply did not give education any kind of
priority in advancing their lot in life.
Maybe their parents thought education was a waste of time,
or that it cost too much, or that they (the parents) would
not pay the cost. Or perhaps the potential hire started an
academic program but did not finish, or they did not like a
professor they had, or needed to work to support their wife
and new baby.
I might ask, "Why did you leave your last job?"
They might answer, "I was laid off" or "I quit" or "I was
fired." Then they will explain the circumstances about how
the company was downsizing, or they hated their boss, or
the company forced them to work overtime, or the company
would not allow them to work overtime.
I asked a potential hire a job-related question, and about
30 seconds into his answer, the candidate launched into the
story of his sled dog trip in Alaska and droned on for
about 10 minutes. Rather than interrupt him, I let him yak
on. The interview was just 10 minutes shorter, I did not
get my questions answered, and he did not get an offer. I
would have been more interested had I been in the mushing
business, delivering goods across the great tundra. Such is
life.
Obviously, when allowed to talk too much, the potential
hire gives the interviewer all sorts of reasons why they
should not receive an offer.
The one thing you absolutely can not afford to do in an
interview is to create a seed of doubt about why you should
be offered a position. When you do so, the interviewer
feels obligated to start checking all kinds of things about
you to validate their suspicion and pretty soon, you are
eliminated from consideration.
And seriously now, who among us, if put under intense
scrutiny, does not have a chink in his or her armor? We all
do.
The message of this reality is: keep your answers short and
succinct. Interviewing is a business activity, not a social
activity. Be businesslike and be professional. Save the
small talk for after you are hired and not on the job.
----------------------------------------------------
Read my 4-part series on Job Interviews: "It Is Not What
You Say, But How You Say It That Counts ' Part 1", "How to
Answer When Asked Your Strengths and Weaknesses ' Part 2",
"How to Handle Job References ' Part 3" and "What Do
Employers Really Want When Hiring? ' Part 4".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareers.html
No comments:
Post a Comment