Tailor Your Job Interview For Specific Audiences

Tailor Your Job Interview for Specific Audiences

Gladys Stone & Fred Whelan, Monster Contributing Writers

When you travel overseas, ever notice how native speakers welcome your efforts to communicate in their language? While no one may take you for a local, people appreciate when you show respect for their culture and point of view. Similarly, if you’re interviewing for a job these days, chances are good that you’ll be meeting with people in multiple areas of the company.

While they don’t expect you to be an expert in every area, employers do like it when you can “speak their language.” Of course you don’t have to learn all the buzzwords, But the more you can speak to their specific functional areas, the better chance you’ll have of landing that job. Successful people always keep their audience in mind and tailor their communication to appeal to those they’re addressing. All you need to do is relate your experience to other areas in the company. Here are some approaches:

1. Sell Your Experience – Given the collaborative nature of the workplace, few things are done without a cross-functional effort. When a functional lead interviews you, impress upon them how you have been successful working with their area to achieve an objective. For example, if you’re talking to a finance person and you are in marketing, discuss how finance played a key role in the development of the project strategies. Finance may have driven the revenue targets, the budget and ROI. It’s important to discuss how you worked together with finance, not simply asked them for numbers. Emphasizing how you worked together will let them know that you value their input and understand what’s important to them.

2. Relate Your Results – The phrase “No man is an island” applies more than ever these days. Your success depends on teamwork and the performance of others in and out of your group. You’re in sales, meeting with someone in manufacturing. Let them know how manufacturing contributed to your success. For example, by reducing costs, you as a sales person were able to under-price your competitors.

3. Show How Their Area Helped You – Tell them how their functional area – no matter what it is – shaped your career. This will make them feel good about what they do and more importantly, they will feel good about YOU. Say you’re in operations and you’re being interviewed by HR. Discuss how HR in your previous company helped you with management skills which positioned you for promotion.

4. Understand Their Challenges – The definition of an interesting person is someone who’s interested in me. The same holds true for the interviewer: if you show interest in their job, they’ll find you engaging. Ask them what their goals are for the area. They will enjoy expounding on that and the challenges they have in achieving that goal.

5. Tell Them You Admire Them – Convey that you are focused on bringing groups together and view all successes as a win for the company. Almost every company has team building activities. Ask about theirs and what they do to bring different functional areas together. In this very competitive environment, you can lose out on a great opportunity if you don’t appear to be coming from a collaborative mindset. Be sure to demonstrate in your interviews that you see the big picture and appreciate the contributions of all departments.

How to Save an Interview Gone Wrong

Steve Berman | GovCentral

Everything was going so well. Your solid handshake was met with a warm smile from the hiring manager. The interview started off with some small talk that segued into some skillfully answered questions. You can already see what your desk is going to look like.

Then, as suddenly as a lightning strike, the interview takes a turn for the worse.

Whether it’s a question you weren’t prepared for or not-so-well-received answer it’s easy to tell when an interview has gone off course. And it’s quite possibly the most nerve-wracking, upsetting, desperate experience a job seeker can suffer. Like Charles Sullenberger approaching the Hudson River, one can make the best of a bad situation, no matter how dire. However, saving a bad interview takes quick thinking and persistence. Are you up to the challenge?

Sticky Situation No. 1: Drawing a Blank

You studied the company’s website and memorized the answer to every common interview question you could find. Then the unimaginable happens: you’re faced with a question you weren’t expecting. You can’t figure out what to say and the impending silence feels so awkward, you might as well be wearing nothing but your birthday suit. How do you fix this?

Solution: Focus on something you were prepared for.

While you don’t want to get in the habit of doing this, sometimes it pays to give a non-answer, especially when the alternative is a seemingly unending chasm of silence. Hey, politicians do this all the time. If the interviewer threw you for a loop with a question on how you handled a conflict with a coworker, change the subject to something semi-related that you did prepare for, like your collaborative skills on a challenging project where you excelled.

Sticky Situation No. 2: The Devil’s Advocate

No matter what, you and the person on the other side of the interview table aren’t going to agree on everything. Hopefully you won’t find much resistance to any of the answers you give during your interview, but you should prepare for scenarios where the two of you don’t see eye-to-eye. After all, some interviewers argue with candidates just to test how they’ll react under scrutiny. Still, a disagreement can be very unnerving, making you wonder if you just lost your chance at landing the job.

Solution: Find Common Ground

You don’t want to position yourself as someone who’ll change their opinion based on who they’re trying to impress, but you do want the interviewer to feel comfortable. Don’t get defensive or combative — try to smooth over disagreements with statements like, “I can understand that point of view,” or “You know, I never thought about it that way.” Then, even if you didn’t give the perfect answer, you’ll look flexible. That’s a better idea than changing your answer entirely, as that will lead the interviewer to think you’re just saying what they want to hear.

Sticky Situation No. 3: No Chemistry

You want the job. You spent days preparing for the interview. So why does it seem like your interview has all the excitement and energy of a bunch of turtles running a marathon? No matter what you say or do, the interviewer is yawning, looking at his watch, and pretty much doing anything besides showing you the attention you deserve. Since you can’t exactly suggest that they take five minutes to drink a cup of highly caffeinated coffee, how do you make sure you don’t put this person who has your future career in his hands to sleep? Solution: Involve the Interviewer

You might be the one getting interviewed, but everyone likes to talk about themselves. If you sense a lull in the questioning, ask your own open-ended questions. See what the employer is looking for in an employee. Ask what they like about working for the company (and if they have a hard time answering this question, you might want to take that into consideration).

Sticky Situation No. 4: Sweaty Palms Syndrome

To be nervous before and during an interview makes you human. To suffer the jitters to such an extent that you are shaking, stuttering and sweating profusely will sound the alarm to employers that you aren’t a stable enough person to work with every day. After all, if you’re freaking out so much that you can’t give reasoned responses, you won’t give a very good first impression.

Solution: Practice, Practice, Practice

The way to avoid rattling the table with your nerves is to prepare. Preparation can take many forms, depending on what works for you. For some, visualization is enough. Others need to practice reciting answers in front of a mirror or friend. The key for most people is to practice the same answers several times — if you only do it once, you might forget it when the spotlight’s shining on you. Practicing the same answer five times (or more) will trigger your brain’s memory. So even if you get flustered during the interview, you’ll find yourself reciting the intelligent responses you’d planned on giving.

Sticky Situation No. 5: Too Little, Too Late?

The hour’s almost up, and you have this lingering feeling that you haven’t done enough. Some of your answers were flat, or maybe you weren’t able to hit some of the talking points you’d prepared. However, the interviewer’s time is undoubtedly valuable; if they’re clearly wrapping things up, you can’t exactly beg for more time. How do you turn a mediocre interview into a good one when time is running out?

Solution: Post-Interview Damage Control

Focus on what you can do afterward. Thank you notes are required these days, but you should know that by now! You don’t need to keep it simple though, especially if you want to make a couple of points you didn’t get to during the actual interview. Don’t write a novel, but feel free to touch on additional skills and reiterate your interest in the position. In the case of a good follow up letter, sometimes the last impression can mean more than the first one.

Just getting an interview should boost your confidence. Something about you, your resume, cover letter, or references got you this far. No interview goes perfectly, but as long as you keep your wits about you and prepare for the worst, you have a good chance of staying in the running. 7 Stupidest Interview Questions and What They Really Mean

Jeff Hindenach | GovCentral

If you’ve been in the workforce long enough, the same inane questions will continue to creep up in interview after interview. What is your greatest weakness? Where do you see yourself in five years? You know, the small-talk questions that fill up just enough time between the really important questions.

But all those meaningless questions actually have a purpose. That’s why everyone uses them. But what are interviewers really trying to find out with these sometimes asinine questions? We’ve put together a guide of the seven “stupidest” interview questions to help decode the underlying meaning. 1. Can You Tell Me a Little About Yourself?

Why It’s Stupid: The question is entirely too general. There is no way you can cover every facet of your life and personality in the allotted interview time. There is also no way for you to tell what specifically the interviewer wants to know about you without asking them to narrow their focus, which is usually the reason for the follow-up questions.

What It Really Means: The interviewer is testing your ability to interact with others. By putting you on the spot, your answer gives the interviewer an idea of how you present yourself in a social setting and a glimpse of what you think the most important facts about yourself are.

2. What Are Your Greatest Weaknesses?

Why It’s Stupid: No one is going to give an honest answer to this question. Why would you openly talk about your greatest weaknesses in front of the person who is making a hiring decision? The most common answers to this question are filled with fluff and what we think the interviewer wants to hear.

What It Really Means: The interviewer is trying to see how honest you are, as well as trying to determine if you are able to overcome obstacles. If you say that your greatest weakness is ”working too hard,” that’s not an obstacle. If you give a legitimate weakness, such as not being able to multi-task, then you can provide examples of how you have overcome that weakness and are now an expert at multi-tasking. 3. Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

Why It’s Stupid: No one can tell where they are going to be that far into the future. Life happens. Things change. Which is why this question frustrates most job interviewees. But the question also seems to set a trap, making the interviewee answer in terms of where they see themselves within the company, afraid that any other answer will disprove their loyalty.

What It Really Means: No company expects you to swear a lifetime allegiance to the company during your interview. The question is a chance for you to speak to your long-term goals, give the company a better idea of your career development plan and how it could progress with the company. It also gives you a chance to speak to your strengths and highlight the areas where you believe you’ll grow the most. 4. Why Do You Want to Work for This Company?

Why It’s Stupid: Most interviewees get annoyed with this question because it seems redundant. You wouldn’t be interviewing if you weren’t interested in working for the company, right? So it shouldn’t matter why you are interested, only that you fit the job description.

What It Really Means: The interviewer isn’t trying to gauge your interest in the position, but more your motives for applying. If you’re just looking for a paycheck, that makes it easier for the interviewer to go with a more ambitious applicant who is excited about the opportunity. If you’re applying to escape your current job, what’s to say you won’t be miserable with this company? It’s a way for the interviewer to weed out those interviewing for the wrong reasons.

5. What Are Your Hobbies?

Why It’s Stupid: On the surface, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with a job interview. What does fly fishing have to do with accounting? Or running have to do with being a designer? The question seems to cross a line between work and pleasure that the interviewee doesn’t understand.

What It Really Means: The interviewer isn’t trying to pry into your personal life. They are just trying to get a more complete picture of what kind of person you are. How you spend your free time can speak to what kind of employee you are. People who have more creative outside interests might be better suited for a design position. It also gives them an idea of how you prioritize your life, and where your job will fit in. 6. How Would Your Co-Workers Describe You?

Why It’s Stupid: You’re obviously not privy to your co-workers inner thoughts and feelings. And even if you do know how they feel, of course you’re going to pad the truth to make yourself sound better. In most cases, the interviewer will never speak to most of your co-workers, so what‚s the harm in embellishing?

What It Really Means: The interviewer isn’t interested in your little white lies, they are trying to see how you think others view you. Even if you are stretching the truth, your answer will give the interviewer an idea of how you view yourself and what you believe are your most important attributes. Considering you are discussing how others view you, it can also be a modesty test, separating those who are embarrassed about themselves from those who won’t shut up. 7. Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?

Why It’s Stupid: It seems like a simple question. It’s obvious you want to leave you current job cause you are unhappy, otherwise, you wouldn’t be looking for another job. If you’re qualified and ready to work, what does it matter why you’re parting ways with your previous employer?

What It Really Means: The interviewer wants to make sure the same situation that made you want to quit your last job doesn’t happen in this job. If you don’t see eye-to-eye with your current boss, they may question if you are a problem employee. Or if you felt like you weren’t progressing, they can make sure that you are constantly challenged in order to keep you around. It’s best to focus on how your previous job didn’t fulfill your career goals and explain how this new position can help you grow.