Interview Not Going Too Hot?

If you’re crushing your interview (in the best sense of the word), you’ll often see some reassuring non-verbal cues—the interviewer might smile as you diplomatically answer a trick question or nod when you talk about your management style.

Along similar lines, if you’re crushing your interview (in the worst sense of the word), you may pick up a general sense of disinterest: An interviewer who’s tapping her foot, staring at the clock, or failing to ask follow-up questions isn’t exactly a good sign.

So, what can you do when it’s just not clicking? Can you salvage the interview?

You absolutely can, by employing one of the top skills interviewers look for: thinking on your feet. Look at a rocky start as an opportunity to show how you can adapt and get back in the game—just keep in mind the do's and dont's of course correcting mid-interview.


Don’t: Call it Out:
Ever notice how the most awkward thing about a situation can be someone saying, “awkward?” The same applies for interviews. If your first few answers felt strained, you might feel like you should jump in and clear the air (“I feel like we got off to a disjointed start… ”), but definitely don’t. Instead, focus on making your future answers as strong as possible.

Odds are, this is not your interviewer’s first time around the block; meaning, if you started shaky, he’s already noticed. But the good news is: He will also notice that your answers got better as soon as you settled. He’ll likely attribute the beginning to nerves and move on (that is, unless you keep reminding him that the beginning of the conversation was off!).


Do: Take a Quick Inventory:
While you should keep your concerns to yourself, you most definitely should not ignore them. Try to do a quick assessment of what might be turning the interviewer off: Did you simply flub one answer, or are you doing something more, like rambling, looking at the floor, or only speaking to one interviewer?

Before your next answer, take just a moment to collect yourself. And as you answer the next question, focus on all of the interview training you have—sit up straight, make good eye contact, and speak clearly, confidently, and concisely.


Don’t: Be Afraid to Change it Up:
Remember, consistency is only a virtue when you’re on the right path. So if you feel the interview going downhill, don’t be afraid to change tactics. Have you been formally addressing the staff as Mr. and Mrs.? It might make sense to loosen things up and say, “May I call you Sara?” Speaking to your interviewer like a colleague will make the interview feel more collegial, and it might be just the change of pace you need.

Alternatively, if you made a joke and it bombed, don’t keep trying—you’ll want to answer everything else by the book.


Do: Take the Lead:
If you find yourself answering simple questions (think “how do you manage your time?”) and waiting for follow-up questions that never come—you don’t have to suffer in silence, waiting for the interviewer to make the next move. Instead, take the lead and create your own follow-up.

For example, you could answer the time management question briefly, then continue with, “A time I employed these skills was…” You can also try, “Does that answer your question, or is there anything else I can share?” Or, you can use a bout of silence to ask your own questions: “How do others on the team manage their time and projects?” Any of these approaches would be good segues into further conversation—and good ways to fill those awkward silences.


Don’t: Take it Too Personally:
So, what if you take an inventory, sit straighter, and try to initiate follow-ups, and your interviewer still seems icy? Consider that the lack of affirmation may be a tactic: Some interviewers are harder on top candidates to see how they handle curve balls and perform under pressure. (Confession: I’ve done this.) Additionally, some companies have a rigid interview protocol for hiring managers to ensure they don’t appear to show bias or favoritism.

So don’t internalize it and think, “This interview isn't going well because I’m doing something wrong,” and instead, try: “This is a challenge that I’m going to demonstrate I can meet!” By simply staying positive and professional, you’ll rise above the candidates who visibly falter under the additional stress.


Do: Follow Up as Usual:
After such a tough experience, you may be thinking that a thank you note isn't worth it, or that you might as well make “worst. interview. ever.” your status update. But remember: Until you officially have an answer in hand, the verdict is still out. So it’s important to keep things professional.

This means doing all the same follow-up you would if the interview had gone well—i.e., writing a stellar thank you note to each of your interviewers. It’s always worthwhile to leave a great impression, and who knows where you really stand in the candidate pool.

Me No Speak Interview: Real Interview Translations

Four Common Interview Questions and What They Really Mean...

Acing the interview isn’t just about having the perfect canned speeches. Yes, you need to show off your experience, talents, and personality, but before answering each question, you also have to figure out what the interviewer is actually asking you.

Those seemingly innocuous questions, like “tell me about yourself” and “where do you see yourself in a few years?” aren't just get-to-know-you conversation starters. They’re one of the key ways an interviewer will seek to uncover whether you’re the right fit for the job. So, before you start to share your life story—or recite the same answer you gave at the last interview—it’s important to figure out what the interviewer really wants to know.


Question: Tell me about yourself.
Translation: Tell me why you’re the right fit for this job.

The interviewer already has your resume and cover letter, so she’s not looking for a rundown of your employment history. Nor does she care that you grew up in Westchester county and love to jog on the weekends. She’s looking for a concise, compelling pitch that keeps her attention, and tells her exactly why you’re the right fit for the job. So, while this is a good time to paint a broad picture of who you are, it’s most important that you include a couple of key facts that will sell you as the right candidate.

Think about the 2-3 specific accomplishments or experiences that you most want the interviewer to know about, and share them during this opportunity. You can frame your stories or tie them together using a theme or a quote, if appropriate, such as “My boss at xyz told me that fundraising is really building relationships, and that’s the approach I've taken throughout my career. For example…”

It’s also a good idea to practice your answer aloud, record it, then listen to your pitch. Are you engaging? Are you rambling? Are you getting your most important points across loud and clear? (Pssst: this is good advice for any interview question!)



Question: How would you explain our organization’s mission?
Translation: Can you be an ambassador for our organization?

Any candidate can read and regurgitate the company’s “About” page. So, when an interviewer asks you this, she isn’t necessarily trying to gauge whether you understand the mission, she wants to know whether you care about it, and she’s looking for the person in the applicant pool who can most effectively discuss the organization’s work and its impact. So, in addition to doing your research on the company’s work, think about concrete ways it relates to your passions and experiences, and weave them into your answer.

Start with a sentence or two that shows you understand the mission, using a couple key words and phrases from the website, but then go on to make it personal. Say, “I’m personally drawn to this mission because…” or “I really believe in this approach because…” and share a personal example or two. For example, if you’re interviewing at a school that stresses character, share some specific character-building education activities you’ve led for students at your last job. If you’re interviewing for a position at a hospital, talk about the 5K you recently ran to raise money for leukemia, or your passion for volunteering your time to help children with terminal illness.


Question: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Translation: Do you care about our work?

Hiring someone is an investment, and interviewers believe (as you would expect) that someone genuinely interested in the organization’s work will be the better hire. So, what she really wants to know is whether this particular job and company is part of your career path, or whether you’ll be jumping ship in a year once you land your “real” dream job.

So how should you answer? If the position you’re interviewing for is on the track to your goals, share that, plus give some specifics. For example, if you’re interviewing for an account executive position an advertising firm, and you know your goal is to become an account supervisor, say that. And then add specifics about the sort of clients you hope to work with, which will help your answer sound genuine, not canned and again show why this particular company will be a good fit.

If the position isn't necessarily a one-way ticket to your goals, the best approach is to be genuine, but to follow your answer up by connecting the dots between the specific duties in this role and your future goals. Discuss how you see this experience playing an important role in helping you make that decision, or that you’re excited about the management or communications skills you’ll gain.



Question: Do you have any questions for us?
Translation: Have you really been listening?

It’s easy to go into an interview with a list of questions about the position. But the tougher part and what the interviewer really wants to see is whether you can roll with the punches, engage in the conversation, and ask questions that weren't already answered over the course of the interview.

This will require some thinking on your feet. As you’re going along in the interview, be thinking which key areas haven’t been covered yet, so you can target your questions there. You can also prepare ahead of time by thinking of more non-traditional questions, or ask questions targeted to the interviewer herself, which probably won’t be covered in the interview. Try things like: What you like most about working here? What drew you to work for this organization? What do you think are the current strategic challenges facing the organization? What advice would you give to someone in this role?

How To Survive The Interview From Hell

The Interview from Hell.... 2 words: Brainteaser. Interview.

Have you ever heard of them, or even worse, have you ever sat through one of them?

I join a huge majority of the world in not understanding why any company would adopt such a horrible hiring practice, but they in fact do.

Brain teaser or puzzle interview questions first began popping up in high tech interviews. Since then they have become increasingly common, emerging in interviews for jobs in a wide variety of fields. They are almost guaranteed, and most commonly used when interviewing candidates for engineering and other analytic type positions.

The kind of brain teasing questions a company might ask is far spread. They range from complex, multi layered math questions, to intricate logic problems to bizarre questions that have no real answer.

If you've heard of this interview practice, you may or may not have heard of super companies such as Google being one of the toughest places to interview for a job, because their interviewers asked potential candidates a bunch of brain teasing questions. 

Like.....Seriously...? ... But wait, here's another

To get an even better idea, of the questions asked, I found this article on Business Insider titled 15 Google Interview Questions That Made Geniuses Feel Dumb listing the questions Google would ask during their interviews.

So, You may be asking yourself, what is the purpose of these questions? Super companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon (just to provide a few examples) claim to use puzzles or brain teaser questions to determine the prospective employee's ability to solve problems, think creatively, communicate complex information in a non-technical way and to better gauge the candidate's ability to make educated guesses. In other words, it's supposed to reveal the candidates way of thinking and whether or not you freak out easy. (siiiick)

So what do you do when your resume overloaded with accomplishments, a detailed plan on how you can raise the company's profit margin and your stellar interview style isn't enough? Here, I provide a brain teaser interview how-to video, as well as a few pointers I've come across researching the topic.
How to:

Tips:

• Show up to the interview with pens, paper, markers, calculator, ruler, whatever, to work out a possible brain teaser. It's unlikely that you'll be asked, point blank, how many times heavier an elephant is than a mouse and be expected to answer it on the spot. You'll have time. And depending on the job and the field, what you do on your scratch paper is more important than the conclusion you reach.
• Don't be shocked or offended. A question might surprise you or seem silly given the job for which you're interviewing. Don't let it throw you. Again, the answer is usually not the destination. Sometimes the wackiest question deserves an equally wacky process to reach a conclusion. But do take the questions seriously. Don't assume that it's being asked to tick you off or make you the butt of a human resources joke.
• Question the question. Show your ability to think through a problem by asking a clarifying question regarding the brain teaser. Further, asking follow up questions will give your mind a break and buy you time to help you fully understand what is being asked so you don't solve the wrong problem.
• Speak out your logic. Listen to what you are thinking. "Sounding out" the process of reaching an answer can help you think through the process in a different way.
• Draw out your logic. Just like sounding out a problem can give your brain a productive push, drawing it out can help you edit and improve your approach. 
• Practice. You can't prepare for the exact question unless you're sure you know what they'll ask. But you can exercise your mind by playing mental games, doing crossword puzzles and thinking about big problems. There are lists available on the internet that provide examples of brain teasing questions you can use to prep.

Hey, If I haven't said it enough or you need any reassurance the interview practice is stupid, Google, (in time) has come to agree. Google Says Tricky Interview Brainteasers Were "a waste of time"

Hope I could help! Good luck interviewing!