Tuesday’s Tip: The Interviewer is Nervous as Well

Most Hiring Managers are not very good at interviewing (and they know this). Thus, they are just as nervous as you are in the interview. They are nervous because they are thinking, "Will I represent my company well?", "Will I ask the right questions", "Can I sell this opportunity", and "Will I be able to answer their questions". So why do I bring this up? It's because you need to take control of the interview without the Hiring Manager realizing that you are controlling it. You need this "control" because you need to get across why you are the best candidate for this position, and why you can come in and solve their problems better than anyone else can. And if the Hiring Manager is nervous, they may (or may not) ask the right questions to obtain the right amount of data to make a valid determination of your value proposition.

In preparation for your interview, you should make note of 5-7 things that are critical for them to know about you in order for them to fall in love with your qualifications. If you take control of the interview, you will have an opportunity to state those items during the conversation. If you rely on them asking the right questions before you can explain your top 5-7 critical statements/stories, then you are leaving too much to "chance".

If you arrive at the end of the interview and notice that you have not had an opportunity to tell them your critical (prepared) statements, then when they ask, "Kevin, do you have any further questions?", you need to turn your un-stated statements into a question. For example, "Yes, I do have one more question. When I was at ABC Company, I got them on the Top 100 Places to Work List. Is this important for XYZ Company to be recognized on one of the best places to work lists?".

Controlling the interview will provide you the vehicle you need to drive yourself to victory lane. Otherwise, you may crash and burn if you let the interviewer drive you around the crazy obstacle course that they have you headed on.