Interview What-Ifs
By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP
At some points in your job search, you’re going to come across an interviewer who doesn’t know how to interview.
Maybe the person is too young. Maybe the department isn’t even the interviewer’s specialty. Maybe Human Resources is so backed up they just need somebody to do an initial screen of candidates. Maybe the company can’t hire a recruiter due to budget.
Whatever the reason, at least one time you’re going to get excited about a job opportunity and then be let down by the interviewer’s questions and the interview conversation.
You might think:
“Why didn’t he ask about my financial background?”
“Why did she talk about her dog the whole time instead of my skills?”
“I don’t know what he meant when he asked about synergy. Does he want synergy? Do I need to give up some of my skills for synergy?”
“Did that go well? I can’t tell.”
Years ago, during an initial-screen interview for a writing position, I was asked to describe in detail three complicated maneuvers that I have completed in the project management system Trello. Huh? Why? This was for a freelance writing position. That left a really bad impression. I was pretty happy that I didn’t get a call back.
At its best, an interview is an exchange of ideas. It starts with the interviewer being impressed with your resume, and it becomes two people simply talking to determine if you are a match for the company and if the company is a match for you. An interview should be a two-way street with both parties taking notes and both parties discussing the job instead of a one-way interrogation that makes you feel slightly exhausted when you leave. Good interviews leave you elated and inspired.
However, if your resume isn’t optimal, the entire hiring team may end up asking you to clarify things on your resume instead of talking to you about company culture. That’s makes for a bit of a wasted opportunity, right?
You have to be prepared for the bad interview, though. You have to be prepared to answer useless questions like “Why do you want to work for us?” and “What makes you better than other candidates?” There’s also the completely dreaded and totally ridiculous but very popular, “Tell me about yourself.” In the land of bad interviews, that’s a bad start.
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