THE CAREER DOCTOR TO GET AHEAD, YOU NEED TO PREDICT THE QUESTIONS

Knowing what to expect from your interrogator is half the battle at interview, says ROWAN MANAHAN

Sitting, as I do, on both sides of the interview table, I get asked a bizarre variety of questions with regard to the recruitment process. Below are some of the more common concerns that people have with going out there and getting that job ……

Q: Should I use humour or tell jokes in an interview?
This depends on the role (are you being interviewed for a sales or an undertaker’s job?), the interviewer’s style and you. Many candidates use humour out of nervousness, thinking that it will mask their discomfort. For an entry-level position, you risk coming across as a smart-alec or as not taking the process sufficiently seriously. For a more senior position, you may be perceived as not having sufficient gravitas.

Humour can be a very risky approach to take. However, if the interviewer is adopting a breezy style and injecting some humour, it may be appropriate for you to respond in kind. But it will only be a useful tool for you if you have the ability to use humour to make your points more memorable and the ability to closely gauge the interviewer’s reaction and modify your approach accordingly. You should look for a meaningful benefit to any approach that you decide to take at interview and humour is no exception.

Q: What do they expect to hear when they ask me where I plan to be in five year’s time?
This is a very common question and is used in different ways for interviews at all levels. There will be a full article on this topic shortly, but in brief:

	They are assessing your commitment to the organisation (do you really want this job or will any old job do?)
	They are assessing the quality of your preparation for the interview (do you have a strong, well thought-out answer for this obvious question?)
	Most importantly, they are assessing your ability to map out your career and your life (and, by extension, the likely return they will get if they decide to invest in you.)

Studies consistently show that those who plan their lives/careers tend to get ahead in this world and employers are always on the look-out for these rare (about 3% of the population) candidates. The question is useful in identifying – and eliminating – short-term thinking, self-serving candidates.

Interviewers can also use this question to skate around the edges of the Employment Equality Act. They may glean information about you that you otherwise wouldn’t volunteer and that they cannot, under law, directly ask you. A tricky question, which you should be ready for and please, PLEASE, do not say, “I plan to be sitting in your chair in five year’s time.”

Q: I hate talking about myself and I always find it difficult when they ask me about my strengths. How do I tell them my good points without seeming to blow my own trumpet?
Common problem. Very few of us are raised in an environment that encourages a boastful, swaggering attitude and yet you will be asked to do exactly that in almost every interview. Bear in mind that what you feel is utterly irrelevant to the interviewer(s). If one candidate stuttered and stumbled through this answer and the other pondered for a moment and then confidently listed off a series of pertinent gems about themselves, who would you hire?

Self-knowledge is vitally important here, as is practice. List what you think makes you stand out from the crowd. Then compare your list with what your friends and family tell you. The most valuable person you can talk to for this kind of feedback is someone that you used to work for – past bosses love to be asked for advice relating to your future career. Once you have the list, pick and choose the strengths that are going to be useful in the new job and practice citing them out loud in advance of the interview.

A newsreader stuttering and stumbling through the headlines because the AutoCue is broken is irritating and lacks credibility. You will be too if you don’t practice delivering your answers with eloquence and force. “Eh, eh, emmmmm, well I’m eh, I’m a very, eh clear, yes, I’m a very clear communicator ……”

Q: I have been working for 16 years now and I just can’t get my CV shorter than 3 pages. What should I do?
Presuming that you have not been in the same role for those sixteen years and presuming that you are applying for a comparable or more senior role to your current one, read each sentence in your CV from a recruiter’s perspective and apply the rule of, “SO WHAT?” If you cannot adequately answer the “so what?” for any item that appears on your CV, delete it.

Too many CVs are nothing more than a re-statement of a series of job descriptions. In most instances, the job title tells the reader most of what they need to know about that period of your career. Don’t waste space and the reader’s time going into minute details. Give them the news headlines about older positions – title, boss’ title, special responsibilities, promotions, contributions that you made and/or what you took from the job. Anything more than 6 years old is virtually irrelevant in today’s market and should be reduced to a line or two. The reader is going to focus on what you are doing now and the responsibilities and accomplishments associated with that position, so you should put the bulk of your effort (and space) into that.

Q: I prefer working by myself and not relying on others. How should I talk about this in an interview setting?
Very tricky. The ability to motivate yourself and be a self-starter is usually valued by employers, but they also want you to be able to get on with and work alongside fellow employees. If your preference is very definitely for solo work, the crude and simple answer is to make sure that you are not applying for team-based roles. If that is not possible in your sphere and you must apply for a team job, find out in advance just how closely together the team works and what systems they use.

Negative experiences working with others are very common and it can be extremely frustrating to work with people who don’t share your standards / values or who consistently fail to meet your expectations. Some self-questioning may be in order here – do these people have a hard time working with everybody, or just you? Are the standards you set and the expectations that you have (a) reasonable and (b) meaningful in this work setting? How have you dealt with friction with others in the past?

Teamwork is prevalent in professional settings because, when it works, the resultant synergy makes for tremendous productivity. Not all projects or tasks require a group approach, but organisations would not invest as heavily as they do in team-building and training if they weren’t getting a return. Interviewers will be looking for a whole-hearted buy-in to teamwork and if your answer indicates a grudging acceptance of the need for teams, they are not going to like it ...

Q: What is the advantage of going for a mock interview session?
The advantages of a practice interview with a stranger are that it will provide you with objective feedback and de-sensitise you to the interview process. A tailored session will allow you to voice your concerns and gain insight into the most positive methods of self-presentation. If you can’t afford / access a fully fledged mock interview, download some questions from the internet and get a friend to tape or film you as you answer them. You will be amazed by how you look and / or sound, but the experience is invaluable.

There is nothing phoney or duplicitous about practicing for an interview – if you had a spoken part in a play, you would rehearse for weeks. Getting the unfamiliar language of the interview flowing smoothly from your mouth takes a lot of practice. You have to get the lexicon of the interview into your vocal memory. The greatest public speakers all rehearse extensively coming up to an important event. Chances are, if you think someone is excellent at “talking off the cuff” they have probably put a massive amount of work into their speech.

Q: I heard somewhere that you should only wear light-coloured tights to an interview. Why?
Dark tights are associated with evening wear. You are presenting yourself at a professional interview, not going to a cocktail party and you should dress accordingly. If you have nice legs, dark tights will highlight them more effectively – but do you really want the interviewer to hire you for the way your legs looked at interview?

Rowan Manahan is Managing Director of Fortify Services, a Dublin-based outplacement and career management firm.

Original article here.