Managing the Five Stages of an Interview (Textbook Excerpt) Level 1 Donna Yena Donna Yena has over 30 years of experience in career development and human resources. She has been Vice President of Career Development and Alumni Relations at Johnson & Wales University as well as a manager, instructor, and curriculum designer. This excerpt is taken from her textbook Career Directions: The Path to Your Ideal Career, Sixth Edition. To be successful at interviewing with prospective employers, it is important to know how to manage the five stages of an interview (Figure 12.2). The stages include the opening, questions and answers, observations, the closing, and the follow-up. Each stage is described in detail below. FIGURE 12.2 Five Stages of an Interview
THE OPENING Before entering the room, turn off your cell phone. Walk in confidently. Give a firm handshake, make eye contact, and remember to smile! The Icebreaker The interviewer will start with some incidental conversation to break the ice. He or she might comment on the weather, a recent sports event, or big news of the day. The interviewer sets the tone. Will this be very formal or a more relaxed interview? A friendly tone is intended to help you relax, but be careful not to let your guard down. Always be professional throughout your interview. It helps to come across as approachable and likable if you can still maintain your professionalism. Proving your qualifications will come later in the interview. These early moments in the interview are when you make that important first impression. "Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can." John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States 5 Opening Questions Questions such as What do you know about our company? or Tell me why you chose (name of career) as your profession signal the opening of the formal part of the interview. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Answering Questions For the most part, you can expect to do well answering questions on an interview with preparation and practice. But how do you go a step beyond and be sure you leave a favorable lasting
impression? Accentuate your best work, show how well you perform under pressure, and recover if you do stumble on a question. Two ways to shine on your interview are to provide evidence of your best work and show how well you perform under pressure. Your game plan should be to not let the interviewer leave the room without remembering one or two key points about you that relate to the job you are applying for. Try not to leave the interview before making your important key points. The time might come in the course of answering a question asked by the interviewer or you may need to take the initiative. Taking the initiative can be tricky because you don't want to appear to go off course, and you don't want to come across as arrogant or pushy. But you need to connect your key points to the general flow of the interview. So here's what to do. In advance, think about times when your performance stood out. Choose three or four major successes you would like to talk about. If you have only one or two, that's fine. They will probably be some of the accomplishments and results you listed on your resume. Don't just repeat what is on your resume, bring it to the next level in the interview. Give the employer more insight. Your resume said you did it, but not how you did it, the thought process involved, and what the major challenges were. Practice what you will say ahead of time about each one. If you can, during the interview find a way to include how these successes and related skills pertain to the job you are applying for. Take charge of this portion of your interview time. Don't be afraid to initiate interjecting your key points. You can use your Career Portfolio to show examples of your best work or accomplishments. Incorporate portfolio examples into your answers. You can do this verbally to start. Tell or show the interviewer you have your portfolio with you (hard copy or online on your ipad). Have your strongest item ready to show as an example. It may draw in the interviewer to ask for more. Don't overwhelm the interviewer and start a complete presentation.
Time constraints may not allow time for an interviewer to review your entire portfolio during the interview. You have put it out there. Wait for the interviewer to ask to see more. Refer to your digital portfolio link on your resume if it appears the interviewer does not want to view it then, or offer to send copies of selected work from your hard copy after the interview. If you move on to a second interview, this may be a better use of time for discussing details of your sample work. You will likely be meeting with a department hiring manager who is more familiar with detailed position requirements. Your sample work could really add value at this stage of the interview. Accentuate performance under pressure: Handle difficult questions confidently. How well you answer difficult questions during your interview is one example of how you perform well under pressure. One way to turn difficult questions into shining moments is to focus statements on what you have learned and what you will do moving forward. I learned that, In the future, I can show you, What will be different the next time. Major accomplishments are great, but it is just as important to show that you can meet the routine pressures of the job. Give simple examples of when and how you met important deadlines. Calmness in the interview is a sign of confidence. Incorporate examples of times you were able to overcome obstacles to achieve your goal and how you did it. You know when you are going off course during your interview. You started at full attention, and now you are only half-listening. You stumbled on a question, and your mind is racing. I forgot to tell Why did I say that? I made a mistake. I forgot to ask I didn't know what to say. I just went blank. Why am I so nervous? There is a strong comeback for every weak moment in an interview. Think on your feet, and don't let the interview run away from you. Look for the right time to say, LET ME GO BACK TO clarify, answer the question, add something I missed, ask a question. There is a strong comeback for every weak moment during an interview. Think on your feet, and don't let the interview run away from you. Look
for the right time to say, "Let me go back to clarify, answer the question, add something I missed, ask a question." If you have trouble gauging the right time, you might have one last shot. Most interviewers will ask if you have any questions toward the end of the interview. If you can, taking the initiative to recoup before the interview reaches this point will impress. There is always time to briefly address any of these issues after the interview in a follow-up letter. Asking Questions Don't forget to make the interview a two-way conversation. Ask good questions. Use the following as a guide to what to find out during an interview. The exact job: title and responsibilities, as well as the department in which you would work. The fit of the department into the company structure: its purpose, budget, and other departments it works most with. Reporting structure: will you have more than one boss? Whether or not you would be working on your own or as a member of an official team. How skills learned on this job would prepare you for another position within the company. How your job performance is measured. Where the people who held this position previously are now. Don't ask for infomation that you should have found on the company website. Do ask about something you read and did not understand. Sample Questions to Ask on an Interview 1. How did this position become available? 2. What are the current challenges for someone in this position? 3. Is there a formal training program or is training informal? Please explain. 4. What type of technology is used in this job? Throughout the company? 5. What changes, if any, do you expect the next person to bring to this job? 6. What is the typical career path from this position? 7. How and when would I be evaluated? 8. Are there other graduates from my institution employed here? In what job(s)?
9. What is the employee retention at the company? 10. Who will make the final hiring decision? Progress Check Questions 1. What two or three major successes can you focus on in your interview? 2. What are your own examples of how you have performed well under pressure? QUESTIONS TO ASK ON AN INTERVIEW CAREER PORTFOLIO 12.1 Review the list of possible general questions to ask on an interview. Make a list of five general questions you think you would ask on most interviews. General Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Targeted Questions For each interview, once you have researched the company, jot down two questions that are targeted specifically to the what you read about the company. 1. 2. Other Questions? OBSERVATIONS You can get a sense of how things are going before you leave the interview. Here are five telling observations you can make to size up your interview:
1. Were you asked to send more information about yourself after the interview? 2. Did either you or the interviewer dominate your time, or was there a balanced exchange? 3. Was there chemistry that made this feel like a right fit? 4. Did the interview go longer than expected? 5. Did the interviewer bring up next steps, or did you have to ask? THE CLOSING Closing Questions The interviewer always takes the lead to close the interview. Two common questions signaling the close of the interview are, If you were offered this position, when would you be able to start? or What questions would you like to ask me? Your closing questions should include asking what the company next steps are and what is expected of you next. Write down any specific dates or times mentioned. Be sure you have all the contact information about the person who interviewed you so that you can send a follow-up thank-you note. Thank-You The end of an interview can be a little awkward. Take a brief pause when you know the interview has ended. If you are nervous or disappointed about something, don't let it show. You want to leave the same calm and confident impression you displayed throughout the interview. Give that same firm handshake, make eye contact, and smile! The most important thing to do regardless of how it went is to say thank you for the time and information. Depending on how things went, you can state that you are very excited about the position and look forward to the next steps. Regrouping You did it! When it's over, take a breath. Stop somewhere for your favorite cup of coffee, and write some things down: additional infomation the interviewer needs, good points about your performance, things you learned, follow-up dates in your calendar, issues that arose, things you could have done better. Does this seem like a possible fit? THE FOLLOW-UP Once the interview is over, there are three simple steps to follow: send, read, and initiate. 1. Send a thank-you note, and complete and send any follow-up information requested during the interview (Figure 12.3). Send a thank -you note to the interviewer regardless of how the interview went. You may know you are moving on to a next step with the company, and
that's great. But if you are unsure, or know it's not likely, you should definitely send a thank-you note. FIGURE 12.3 Thank-You Note Show appreciation. The "look see" process involved in an interview is definitely time-consuming. Both you and your interviewer expended a lot of energy getting to this point. No matter what the outcome, showing appreciation is common courtesy. Minimally, a thank-you note, should show your appreciation. Restate interest. Unless you are no longer interested or know you haven't made it to the next cut, you should always restate your interest. You can benefit from details you learned in the interview to include comments targeted to the position and the company. Future contact. If you have a follow-up date already, then reference or confirm it and state that you look forward to the next step. If you exactly know what's next, state that you are looking forward to the next steps and look forward to a future contact. 2. Read any information you were given during the interview. 3. Initiate further follow-up if the interviewer put the ball in your court. For example, you may be asked to contact the interviewer within a week, or to contact someone else in the company you were referred to. The interviewer may ask you to think about the interview and call to confirm your interest in the next steps. When the ball is in your court, run with it. Footnotes 5 Retrieved April 12, 2013, from www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn135389.html.