45 Recruitment still be a little vague – but it will probably have some relation to something actually happening in the organisation . Drill down and ask : “ Oh that ’ s interesting , is there anything specific in the business that this relates to ?” Their answer should then be more specific : “ Actually , I think we are going to performance manage a third of your team .”
At last , you have a specific and appropriate issue that you can address and answer in detail .
Never be afraid to ask an interviewer to reframe a question . They may ask you what one plus one is , and your answer could either be two , or 11 . Don ’ t shy away from closed questions with only two answers , because the answer to a closed question could lead to a more open one , which could then lead to a specific need to be discussed .
Step three : the pre-close and close
A pre-close is to get the interviewer to say something early on in the interview which you can then bring up later in conversation :
“ You mentioned this earlier , why is that important ?”
You can then close the interview by asking : “ What areas of concerns do you have about me ?” You need to answer any concerns in the interview . It will be too late to answer them once they call you to tell you they have given the position to someone else .
If somebody only lets you speak at the end of the interview , then ask your questions and quickly get out . They should be trying to entice you into the business and giving you a good feeling about the company ; the interview is not just about them . Remember : the people interviewing you are not professional interviewers , just like you aren ’ t . You ’ re not there to judge their interview technique , but unfortunately , they will judge yours .
For example , I once landed an amazing role at a well-known global travel and meetings business . It was way out of my league and the other candidates were far more qualified and experienced than I was . I got the job because I killed it in the interview and they sold me a dream experience , too .
Now , there ’ s no way on I should have got that job or if they ’ d have been upfront about the mess they were in , would I have wanted it , but it goes to show how important the interview is from both sides of the table .
Step four : post interview
Email the people that you met , and simply say : “ Thanks so much for your time , I really appreciate it . I hope I ’ m successful in getting to the next stage .”
I know for a fact there are people out there who will turn candidates down because they didn ’ t follow up , sad but unfortunately true .
To conclude , an interview is like playing bingo in the dark . The interviewer wants you to say the words they ’ re looking for , but you don ’ t know what they are . Drill down and drill down some more ; shine some light and discover the real issues , so you can give them the answers that they are looking for . CN www . conference-news . co . uk