How to stand out and fit in

It’s tough – particularly at the top!

Over the last few weeks I have been tracking the experiences of someone who is going through the challenging but exciting process of applying for what some consider the most coveted employment prize of all – the role of Chief Executive.  Clearly expectations and the stakes run high – for all parties concerned:  Head Hunters, Potential  Employers  and of course the candidates.  In fact anyone throwing their hat into the ring for any level of job at the moment is entering a hugely competitive arena. We all know that public-sector jobs losses in the UK are forecast to hit 600,000 over the next six years (figures projected by the Office for Budget Responsibility). The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is even more pessimistic, declaring a potential rise in UK unemployment to 3 million in the next two years. So, to protect our livelihood nothing can be more important than knowing how to succeed at interviews.

Tricky interviews – manipulation and reputational risk

The challenge this presents to the Employer is to ensure that they have the right policies, procedures, and, most importantly, the skills and techniques, to select the best person for the job from this huge pool of potential.  They also have to appreciate that there is reputational risk if they abuse their position and perversely manipulate the climate.   One example of this I unearthed recently was a masquerading of a senior vacancy.  The vacancy did not exist, but the organisation gained top drawer free consultancy.  How?  By putting the hopeful and very skilled contenders for the post through their paces to solve numerous case studies that were obviously real life and current..  Oh….. and let’s not forget the nerve-wracking presentations and the grilling at the ‘after party’ – ‘Give us your 101 ideas on everything you know from strategic planning to marketing to corporate social responsibility!

Challenges for candidates at interview

For the candidate there are many challenges to succeeding at interviews– not least of which is how to avoid having to ‘play the dastardly game’ outlined above.  I am ever hopeful however that the vast majority of interviews will be run along ethical lines with a great opportunity lying in wait for the candidate who outperforms all the contestants.  But just how do you do that?  How do you stand out and diffentiate yourself from the rest of the cast?  How do you do that but still ‘fit in’?   I want to help all of you who are keen either now, or sometime in the future, to pit your wits against the competition.  You may be considering  a promotion, a new job, a change in career, or even offering your expertise for free as a non-exec, trustee or school governor.  So I am sharing below 20 of my key tips on how to succeed at interviews.

20 top tips to succeed at interviews

At interview to ensure you stand out but still fit in remember the following:

1.  Never sit in reception whilst waiting.  Remain standing – it commands more attention.  Sitting down means you lose your height advantage, inhibits your breathing and could make you look like a sales rep!  

2. Read some of the articles in reception – newsletters etc while you are waiting and look for opportunities to weave the information into your answers at the interview.

3. The meet and greet is vital. Always offer a firm handshake, smile and create a relaxed, confident first impression.

4. Ensure you have some ‘pleasantries’ up your sleeve so you can chat on the way to the interview room.

5. Put yourself in the interviewers ‘shoes.  From the moment you are met in reception, you need to be building a relationship.  Look at yourself from your interviewers’ perspectives. What do they need?  What are they looking for?  How can you match this?

6. In the interview don’t hold your portfolio, bag or briefcase.  Put this down by your chair.

7. Ensure you are very familiar with what you have put on your application for this particular job.  This is crucial if you are applying for several jobs as it is likely that you will have ‘tweaked’ your information to suit.

8. If it’s a panel interview, you must persuade all the members, not just the one who has asked the question.  So make sure you make eye contact with all interviewers

9. Address panel members by name but don’t overuse this.

10. Always have some great questions to ask.  For example ‘What is the most pressing problem you would like me solve?’  ’Please tell me more about the culture of your organisation’.

11. Many interviewers who are well trained will choose to use behavioural type questions.  These are open questions, and they will often be followed by further supplementary ‘probing’ questions’.  They will use these as they know this makes it  very hard for candidates to waffle, evade and lie.

Examples of such lines of questioning include:

“Tell me about a situation recently when you had to handle an under-performing member of your team.”

“Why did you choose that particular approach?”

“How effective was it?”

“What did you learn from this?”

“What would you do differently next time?”

“Why?”

So make sure in your preparation you identify specific examples of all the criteria that the employer is seeking.  Test yourself with questions and answers such as these.

12.   Keep your body language open and relaxed.  Make sure you maintain this even when you are finding a question difficult.

13.   If you are unsure of the question, or need to buy yourself thinking it over time, ask for clarification.

14.   Never ask if you have answered the question.

15.   Try and keep your sentences under 20 words each.

16.   Watch your pace – if you gabble you will look nervous.   If you gabble and use long sentences you will really be in trouble – you will run out of breath.  Your vocal quality will be impaired.  Your brainpower will be inhibited.  You may lose your train of thought and your interviewers will get bored!   They will also forget the relevant points you did make!

17.   Use pause, pace and intonation to add impact to what you say and how you say it.

18.   Don’t give dated examples – generally the pace of change is such these days that people are only really interested in what you have achieved during the last two or three years.

19.   Talk benefits of what you have achieved rather than tasks you carry out.

 20. Lastly, be on your guard at reception, the ‘meet the team’ event or the ‘tour of the office’.     You are probably still being interviewed.

I hope these tips on how to succeed at interviews help you.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to learn even more about how to succeed at interviews and you  actually carry out interviews  why not benefit from our free checklist on ‘The Cardinal sins of interviewing’?   In this I have shared my 20 years’ observations of what not to do when interviewing.  Email us for your free copy now!

Alison Miles-Jenkins Sunday Morning Blog – 1 August 2010 Blog Number 11