by Mary Ann Aadnesen - Mar 12, 2010
Technology
If you get a question of what kind of technology you used, what kind of communication you used, as far as technology, don't be completely honest and say "I don't know…", "I don't have…", or "I don't do…".
Clearly, as a recruiter, I can tell you honestly there is discrimination against older people, because there's an automatic assumption that you are not up to date, technologically. So, if you're not, and you're trying to get there, you need to learn just enough to be able to get by the first interviewer, because the first interviewer may not be your hiring manager.
Too Much Information (TMI)
Don't be so honest all the time about why you're not getting hired, or why you lost your job. Always come up with a positive. Just be careful on what you say or how you feel.
Yes or No Answers
If someone asks you a question, and you give them a yes or no answer, it blows the interview. You need to learn how to elaborate. If you're worried that elaborating is going to hurt you, then what you need to do is go back to the question, not that you're trying to control the interview, but you need to go back to the question, and say "Would you please be specific about what you're looking for." Rather than getting stuck and saying just a yes or no answer.
Lengthy Unemployment
If you have been off of work for about a year, don't say, "Well, I've been looking for a year." Because, again, you're talking to the HR coordinator who's saying to themselves "I really need to look good. And if someone else isn't hiring them, there's got to be a reason why I shouldn't hire him. I'm going to come up with a reason not to hire this person."
So, if you've been looking for a year, and they say "Well, what have you been doing for a year?", get around it by saying "Well, initially I wasn't aggressively looking. I went back to school, or I took care of some very serious personal business with an estate." I mean, make a big deal out of yourself, but make it seem that you've only been looking for six months or less. Just a little bit of a dance. Don't TMI it all the time.
Diversity Issues
I was asked if I ever worked in a diverse group, and how I handled that? And the person who addressed the question to me was African American. And her assistant was African American. And I didn't know quite what to say. And so I got around it by saying "Diversity has nothing to do with race or sexual orientation, or anything like that. It has to do with skill set." And so we had a big long conversation about that.
It's really about flexibility, demonstration versatility, and being able to just work with different types of people. And that's what people want to know. Don't let your preconceived notions get in the way, where you're going to take each person as they are, and be open to who they are.
Family
I think you leave the family out of it. I have found that over in the past, that TMI is critical. Leave it absolutely to the topic and don't bring up your family. Leave it out, because they're looking for a reason not to hire you.
The best answer is "I'm here to get the job done. And my family is extremely important to me. But there's not going to be anything in my path that I'm not going to do to perform well for your company." Don't get into the family thing. It's a dangerous path.
Over Qualified
Everybody has applied for jobs that are probably beneath the previous job that they had. And so how you would address that is, is to acknowledge it. But to also move to your passion, "and here's what important to me…", "here's what I read about the company…", "here's what I love about this work that I'm applying for." Because it's probably in your field.
"I climbed the corporate ladder, and I'm over it. All I want to find, is a job I can go to. And that at the end of the day, I can go home and enjoy without any of the stresses."
In this economy, people are assuming that you're going to take the job, and then move onto somewhere else afterwards. People are having to take jobs that are way below their level. Kind of massage it enough so people can see that you're commitment will be there, while you're there.
Your Age
What you have to constantly keep in the back of your head, is that not to give anybody reason not to hire you. So you really have to listen to where that person is coming from, and ask them a question like, "You know, what do you see the picture of this position?"
If they're looking for someone to be in that position for 10 years, then you say "I don't want to want to climb the corporate ladder any more. And this is all I want to do." You have to constantly think, I don't want to give them a reason not to hire me.
Can't Answer the Question
Sometimes you get asked a question that you don't have an answer to. What you have to do is tweak it. So if they ask if you have experience in this area that you really don't, because in each job description there will be some things you do not have. So one of the ways, is to tweak it a bit, to something that's related. Could be from you're previous job. Could be from another place. You're not saying "No, I don't have that." You have to make it so it's connected to this other thing that you have.
One way to prepare for that, is to read the job description. Know what the qualifications are. And understand what the hot buttons might be. "No, I haven't don't that. But I have done this, which is very connected to it, in this particular environment, in this particular industry."
The STAR Method
Situation, your action, and your result. The critical thing, is not to take too long in a situation, because sometimes we tend to meander around a little bit, or want to tell so much. A lot of people had that have had pretty high level roles, where you do a lot of complex things.
The key thing is to de-complex-ify it. To make it simple. To really mete out the really critical points that you can communicate to somebody. Because that's what they're looking for. They're not looking for somebody you can stay in the concept, but somebody who can drill it down into something that's actionable.
Look at the resume, and make sure you have an answer for everything that's required on the job that you have done. That way, you're already ahead of the game.
And then also look what they're asking. Frame your answer so you pull in different areas. If it's a question on leadership, make sure you have teamwork in there. Make sure you've got collaboration. That way, you're answering three and four questions. The interview just got 5 minutes less!
How Technical to Respond?
It's ok to ask the interviewer "How technical do you want me to be?" You're talking to an HR person who doesn't know an IT from a TI, or whatever. You don't need to get into the minutia. You just need to take the steps. But if you're talking to the Hiring Manager that wants to know that you do this step, and this step, and this step. Then it's ok. And ask them.
And also gives them an idea that "Oh, this is someone who knows a lot. And they're going to help me understand better, what they did." Because that's all they're looking for, is your thought process.
Identify Key Bullets
If you've done global work, or you've done some other specialist type of things? Get those type of things in the conversation earlier, rather than at the end of it. If the company's global, make sure you put that in your answers. And sometimes, you want to lead with the results, if that's going to help you, and then you can fill in the details later.
It depends on the interview. If you have somebody that appears to be pretty deep, you know, driving personality, likes bullets, likes information, kind of a bottom line person. I would lead with results, and then fill in the situation later. Otherwise, those folks don't have the patients to listen to the details.
You could say that, "I did this and here's three things that we did to accomplish that." Because it's succinct. At that level they are looking for that. It makes it less complex.
If you've got a great story to tell, move up to the front. "Now you've hooked me. Now I want to hear the rest of the story." It's really intriguing. All the answers you gave, just flip it. It was really a great hook.
Do Research
You never have done enough. Specifically, when you answer the questions, try to detail to their pain. What their feeling. What their actually asking you as a question. Try to look at your talents and compare them to what they're actually answering, to feel their pain. To understand their question. But the bottom line is, research, research, research, and do more research on the company that you're going after.
This way, you have a preconceived idea that what they're going to ask, and how your talents best fit that situation.
If they're a private company, and no website, go into LinkedIn and see if you can find people that have worked there in the past. And you call and talk to them. Either current employees or previous employees. Go to www.sunbiz.org. Start Googling.
Answer with I
Make sure that when you have a question, answer what I did. Not what we did. Make sure you say "This is the task that I took to make it happen." That way, you can show them that you did this. Not that you were a member of the team and sat in the corner while everybody else did the work. This is what you did. And if you did do that, make sure that you were part of the team.
Talk about yourself in the most glowing way possible. Take a cue from what you have got going on on that job description, as to what they think the important parts of that job is, and make sure that you answers for that all ready.
The paradigm has shifted. You've got to do multiple things now. And they want to see if you can do that. Now again, "I led a team…" That then shows that you have leadership skills as well as team building. If you did everything yourself, it's like "This guys stand out there by himself".
Use People are not in Your Field
When I have no clue, I go and ask questions, because I'm stupid. I don't know. But it let's me understand things a lot better. And I can offer help, and each of us can offer help to each other. If you don't understand it, help me understand it.
Company Fit?
At the very end, ask them "Do you have any reservations about my ability to do this job or fit in this company?" The answer they give you may tell you that you may not fit there.
It will also give you an option to address it. Give examples when you've walked into a company and still made it work. You can address the gaps, if there are any.
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