The Most Important Part of the Interview Isn’t Talking About Your Skills
While part of the reason for an interview is to validate the skills and experience listed on candidates’ resumes, a bigger reason is to assess candidates’ disposition and ability to connect with others.
Being courteous and professional is a good way to impress your interviewer, but developing a rapport is crucial to success. If an interviewer likes you as a person, they may feel optimistic about hiring you as a worker, knowing there’s a good chance you’ll connect with others at the company. Therefore, you must make an effort to connect with people from the time you walk through the front door of a potential employer to the time you leave.
Your interview planning should go beyond developing answers to expected questions. It’s also wise to consider how you’ll connect with your interviewer on a personal level. The following suggestions can help you boost this part of your interview performance.
Reflect what you see in your interviewer
Reflecting the tone and energy of your interviewer often helps when trying to connect with an unfamiliar person. Be aware of your interviewer’s initial disposition and try to emulate it. For instance, if your interviewer appears energetic, reflect their degree of liveliness. Conversely, if your interviewer is calm and reserved, adjust your energy accordingly.
Keep in mind, the interview shouldn’t be where you perform a song and dance routine for someone else. It should be a used to determine if you can fit into the organization. With this mind, it’s important you don’t completely shut off your own personality. Merely modify your tone and energy according to your interviewer’s demeanor. So, if your interviewer uses laid-back language, go ahead and be a laid-back version of yourself, but don’t start misrepresenting who you are as a person.
Once you feel more at ease with your interviewer and a connection is forming, you’ll have an easier time talking and figuring out if this is the organization for you.
Ask questions and listen to the answers
To forge an authentic connection to your interviewer, it’s useful to interject appropriate questions during the entire conversation, rather than saving them all for the end. A bit of back-and-forth will not only allow you to learn more on the company, but will also show you’re truly interested in the position.
As soon as you start asking questions, you’ll be able to listen to your interviewer’s answers and ascertain what they are looking for in a candidate. You can then base your future responses on what the interviewer is telling you.
Work With a Top Supply Chain Recruiter
At ZDA, we can give you tips on interviewing for specific companies that have partnered with us to locate talented professionals. If you’re looking to work with a top supply chain recruiter that provides this degree of insight, please contact us today.
