effective interviewing ebook
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Improve your interview skills! Learn what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for during the interviewing process. Find out how to answer challenging questions. Learn what chimps can teach you about effective interviewing.TRANSCRIPT
Effective Interviewing
The Global Services Career Center
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About This eBook
Effective Interviewing is brought to you by the EMC Global Services Career Center (EMC
Internal).
This ebook was created on November 11, 2009. To check for new versions, and to download
podcasts, templates and more, visit http://one.emc.com/clearspace/docs/DOC-17536.
About the Author
This ebook was written by Chris Ferdinandi. Chris is an HR professional at EMC, and manages
the GS Career Center on EMC|One.
Photo Credits
Photos in this ebook were provided by:
Fotolia
JaeWALK
Foshie
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Effective Interviewing
Several years ago, I applied for a job at a sporting apparel organization. They sold sneakers,
athletic shorts, and things like that. At the time, it was a dream job.
I got called in for an interview with two recruiters. After the first few questions, I could already
tell the interview was going great. The conversation was natural.
By the fourth question, though, things started to change. The first recruiter asked me a
question, and when after I was only a few words into answering, the second recruiter cut me
off to ask another question.
I got nervous. I lost my train of thought.
What happened to the natural, conversational interview we were just happening? Then it hit
me. Good Cop/Bad Cop. This continued for the next 30 minutes.
We regret to inform you
The interview had started off great, but by the end, I felt like completely defeated.
I wasnt all that surprised when a few days later I received one of those, We regret to inform
you phone calls telling me I hadnt gotten the job.
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Ive learned a lot since that interview, and I want to share what I know about effective
interviewing with you.
I cant guarantee youll never have another tough interview. In fact, Im certain that you at
some point in your career, you will.
What I can do, though, is give you the tools to deal with these types of interviews more
effectively when they happen.
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What are employers looking for?
Employers are generally looking for two things during the interview process.
Obviously, they want to make sure you have the right knowledge, skills and abilities to do the
job. But they also want to make sure that you will be a good cultural fit with the team and the
organization.
What types of questions do interviewers ask?
There are many different questions a recruiter or hiring manager may ask during an interview,
but they all generally fall into one of three categories:
Yes/No. Do you have this experience with Excel? Have you ever built widgets before? A
yes/no question can literally be answered with a yes or no.
Situational. With a situational interview question, the interviewer asks you how you
would respond if you were in a hypothetical situation. What would you do if the widget
press broke the day before a big shipment was due?
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Behavioral. A behavioral interview question is a lot like a situational question, except
that the interview asks you to talk about a situation youve actually be in. Tell me about
a time when you had to make widgets under a tight deadline.
The STAR Method
Regardless of the type of question asked, one of the best and easiest ways to answer an
interview question is with the STAR Method. STAR is an acronym:
Situation
Task
Action
Result
When answering an interview question with the STAR
Method, you would first identify a situation or task you
were involved in, then describe the actions you took, and finally, explain the result of those
actions.
Lets look at some examples of interview questions and how you might answer them.
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Tell me about yourself?
This is a very common interview question. A typical answer might look something like this:
Im from Vermont but I went to school in Boston. I graduated with a degree in
business, and have been working at Non-Profit Org as a marketing associate.
I like sports and my favorite food is pasta. Id like to continue working in marketing.
You might not necessarily mention that your favorite food is pasta, but most people who
answer this question include a mix of their work/education background and personal interests.
Heres a better answer using the STAR Method:
Im a marketing professional with a degree in business. For the last two years, Ive
been working at Non-Profit Org as a marketing associate. Im responsible for
marketing and event planning for our fundraising activities.
I created a marketing plan for our annual fundraiser, which had net earnings of
over $35,000. I really enjoyed the experience, and am excited about continuing my
career in marketing.
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In the second example, the individual mentioned a situation or task they were recently
involved in, what they did, and what the result was.
This question is a great opportunity to start the interview by highlighting why you have the
right skills for the job.
Do you have experience with Microsoft Excel?
Many interviewers will ask you yes/no questions around some of the required skills of the job.
If you have experience with Excel, you may be tempted to answer this question by simply
saying, Yes.
Heres a better answer using the STAR Method:
Yes. For my role as a marketing associate, I used Excel to analyze the ROI of our
various marketing strategies.
I sorted data into various categories, and created charts, graphs and tables to help
more clearly communicate my findings.
My analysis was used to help improve our strategy the following year.
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Again you can see that the person being interviewed talked about a situation or task where
they used Excel, explained how they used it, and then showed how they added value to the
business by talking about the results of their actions.
This is great if you have the experience or skill the interviewer is looking for, but how would
you answer this question if you didnt have experience with Excel?
Many people who find themselves in this kind of situation simply reply, No. You can still use
the STAR Method to answer this question, though:
Im not very familiar with Excel, but I do have experience using the other Microsoft
Office programs, such as PowerPoint. In my role as a marketing associate, I
compiled detailed presentations for my work group.
Im very comfortable with computers in general, and am confident I could quickly
learn how to use the program. Let me tell you about a time when I had to learn how
to use a new piece of technology for work
What you want to do is make the interviewer feel comfortable that even if you dont have a
particular skill, you could learn it quickly. If youve been in a situation in the past where you
had to learn to do something new, use the STAR Method to talk about it as part of your
answer.
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Tell me about a time when you had to speak in front of a large group.
Behavioral interview questions are generally asked in this format: Tell me about a time when
A typical answer to this question might be:
Last year I gave a presentation to my work group on marketing through social
media.
Instead of just summarizing the experience, provide a more rich and detailed answer using the
STAR Method:
Last year I gave a presentation to my work group on marketing through social
media.
After researching the topic, I created a presentation using PowerPoint about my
findings, and presented to a group of about 25 people.
My coworkers learned how to use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and
Blogs to reach and interact with consumers.
Remember, identify a situation or task you were involved, explain what actions you took, and
then provide the results of those actions.
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Preparation
Here are some tips to help you better prepare for your next interview.
Know Yourself
The best way to prepare for an interview is to simply have a great understanding of your work
history and how your skills and experience align with the job youre applying for.
Before going in for an interview, review your resume and the job description thoroughly, and
make sure that identify where your skills and the needs of the job overlap.
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Research the Organization
Visit the organizations website. Learn what they do and how they do it. Check out recent
news articles and make sure you know about any important recent events.
The more you know about the business youre going to be working for, the easier it will be for
you to explain how you can add value to the organization. Try to bring up some of the stuff
you find out in a casual way during the course of the interview.
Take Notes
Every time you go for an interview, take notes on what you did well and where you need work.
Make sure you work on improving areas where you didnt do so well.
Practice
Get a friend to ask you interview questions so you can practice answering them. If you cant
get a friend to help you, practice by yourself.
You can find a list of common interview questions at
http://one.emc.com/clearspace/docs/DOC-17536.
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Cultural Fit
Humans do a really great at communicating with words. We talk. We sing. We read and write
countless volumes of books.
Amazingly, though, researchers have found at about 70 percent of communication occurs
non-verbally.
What you say is important, but so is what you do.
What chimps can teach you about interviewing
I have a degree in anthropology. As part of my
program, I took a few courses on the behavior of
apes and monkeys.
If you ever watch chimps interact, youll notice that
they do a lock of mimicking. One chimp will make a
face, and the chimp shes looking at will make the
same face back at her.
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Interestingly, humans actually do the same thing. Next time youre walking down the hall,
smile at the people you pass. Most of the time, theyll involuntarily smile back at you.
Why is that? Researchers have found that you dont just smile when youre happy. In fact,
smiling actually makes you happy.
So when you smile at someone and they smile back, youre communicating the emotion of
happiness without speaking. Similarly, when one chimp makes a face and another chimp
makes that face back, theyre having a conversation.
This can help you be more successful during the interview process.
Smile during an interview
This has two benefits. First, smiling for extended periods will make you happier. You may find
yourself more relaxed and comfortable during the interview process.
Additionally, if you smile a lot, theres a good chance the person interviewing you will smile a
lot, too. Eventually, theyll start to feel happy being around you, though they probably wont
realize why.
If someones trying to decide if youll be a good cultural fit, making them feel about being
around is probably a good thing!
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Sit up straight
Non-verbal communication isnt just limited to facial expressions. Maintaining good posture
conveys confidence.
Sit-up straight during your interview to feel more confidence, and to project confidence to the
person whos interviewing you.
Make eye contact (sometimes)
In North America, making eye contact is seen as a sign of confidence as well. This isnt the case
in all countries, though.
If youre interviewing in a country outside of the US, Mexico and Canada, make sure you check
the local customs before trying any of these non-verbal communication tips.
Give a firm handshake
Much like good posture and eye contact, a firm handshake is often considered a sign of
confidence.
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It may not have anything to do with your ability to actually do the job or fit in with the team,
but like many non-verbal communication cues, people may make subconscious decisions
based on it.
Dress the part
The rule of thumb is to dress one level up from how people dress where youre interviewing. If
they wear jeans and polo shirts, wear a button-down with a tie. If they wear dress shirts and
slacks, wear a suit.
You should dress for an interview if youre just doing a phone screen. The way you dress can
have a subtle impact on how you carry yourself and answer questions.
Dont be late
Give yourself at least a 20-minute buffer in case you get a flat tire, trains are delayed or theres
a bad accident on the highway. If you get there really early, wait in the car until five minutes
before the interview.
It can make recruiters uncomfortable to leave candidates sitting in the lobby for long periods
of time.
For phone screens, be ready and at your desk at least five minutes ahead of time.
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Ditch the cell phone
If youre going for an in-person interview, obviously make sure your phone is off or on silent. I
also recommend that if at all possible, you use a landline instead of a cell phone for phone
interviews.
Aside from the obvious stuff like dropped calls or bad signal, theres another reason to ditch
the cell phone: They produce a slight lag.
As a result, it often gives the person on the other line the impression that you keep cutting
them off and talking over them, even though you may not realize it.
Take notes
Taking notes during an interview makes you appear more engaged. Make sure you dont
spend the whole time hunched over your notebook writing, but do jot down questions or
important information for later.
Another trick I like to use is to write a few bullet points in the corner of my notebook about
some recent experiences Ive had that align really well with the job Im interviewing for. Then
if I get nervous during the interview, I can look down and quickly remember a few things I
could talk about.
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In Sum
The STAR Method. Identify the situation or task you were involved in, explain the
actions that you talk, and mention what the result of those actions was.
70 percent of communication is non-verbal. Smile during the interview, sit-up straight,
make eye-contact (sometimes), and give a firm handshake. Dress the part, make sure
you show up early, and ditch the cell phone.