JOBTALKSJOBTALKS

MORE THAN A GUT FEELING

Indiana UniversityKelley School of BusinessC. Randall Powell, Ph.D

Contents used in this presentation are adapted from Career Planning Strategies and used with the permission of the author.

Behavior Interviews: More Behavior Interviews: More than a Gut Feeling???than a Gut Feeling???

How Do Interviewers Make How Do Interviewers Make

ObjectiveObjective Employee Employee

Selection Decisions?Selection Decisions?

OR OR

Is The Judgment a Is The Judgment a GutGut Decision? Decision?

future behavior on the job can future behavior on the job can be anticipated by previous be anticipated by previous

behaviorbehavior

interviewers target questions interviewers target questions

zeroing in on your past actionszeroing in on your past actions

preparationpreparation

prepare the groundprepare the ground

establish rapportestablish rapport

a few minutes of a few minutes of “small talk”“small talk”

past behavior = future behaviorpast behavior = future behavior

specific examples!specific examples!

there’s always a crowd of candidates…there’s always a crowd of candidates…

…….how can .how can youyou stand out stand out as the best choice?as the best choice?

Z.A.P. ‘em…Z.A.P. ‘em…

Zesty Anecdotal PresentationZesty Anecdotal Presentation

through a glass darklythrough a glass darkly

help the interviewer see you clearlyhelp the interviewer see you clearly

ZAP ‘em with a STARZAP ‘em with a STAR….tell them a story that illuminates

transferrable skills….

the sounds of silence…the sounds of silence…

no one has an immediate answer for no one has an immediate answer for everythingeverything

silence is goldensilence is golden

use it to your advantage….use it to your advantage….

contrarian strategycontrarian strategy

interviewers often probe to get a negative viewinterviewers often probe to get a negative view

allude to minor negatives in your answers to avoid thisallude to minor negatives in your answers to avoid this

sometimes they just go negative sometimes they just go negative

The Big Three……The Big Three……

There are three questions There are three questions that seem to be the that seem to be the most difficult to most difficult to answer…..answer…..

“Describe your weaknesses.”

“Tell us about yourself.”

“Tell us about a mistake you have made.”

Tell them about yourself and pre-empt….Tell them about yourself and pre-empt….

If you get the generic “Tell us about yourself” If you get the generic “Tell us about yourself” question early in the interview – use it to question early in the interview – use it to pre-empt later focus on the negative.pre-empt later focus on the negative.

““That which doesn’t kill us makes That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”us stronger.”

In response to a “weakness” or “mistake” In response to a “weakness” or “mistake” question, question, ALWAYSALWAYS address the lessons address the lessons or skills you learned….or skills you learned….

current behavior = future behaviorcurrent behavior = future behavior

your interview IS you – will you “fit”?your interview IS you – will you “fit”?

Will you be the office fool?...Will you be the office fool?...

…….the magician?....the magician?...

Who are you…you, you, you, you?Who are you…you, you, you, you?

they really wanna’ know….they really wanna’ know….

if the going gets toughif the going gets tough

hang in there….hang in there….

the gestaltthe gestalt

professional look and mannerprofessional look and manner real examples of past behaviorreal examples of past behavior actions and words in the interviewactions and words in the interview

successsuccess

EVALUATION EVALUATION QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

USE:USE:a. Strongly Agreea. Strongly Agreeb. Agreeb. Agreec. Disagreec. Disagreed. Strongly Disagreed. Strongly Disagreee. Don’t Knowe. Don’t Know

1.I found the presentation material easy to understand.

2. This session increased my knowledge on the subject presented.

3. I will be able to use some of the information from this session in the future.

4. The presenter was well prepared for this session.

5. This presentation should be repeated in future semesters.

If you would like to If you would like to learn more, learn more, Career Career Planning Planning StrategiesStrategies textbook will supply textbook will supply additional additional information on this information on this topic.topic.