The whole month of April we have been focusing on The B’s of Interviewing — tried and true tips to ace your interviews. We began with a discussion on Being on Time, moved to Being Prepared and today, tip #3, is Being Interested.
Being Interested is comprised of two parts. First, building rapport. Seasoned interviewers are skilled at small talk, which puts the candidate at ease and allows the interviewer to test the “fit” of the interviewee. Be prepared to engage in this small talk and engage honestly. If the woman across the table asks about the local college’s basketball team and you don’t follow them, be honest. Don’t pretend to engage where you lack experience or knowledge. Remember the integrity thing? It applies here, as well.
The second component of Being Interested is to ask sincere questions. The easiest way to do this? Follow up on questions asked of you. Ask for additional information or clarification. Ask questions from your research, about the company’s direction, about what keeps them up at night, about the goals for the department or position. Employers are much more likely to remember a candidate who engaged in meaningful, thoughtful conversations about them. Remember, this is a two-way street. Both parties are dancing — trying to decide if and when to close the deal. Even if you aren’t interested, ask questions to practice. Yes, I said practice at the interview. Don’t share this with anyone, but I know people who go on interviews for positions that don’t interest them just for practice.
And, what will you practice? The B‘s of Interviewing, of course! Be on Time, Be Prepared and Be Interested.
-Mark Key is a retail professional known for driving results in diverse and challenging retail segments. Mark’s interviewing insights come from companies big and small — having worked with organizations with just a few employees to Fortune 100 companies.
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