How to Take Control When the Need Arises
Sometimes an interviewer is so inept that the interview will go nowhere unless you take control. Keep in mind, though, that it is always risky for a job candidate to seize total over of an interview. It's risky because all interviewers think they're good, even if they're not. Al Duarte described the major danger of a job candidate taking this bold step: "It's tricky to take control from a poor interviewer. If you try to do this, you may consciously or unconsciously antagonize the person behind the desk."
Bob Hecht disagrees, however, and feels that if a candidate knows how to be interviewed, he or she can probably, without letting on, control the interview and thereby get the interviewer to do a better job of interviewing. Hecht describes the technique of taking control from an interviewer in this way: "The job candidate plants directions, ideas, or pathways of discussion that are designed to uncover the qualities and qualifications of the applicant without the interviewer recognizing that he is being led rather than responded to. I call this anti-interviewer training.
"For instance," Hecht went on to say, "an inexperienced and probably poor operating manager might say, as they so often do, to a candidate, tell me about yourself.' Now that's an open-ended question to which a candidate may reply in any way that he or she sees fit. It's like a blank slate; you just fill it in any way you want. If the interviewer had in mind that the answer would tell him how important the candidate's perceptions are of what's important to him, that's one thing. But if the interviewer wants to hear something specific, he may not hear it unless the candidate takes some control. When a broad, open-ended question is asked, a sharp or trained interviewee will ask a couple of questions to help the interviewer focus on exactly what he or she wants to hear."
Sometimes, an interview goes so poorly that you must assume even more control. Janet Tweed described a situation where an interviewee might really have to take over an interview: "Let's say we're talking about a plant manager position, and the person doing the interviewing is the vice-president of manufacturing. This man is interested in manufacturing the product, getting the raw materials, and getting the product out on time with low waste. He might need a plant manager tomorrow, but he's not an interviewer.
"Shortly into the interview, the job candidate should realize that the interviewer is not asking the right questions to elicit his background. The candidate can wait a fair amount of time and then say, 'Look, as a plant manager at ABC Manufacturing, I'm proud to say that I was able to reduce waste by thirty percent.' He should then go on to a small monologue describing his achievements. And then he should shut up."
"In using these interviewing techniques," Hecht noted, "the interviewee gently-and not so gently at times-guides the interviewer into specifying what he is interested in by showing him that the broad gauge is not so useful as the short gauge."
How to Establish Rapport
Regardless of how well you are able to control an interview don’t manipulate an interviewer, or whether he is good or bad, there is one aspect of the interview that you can't control very much and that is the establishment of rapport. Rapport is what happens between you and the interviewer to make you feel you have an affinity to one another. It may consist of finding that you both grew up in the same part of the country that you both love jazz, or that you both started your careers with the same company. A sense of rapport puts both of you at ease, it also helps to build intimacy, an even more important purpose.
Once an interviewer feels a sense of rapport with you, he or she will also feel comfortable asking you questions that check out your values and ethics-questions, for example, about your views on family life, the economy, women's rights, as well as questions about what you really want out of this job or why you don't like your present job. You should be prepared for this, and should also realize that you can trade on your rapport with him or her to find out more about the company and the interviewer's attitudes and views. Usually, rapport is established fairly early during an interview or not at all.
The interviewer is the one who attempts to establish rapport. Robert Hecht pointed out, "It is the interviewer's job to do this. It is up to the job candidate, though, to know what to do with an opening to establish rapport. If the interviewer gives you an opening to talk for a minute or so about last night's football game, and you choose to hold forth for twenty minutes on the merits of the two teams, then you have not used the chance to establish rapport well. The interviewer will think there is something wrong with you, that you don't know what you're there doing." Don't miss an opportunity to establish rapport, but don't abuse it, either.
The best small talk is related to the job or the interview. Don't flinch when the interviewer asks you something mundane, such as "Did you have trouble getting here" or "How was the food on the plane?" He is trying to put you at ease, and if you both are comfortable discussing something this minor, you will have an easier time moving on to the more important things you have to discuss.
Try to be aware of when the small talk is ending. Generally, it's up to the interviewer to end it, just as he started it, but be sure you let him do this. Keep your answers and comments brief, and at the appropriate moment, stop the banter and be quiet. That's when the interview will begin in earnest.
Knowing Where the Power Ultimately Lies
Psychologizing about an interviewer and all the anti-interviewer techniques in the world won't do you much good unless you keep in mind who really holds the power during the interview process. It's true that you are equals; it's true that you can gently wrest some control from an interviewer and help him or her get a better interview; but the overriding truth is that the interviewer has the power to hire you-or not, as the case may be. That power ultimately lies with him or her. As a result, you must recognize there are limits to how much control you can exert during an interview. You cannot be too aggressive. You cannot threaten the interviewer. You must demonstrate that you understand the limits to your power. If you don't do these things, you won't get hired. It's that simple. And you can make an interviewer hire you because you're the best candidate for a job if he or she doesn't like you as a person or doesn't find you credible as an executive.
It is also important to know when to let go of interviewer who can't be won over. That way, you can concentrate your time and energy on interviewers and interviews where this chemistry is right.
See the following articles for more information:
- How to Start on the Right Foot in Your New Job
- What Are the Sources to Find the Information You Need
- The Background of Application Process
- How to Network and Take an Information Interview
