Did you wake up late and barely made it to the interview on time? Or did you rehearse all of the possible questions that would be asked – with your cat Prudence (its John Lennon’s fault) only to be caught off guard by the infamous “Where do you see yourself in 5 years” question?
In fact most job-seekers wouldn’t mind job interviews if they knew that they could go on an interview and only talk about the job and they didn’t have to talk so much about themselves. “What would your last boss say about you?” “Have you ever had a disagreement with a co-worker?” is not the type of information that you would talk about with your closest friends, never mind a stranger that you met 5 minutes ago!
But in order to succeed in a job interview, you must learn to think like the interviewer. And like most people that you know, interviewers love to talk. Your chances of getting a job go up proportionally with the amount of time the person interviewing you talks. A follow-up question not only gives you more time to think of the appropriate answer but shows the interviewer that you are a good listener – not terrible to be when directly reporting to your superior. Research suggests that we remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear.
And while it’s important that you make a case for your hiring, an interviewer who is engaged is a good sign that they’re at least seriously thinking of hiring you. One of the most successful sales methodologies ever is Solution Selling. By focusing on the customer’s problems and addressing the issue with your skills and strengths, you can successfully position yourself as the right person for the job. And be able to spend less time with Prudence and more time with your friends.