#006 - 6 Steps To Interviewing Like The Best Candidate Ever

#006

Part 1: 6 Steps To Interviewing Like The Best Candidate Ever

Part 2: Q&A (staying in touch with recruiters, switching industries, and searching for a new job while you already have a job)

Part 3: In Conclusion

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6 Steps To Interviewing Like The Best Candidate Ever

Did you know that interviews were essentially invented by Thomas Edison?

It makes sense when you think about it. We didn’t really need job interviews before the industrial revolution. ‘Jobs’ were just passed down from generation to generation. If your father was a blacksmith, you were a blacksmith. No drama.

But with the industrial revolution came the opening of factories, and factories need bodies. Edison’s factories were, unsurprisingly, desirable to work in. He would post the job ‘ad’ in a local newspaper and get hundreds of applicants. He needed a way to whittle the number down and so he created a 150-question (!) test that not only covered the specifics of the job but also general knowledge of the times. Here are some of the questions:

• What countries border France?

• Before World War I, what country drank the most tea?

• Which is bigger, Australia or Greenland?

• What is the largest telescope in the world?

• What is a dinosaur?

• What do white corpuscles do?

Yeah. I know.

Other business leaders and companies cottoned on and the rest, as they say, is history.

Anyway, you can argue all day long about the merit of interviews, whether they’re the best way to assess a candidate, all the potential biases that are involved, whether or not you ‘should’ have to interview. Argue away. But interviews aren’t going anywhere any time soon so instead of bemoaning them, get good at them.

A much better use of your limited time and energy.

With that said, let’s get into it. Here’s how to interview like the best candidate ever:

1. Use the STAR method to answer questions

You are almost definitely going to be asked some of the below questions (or similar):

• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a challenging situation / colleague

• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult colleague

• Tell me about a time you had a solve a difficult problem

• Tell me about a time you had to influence someone you didn’t have direct authority over

• Tell me what you learned from your last role

• Tell me about the last mistake you made and how you dealt with it

The best way to answer these is to use the STAR method. I’m sure most of you have heard of it but let’s do a quick example as if I were answering this question:

Situation. “The situation was the candidate we’d offered the role to initially accepted but then pulled out at the last minute to accept an offer elsewhere. We tried to convince them to stay but they had their mind made up.”

Task. “The task was for me to get another great candidate to accept our offer within two weeks.”

Action. “I reached out to my own network to see who they might know and gave them a strict timeline to follow (if indeed they could help). I spoke to the other recruiters in the company and asked them if they had any recommendations. I set up a sourcing project on LinkedIn Recruiter. I also checked our applications to see if any other highly-qualified candidates had applied. By the afternoon, I had 5 strong candidates in the process and had arranged calls with them either that evening or the next day. We got 3 of them to final interview by the end of the second week.

Result. “As a result of the above, we had 2 candidates that we knew could come in and do a great job as well as be great culture-add people. I arranged a ‘wash-up’ with the hiring manager and other interviewers so we could finalise who we’d be offering. I made the offer on Thursday evening and the candidate accepted on Friday.”

Why is this the best method to use? You’ll be able to get your point across clearly, which means the interviewer will understand you, which means you’ll begin to engender trust in them, which means you’ll get what you want out of the interview: another interview or an offer.

2. Ask questions based on the interview

What I’m really saying here is they actually listened.

It’s quite rare that someone listens to you. Think about it. When was the last time you felt really and truly heard? Isn’t it much more common that you tell a story you want other people to hear and then they don't really react the way you want and then just start telling their own story?

We all do it. No need to be embarrassed. And in better news, the fact we all do it is your opportunity to stand out.

It’s simple. You can say something like:

“Earlier in the interview, you mentioned [x]. Could you tell me more about that, please?”

That’s it. And if you need to make some notes during the interview in order to remember, do it.

Most candidates won’t do this because it’s actually pretty hard to listen. Especially an in interview situation where you’re often feeling nervous and trying to think about what to say; you can easily end up focussing on your own feelings and thoughts rather than what the person in front of you is saying. (Been there.)

Plus, listening isn’t just about impressing the interviewer. You’ll get more out of the interview if you actually listen and pay attention, rather than doing your best to impress.

Does this take practice? Yes. The good news is that you can practice this in literally every conversation you have, starting now. There’s also no downside to being a great listener. I’m not going to venture into relationship-therapist territory but being a great listener will help you in more than just interviews, that’s for sure.

3. Ask questions based on your research

First, always be prepared for the question, “What do you know about [company]?”

It’s almost definitely going to be asked. Perhaps more than once in the interview process. And when there are other candidates who, like you, are experienced, skilled, and have great attitudes, this very-easily-answered question could help to make a small difference. It’s a ‘control what you can control’ situation, and you can definitely control whether or not you do 15 minutes research on the company.

The next step is to, as the title suggests, ask questions based on that research.

This isn’t about ‘impressing’ the interviewer. You’re going to be spending 40 hours a week at this place. Don’t you want to know all that you can? And don’t you want to ask someone who actually works there to see how they answer?

Do they answer vaguely or specifically? Do they give examples or avoid them? Do they say ‘I don’t know but I’ll find out’ or do they make something up?

Here are some example questions to ask:

• On the company page, it says one of your values is [x]. Would you say the people in the company embody this?

• I saw in the news that [x]. Is there anything more you could tell me about that?

• I had a look at the glassdoor reviews and a trend I noticed is [x]. Would you say that’s true? And have you experienced that?

Ideally, they want to be questions that demonstrate you’ve done a bit of research and are also useful for you to hear the answers to.

Win win.

4. Be prepared for the ‘Tell me about yourself’ question

I know, I know. Not the best question. But I’d be lying if I said this question (or similar) didn’t come up in a lot of interviews. So rather than see it as an annoyance, let’s use it as an opportunity.

The key here is to remember the whole ‘self-interest’ thing. They don't really want you to tell them all about yourself; they want to hear that you’re potentially a great fit for the role and company.

You’re already having an interview, so there’s already some part of the interviewer that thinks you’d be a great fit. Help them confirm that.

If I were going for a new role as a Senior or Lead Recruiter, I’d probably say something like this:

“I started off as a data analyst, moved into L&D, and then got promoted into a Graduate Recruitment role. That was almost 10 years ago now and that was my first foray into recruitment.

“I freelanced for a bit and then ended up working in a startup in the US, leading on sales and recruitment. That was about 6 years ago. Then I returned home to the UK and joined a recruitment agency. I specialised in digital marketing and got promoted twice in two and a half years.

“I wanted to go internal and took a 9 month FTC at King. I was offered a perm role after a few months and now I’ve been at Activision Blizzard King for just over 2 years. I’ve hired over 100 people in that time across marketing, IT, cybersecurity, HR, strategy, and data science. I’ve worked on recruitment projects around the interview process, candidate experience, and DE&I. I’ve also developed somewhat of a ‘personal brand’ on LinkedIn, posting jobseeker tips a few times a week to just over 40,000 followers. I’m happy to answer any questions on any of that.”

As you can see, I haven’t gone off on weird tangents or into excruciating detail. If they want more detail, they can ask. I also haven’t given an answer which will take up 10 minutes of the interview. You want to keep this answer as short as possible while giving enough information to make them think, “They’re looking like they could be a great fit.”

It’s also a wonderful opportunity to show that you can communicate well. There’s no job in which communication isn’t important. Something to remember.

5. Have examples for (nearly) every point on the job description

No, you don’t need to have done everything on the job description. I’m sure you know that by now. But for the things you have done, you need an example. It’s going to look bad if you don’t. The interviewer might even doubt that you’ve done what’s on the job description, and you don’t want that. For your examples, use the STAR method.

You could also tie this into the above question.

“I started off as a data analyst, moved into L&D, and then got promoted into a Graduate Recruitment role. That was almost 10 years ago now and that was my first foray into recruitment.

“I freelanced for a bit and then ended up working in a startup in the US, leading on sales and recruitment. That was about 6 years ago. Then I returned home to the UK and joined a recruitment agency. I specialised in digital marketing and got promoted twice in two and a half years.

“I wanted to go internal and took a 9 month FTC at King. I was offered a perm role after a few months and now I’ve been at Activision Blizzard King for just over 2 years.

“I know you’re looking for someone who’s hired across marketing, HR, data, and other corporate-type roles - I’ve hired over 100 across those areas (as well as others).

“I know you’re looking for someone who’s worked on and led recruitment projects - I’ve worked on and led projects around interviewing, candidate experience, and DE&I.

“I also know you’re looking for someone who would be a brand ambassador for the company - since December 2022, I’ve been posting to jobseekers on LinkedIn and have grown to just over 40,000 followers, and I have a newsletter called How To Get A New Job which goes out weekly to over 1,000 people. I’m more than happy to answer any questions on any of that.”

Not only does that show you can do the job but that you actually know some of the specifics of this particular role.

I don’t know why more candidates don’t do this. Two birds with one stone and all that.

6. Be proactive throughout

This is probably what James Clear would call the ‘meta-habit’ of an interviewee.

The best interviewees don’t sit back and wait around. They play a part in moving the process forward.

In being a proactive interviewee, you ask me about the rest of the interviews and what they’re about. Who you’ll be speaking with, what you’ll be speaking with them about, what they want to see from you as a candidate, and how long the whole process should take.

The recruiter might not always know all the answers there and then but they can find out for you. If they do that and come back to you and you have all the above information, how much more effective would your interview prep be? Yes. It would be much more effective.

The proactive interviewee follows up after each interview. Not with a thank you note per se, but with a short email saying they enjoyed the interview and are looking forward to hearing the feedback. Why? Recruiters - and probably almost everyone on earth - appreciates good communication. I’d also say that almost everyone on earth rarely receives this good communication they crave. So, you know, be the person that gives it to them.

And hey, perhaps it’ll even make the recruiter advocate a little more for you. Perhaps it’ll even inspire the hiring manager to move things forward a bit quicker for you.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

*****

Q&A

1. I’ve seen a lot of talk about staying in touch with recruiters and how that can make a difference when you need to get a job. But, how does one connect with recruiters beyond just adding them to your contacts? Is it polite to just message them asking about jobs? Do people really just send messages to strangers asking about their day?

It depends on the relationship you have with them. If you’re talking about ‘staying in touch’ with them then I’ll assume you know them in some professional capacity. In that case, you could mention a news article that’s about their company or industry, you could mention a job at their company that you want to apply for, you could mention something about the content they’ve posted, or you could simply say something like, “Hey, how’s things? What’s new with you? No rush to reply but would love to hear from you.”

I would advise against messaging strangers to ask how their day was. It probably won’t get you anywhere. Better to focus your time and energy on sending thoughtful messages to people you already know.

2. When trying to switch industries, how do you make hiring managers take the 'gamble' on you vs the 'safe bet' with current industry experience? The biggest barrier to overcome is always the lack of direct experience, as you often miss out to someone who can 'hit the ground running'. I've lost out a number of times in the final round for nothing more than this very reason. It always feels like an uphill battle from the start and a hard challenge to overcome.

Lots of you are asking this question. I want to do a whole newsletter on this at some point soon.

The issue right now is when there are so many highly-qualified candidates in the market a hiring manager is very, very unlikely to take a ‘gamble’ on you. (They’re fairly unlikely to take a ‘gamble’ on you at any point. Gambling is a poor business strategy.)

Trying to switch industries (not to mention roles) is probably always going to feel like an uphill battle and a hard challenge to overcome. So, the fact you recognise this is a great start. And, as a reminder, something being an uphill battle and challenge to overcome does not mean it’s impossible. Not even close. It just might mean you need to practice your patience and persistence.

You’re getting to final-round interviews. That’s a huge achievement, even when it doesn’t feel like it. It’s an even bigger achievement when you’re switching industries. Remember that.

What you need to do is convince the hiring manager to trust that your lack of industry experience isn’t a dealbreaker. Or even that it could be an advantage. Perhaps your lack of industry experience will allow you to come up with more creative ideas, or perhaps it will allow the hiring manager to teach you about the industry in a way they know will be more effective.

Here are a couple ways in which you can engender this type of trust in a hiring manager:

• Speak to hiring managers in that industry and ask what would make them feel comfortable hiring someone who was changing industry. To do this, first ask your current network if they know hiring managers you can speak with.

  • After that, connect with potential hiring managers and recruiters in that industry on LinkedIn and send them a very simple message. “Hi [name]. Big fan of [company] and I’d love to be able to work for them someday. I was hoping I could get your advice on something: as a hiring manager / recruiter, what would make you comfortable hiring someone from a different industry? No rush to reply. Thank you!”

• Research the industry and compare it to your own. Not only will that allow you to understand the differences better but it will let the hiring manager know that, yes, you might lack in industry experience, but you’re willing to do the work to get up to speed.

  • It also shows a level of humility; yes, it’s your dream industry, but you’re still aware you don’t know everything about it and you’re not afraid to say that.

3. I would love to know more about job searching while you have a job. For me, and likely others, it is to get into a “dream job,” but it could also be to grow into a more senior role or a myriad of other reasons. This would involve mostly networking I am betting, maybe a few choice applications, but what else? Other than the urgency, how do you see this compared to when you do NOT have a job?

Probably the biggest obstacle here is complacency. Tim Ferris said it best: “Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.”

Even if you’re not particularly happy in your current role, it can be difficult to get yourself to look for another. When you’re not working and looking for a new job, that’s not usually a problem. But when you’re in a job and you have a level of security, of certainty, you have to fight against human nature a little bit to dedicate your time and energy to finding a new job - even if it’s in your dream industry or a role that pays more.

The fact there’s no time or money-related pressure can work for you or against you. It can work for you in that you can be very selective about the moves you make or it can work against you in that you keep putting it off and off until years have gone by and you’re in the same position you are now.

Make it work for you.

And yes, you’re right. Networking is as important as ever. As always, start with your current network. It’s a great excuse to re-connect with a few people and, again, as you’re not under any actual time or money-pressure then you can just keep it casual and make sure you’re also thinking of ways you could help them rather than just wanting them to help you.

And in case you think networking won’t work for you because you’re quite senior and headhunters often seek you out for your next role, I’ve had numerous messages over the past week from senior managers and directors saying they’re now getting interviews for new, exciting roles simply because they reached out to their current network to re-connect.

Let that be your sign to do it yourself.

*****

In Conclusion

Thank you for reading. I appreciate it as much as Kel appreciated orange soda.

I’d love to ask you for the following: what’s the one thing you’ll be taking from this edition of the newsletter? Please hit reply and let me know.

Cheers!

PS If you’re new here, please click here to read the past editions.

PPS I finally read George Orwell’s 1984 while on holiday last week. Phenomenal. And terrifying.

PPPS I no longer know how to not do multiple PSs.