An interview with an expert interviewer
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
Through my coaching, I’ve been helping people prepare for high-stakes meetings, and I started to wonder about all the jobseekers currently doing online job interviews. Pretty high-stakes! I reached out to my dear friend Maya, a recruiter for a biotech company, to get her perspective on interviewing in 2020.
Crispin:
Okay, so I wrote some questions, which I neglected to open before I turned on the Zoom. I guess, lesson one, be ready for your interview.
Maya:
Which is one of my pieces of advice. Be ready.
Crispin:
Note taken! So, what's changed about your recruiting process in 2020?
Maya:
Interviewing solely by phone or video is a huge change for me and I suspect that's true for a lot of recruiters. The fact that you don't get to meet people in person before hiring them is a big challenge for hiring managers. I think video interviews are actually quite cool myself, but I know a lot of the hiring managers are kind of panicky about it. In my company, we're hiring quite a bit, so we've got to keep the ball rolling. You adapt.
Crispin:
Do you do any phone interviews anymore or is it all video?
Maya:
Every initial screen I continue to do on the phone. I want to minimize the amount of bias I have as much as possible, and that's one way I can maintain that. That hasn't changed.
Crispin:
Does video somehow add a level of bias that interviewing in person wouldn't?
Maya:
I think they're equal. Bias is an issue, but it's actually a little bit in reverse now because we want some biases to be noticed and we want to bring them to the surface. Companies want to do right, I think, for the most part.
Interviewing by video, you do have a lot more unique conversations because you do get a slice of someone's world.
Crispin:
Can you get to know somebody more easily?
Maya:
In a way. And you're not distracted by all the movements and leg crossing. I'm looking at you, but it's just this one channel. It feels like it's more discussion-based then behavioral. I'll never know if they have sweaty palms. And I'm excited about that.
Crispin:
That wouldn't have occurred to me, that maybe some triggers for bias are removed in this new medium.
Maya:
They say that many hiring decisions are made within five minutes of meeting a candidate and yet we spend hours interviewing. So what does that mean? It means we have a lot of bias built in that shuts things off real quickly -- or on! For example, if you like what I like, I'm more inclined to hire you. This is the research. If you say nice things about me, when you walk into an interview, you might set something off in me that puts you ahead of other candidates.
Crispin:
Are there things that people are doing over video that you wish they would do differently?
Maya:
I do think people need to prepare equally for it as if it were in person. I think sometimes there’s a little backing off of that preparation. Because you're not having to get up and out of your chair or thinking about whether you're getting somewhere on time, things may have become a little bit more relaxed.
At the same time, I think people can be less formal. I don't think you necessarily need to come in a suit to this interview, but you should look more put together, ready for an interview. I actually did interview somebody that was, like, really laid back in their chair. I thought, okay, they've gone a little too far down the relaxed path.
And by the way, I'm not really caught up in eye contact. It's a bias we have that eye contact somehow makes you a better communicator or worker, which is not necessarily true. So I don't get too caught up in that.
Crispin:
What other things have been coming up in this new universe?
Maya:
It's important to pay attention to your surroundings. Sometimes things are a little in disarray, you know, which might lead someone interviewing to think that that’s how they might actually manage their work.
Crispin:
Or their mind.
Maya:
Also, we all need to prepare for technical glitches. No technology is perfect. But things happen even during the calls, internet goes out, the kid runs by, whatever. It's okay. And don’t get too far out of whack as a result of it. Just get to, how can we proceed? Have a back pocket plan. I don't think people should feel the world crumbling around them. It happens on both ends. So, if something happens, that's an opportunity to see how someone responds to challenges.
Crispin:
Have you ever turned off the internet just to see how someone responds? Just kidding! Any other things you want to tell applicants?
Maya:
I can't stress enough being prepared. There's so much information on the types of questions that interviewers ask, but a lot of it's just being prepared to give examples of things you’ve accomplished and dealt with. So look back into your history of work, think about successes, failures, good and bad learnings... Be prepared to give examples of what you've done and talk about your accomplishments. I think this is fairly well known, but I do see people getting stuck on this.
You want to make sure that the main points are driven home. If I say, give me an example of when you successfully completed a project, then by the end I should know what the project was, what your role was in it, what tools you use to get it done and learnings from it. Maybe that's a reverse engineering approach. Just make sure those main points are covered.
Crispin:
How else can people prepare answers?
Maya:
A big one for me is preparing questions. I think that it's important that you think about, for each person you're interviewing with, what your relationship is to them in the role and ask questions about that. You can ask several interviewers the same question. Sometimes people will say, well, I've already asked everyone else all my questions or I don't have any questions. This is not lightweight. It shows preparation, it shows curiosity.
Crispin:
How about questions you love to answer?
Maya:
I love that question. Actually, I do really appreciate it when people say, why did you go to your company? What drew you in? Have you been able to grow and develop? Because it's much easier for me to answer. It's my experience. I don't have to say some company line. I like the personal touch and my answer to that type of question is going to be a lot more meaningful to them. I think that's a nice touch that can help you gain rapport and trust with an interviewer.
Crispin:
Right. Yeah.
Maya:
Oh, one other thing is make sure you're paying attention to your airtime.
Crispin:
How do people know how long to talk for? I was just thinking about the pacing.
Maya:
I do a 30 minute interview and I typically have three to four questions. I ask a topline question and then I go in for the details. I go where they take me. There are some long-winded types and it can be painful. At that point they’re not recognizing there's another person involved. You know, a simple way to check your airtime, if you tend to be a talker, is to say, am I answering your question? I think if they check in, that's probably a good tip so they can gauge and show self-awareness.
Crispin:
I think that’s just an elemental part of interviews that you're never going to say everything that you could say.
Maya:
That's true. Yeah. And that's okay. That's okay.
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I’m so grateful to Maya for taking the time to talk with me. She’s a good egg and I’m happy she is helping people find their perfect jobs. Thanks Maya!
I think everything that Maya talked about offers good news. We can prepare questions and answers, and we can rehearse. We have control over our interview-from-home environments. We can learn how to be more fluid when technology or life cause interruptions. And interviewers want to get to know you!
Are you interested in creating a rehearsal and performance plan to support you in your job search? Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.
