Interview Skills: What Really Matters to Interviewers?

Posted on 29 October 2007

In my final year of business school I remember being inundated with a lot of pre-interview advice and prep materials from my professors and from the feel-good folks at the career center. In retrospect I think a lot of it was supposed to serve as some sort of scare tactic - Prepare-them-for-the-worst kind of stuff. My favorite prep sheet was a grandiose list of questions you could be asked like If You Had To Move Mount Fuji, How Would You Do It? and What are 10 ways to use a pencil other than writing? While I’ve heard of people being stun-gunned with ridiculous questions like “What’s 1300 divided by 17″ in interviews, in a real-life situation, being on the other end of a question like that would make me curious about the real motivations of the interviewer. Should you really expect obscure test-your-mental-agility type questions in most interviews? The answer is no, and here’s a few reasons why.

Interviewers deep down are all looking for the same thing - a good fit. It doesn’t matter how democratic and egalitarian the interview process seems on the surface, and it doesn’t matter whether the job requires knowledge of quantum physics or basic domestic skills. Interviews are all about the interviewer finding answers to very basic (but fundamentally important) questions they have. When time’s limited, most interviewers are more likely to focus on using that time to make you as comfortable as possible so they can constructively collect data around their greatest concern areas, rather than testing to see if your brain can do the can-can. Effective hiring is about building a community of people who all work well together, interviewers are human, and the job doesn’t always go to the person who’s most qualified. That said, here are some of the big issues on most interviewers’ minds:

Does this person have the skills necessary to perform well? (or at least be able to learn quickly)

If you’ve gotten a face-to-face interview, someone thinks you’re qualified enough to at least take a shot on. Find confidence in that fact alone. Make sure to highlight how your skills and past experiences relate to the job you’re trying to get. Try and be direct but subtle - giving the impression that you’ve got an ego can turn off an interviewer quickly. No one wants to work with someone who thinks he’s God’s gift.

Is this person self-motivated enough to pull their own weight, be proactive and work independently?

Huge. Everyone wants to work less, even workaholics - if people are afraid at all that you’re going to be a burden on the team and the budget, you can kiss the job goodbye. I’ll usually scan the person’s resume for evidence of going above and beyond the call of duty in some aspect of their lives - whether in a work setting or otherwise - and then follow up with some questions about what the person does in their free time, which is a great litmus test. If the person can show that they are active, energetic and that they use their free time productively it’s a big plus.

Is this person going to get along well with the team and be fun to work with?

This one might be the most important of all, and it’s a pit-fall for many interviewees - I’ve seen tons of well qualified people never get a call back at my firm just because we work in teams in tight quarters for LONG periods of time, and one of the team of interviewers thought that the person would be a drag to be in close quarters with for extended periods of time. Do whatever you’ve got to do be awake and vibrant when you show up to the interview - people want to see energy and a positive attitude.

Does this person really want to be here?

It is shocking how many people I interview that don’t have a clue what they’re really interviewing for. It sends up an immediate red flag. There’s only so much preparation you can do for any interview, but if you don’t know what the business is, at least at a high level, it shows that you didn’t even care enough to do a Google search. People who can answer this question for an interviewer well, and with confidence will always shine and be memorable. You should be able to send a clear message that you’ve made a well calculated decision by showing up to the interview - that you’re there for good reasons. It’s a good idea to come up with a set of good probing questions about what it’s like to work at the job you’re interviewing for, what the team is like, what the work-life balance is going to be. Not only does it show that you’re giving the opportunity some thorough, balanced consideration, asking questions and keeping an interviewer talking will only reflect well on you.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Answer the fundamental questions for yourself, before you step into the interview - Do you really want this job at all? How are the new responsibilities you’ll have to take on going to affect your lifestyle, free time and happiness? Do you want this to be a short term or long term gig? Are you looking for a way to just pay your bills, or is this new opportunity going to open up doors for you and build your skill set? Chances are, giving yourself time to answer these questions yourself on your own will not only allow you to deliver clear, well articulated answers when you eventually get into the interview…it’ll allow you to be confident that you’re in the right place once you’re there - and it’ll show, which is half the battle.