Be Correctly Prepared

HEADNOTE

Interview styles are changing-and so should your technique.

Over the last 20 years employers have changed their interviewing techniques because what they heard often did not match what they got after hiring.

"Employers were hiring the best talkers and not the best 'doers,'" says Arlene S. Hirsch of Hirsch & Associates, a career and psychological counseling firm in Chicago, 111., USA. She is also the author of Job Search and Career Checklist: 101 Proven Time-Saving Checklists To Organize And Plan Your Career Search [Jist, 2005].

Interviews have evolved into three major types: behavioral, panel and case. Each requires specific answers to general questions, and your preparation for each must evolve as well.

The Behavioral interview

Behavioral interviews "are based on the assumption that past behavior is the best predictor of future success," Ms. Hirsch says.

A behavioral interview uses general, open-ended questions that ask you to recall a situation and explain your response. "These are designed to get at the specific accomplishments," she says. The questions will have general themes like success and failure, and focus on topics such as persuasion, conflict management and interpersonal relations.

Prepare by reviewing your rsum and creating a story around selected accomplishments. Each should have a beginning (a restatement of the problem), a middle (the actions you took) and an end (the result). Use a variety of examples when answering, including ones from volunteer work and hobbies. Most examples, however, should be related to your job and drawn from the last six months. You should be able to tell these stories in about two minutes, the general standard for any interview answer.

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Each story should have a positive ending-even if you get a negative question, such as, "Tell me about a time you tried something and failed." State what you learned from it and how you'd act differently if faced with a similar situation.

The Panel Interview

Employers have accelerated the behavioral interview by having multiple people question a single candidate. Ms. Hirsch cites two reasons for the growing popularity of panel interviews. "The job may require multiple priorities and demands, and you are actually demonstrating them," she says. It's also faster and allows for greater participation-and acceptance-of a candidate.

Use stories in a panel interview but "don't assume who is and is not important," Ms. Hirsch says. "Answer the person who asked the question and interact with them. It's tricky if someone else asks a question at the same time. Say, Td be happy to answer but if you don't mind, I'd like to answer this other question first.'"

Prepare for a panel interview by roleplaying with friends or family who ask several questions at once. If that isn't possible, recite your answers aloud and reply to an imaginary interruption or additional question with a tactful response. Be ready for follow-up questions, such as "What's the status of that project now?" or "What would you do differently?"

The case Interview

A case interview requires you to analyze a business problem, identifying the key issues and determining how you would address them. "These are hypothetical situations designed to see how you would approach a future situation," Ms. Hirsch says.

This kind of interview allows an employer to see a candidate's way of thinking. "These are really hard to fake," Ms. Hirsch says. "You can't fake doing your job."

The key is the approach. You are not expected to come up with the answer. However, you should be able to define the problem and explain your process for solving it: with whom you would talk, what information you would seek, and how you would organize and use that data.

The Quintessential Careers Web site has a list of case interview resources (www.quintcareers.com/case_interview_ resources.html). It includes sites with interactive cases and practice questions, and lists reference books on case interviews.

It's no longer sufficient to know a few company facts and your strengths and weaknesses before you interview. The old adage, "Be prepared," needs to evolve to "Be correctly prepared."

AUTHOR_AFFILIATION

BY JOHN SULLIVAN, PMP

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John Sullivan, PMP, is an IT project manager and writer in Dayton, Ohio, USA.