Being interviewed is nerve racking for most people or possibly exciting for a lucky few. You may have done research on the company you are meeting and even got to know your career history to date a little more intimately. But you are stepping into an arena of unknown questions and surprises which may affect the chances of being hired.
It can be tough for your interviewer too.
However though on home ground your interviewer also has a formidable task. They are likely to be confronted by a stream of facts – some relating to yourself some relating to the environment in which you have most recently worked and probably still do. They will have to understand, digest and relate each item and understand how that will make you suitable for the vacancy in their company. Bearing in mind that multi-tasking is now widely understood to be impossible the interviewer has a demanding task .
Make it easier for your interviewer and become more employable…
The mind automatically sorts information into distinctive (often pyramidical) groups to better understand it. We also understand that the mind more easily comprehends complex information if it is pre-sorted. Therefore if you are able to present information about yourself in a pre-sorted manner that is easy for your interviewer to comprehend you are likely to become more attractive as an employee. They are able to spend more time understanding your contribution rather than spending their mental energy sorting the different components.
An example…..
Say you are being interviewed for a Sales Director position. After some social chat probably about the weather or your journey you may be asked “Tell me about yourself”. Or “Run through your CV for me”.
A reply could be “Perhaps I could explain how we grew sales by 10% at my current company”.
In responding like this you have: firstly established in the interviewers mind the apex of the pyramid or what the ‘story’ is about; secondly you are showing your interviewer respect by checking you are talking about an area in which they are interested and thirdly by breaking the conversation into parts you are keeping them engaged.
Assuming you get the go ahead you may respond as follows. “Since arriving with ACME & co I have prioritised 3 areas which I believe have helped. Firstly I have re-motivated the sales force, secondly we’ve had a look at our customer service and thirdly worked on the relationship between sales and operations. Would you like to hear about any of these in more detail”.
And so the conversation goes on as any or all of these 3 areas may be broken down into similar pyramids. Explaining how you tackled each problem highlighting any skills or competences that enabled your achievment.
Obviously this is contrived and 2 dimensional but I think the principle is clear. By providing pyramids or threads for your interviewer to follow you are likely to make yourself easier to understand and the impact you had much clearer.
Interviews can be daunting but much can be done to improve your chances of success. If you are interested contact me on 07802 238697 or email me on ricbandrews@gmail.com
