Effective Interviewing

The Global Services Career Center

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About This eBook

Effective Interviewing is brought to you by the EMC Global Services Career Center (EMC

Internal).

This ebook was created on November 11, 2009. To check for new versions, and to download

podcasts, templates and more, visit http://one.emc.com/clearspace/docs/DOC-17536.

About the Author

This ebook was written by Chris Ferdinandi. Chris is an HR professional at EMC, and manages

the GS Career Center on EMC|One.

Photo Credits

Photos in this ebook were provided by:

Fotolia

JaeWALK

Foshie

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Effective Interviewing

Several years ago, I applied for a job at a sporting apparel organization. They sold sneakers,

athletic shorts, and things like that. At the time, it was a dream job.

I got called in for an interview with two recruiters. After the first few questions, I could already

tell the interview was going great. The conversation was natural.

By the fourth question, though, things started to change. The first recruiter asked me a

question, and when after I was only a few words into answering, the second recruiter cut me

off to ask another question.

I got nervous. I lost my train of thought.

What happened to the natural, conversational interview we were just happening? Then it hit

me. Good Cop/Bad Cop. This continued for the next 30 minutes.

We regret to inform you

The interview had started off great, but by the end, I felt like completely defeated.

I wasnt all that surprised when a few days later I received one of those, We regret to inform

you phone calls telling me I hadnt gotten the job.

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Ive learned a lot since that interview, and I want to share what I know about effective

interviewing with you.

I cant guarantee youll never have another tough interview. In fact, Im certain that you at

some point in your career, you will.

What I can do, though, is give you the tools to deal with these types of interviews more

effectively when they happen.

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What are employers looking for?

Employers are generally looking for two things during the interview process.

Obviously, they want to make sure you have the right knowledge, skills and abilities to do the

job. But they also want to make sure that you will be a good cultural fit with the team and the

organization.

What types of questions do interviewers ask?

There are many different questions a recruiter or hiring manager may ask during an interview,

but they all generally fall into one of three categories:

Yes/No. Do you have this experience with Excel? Have you ever built widgets before? A

yes/no question can literally be answered with a yes or no.

Situational. With a situational interview question, the interviewer asks you how you

would respond if you were in a hypothetical situation. What would you do if the widget

press broke the day before a big shipment was due?

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Behavioral. A behavioral interview question is a lot like a situational question, except

that the interview asks you to talk about a situation youve actually be in. Tell me about

a time when you had to make widgets under a tight deadline.

The STAR Method

Regardless of the type of question asked, one of the best and easiest ways to answer an

interview question is with the STAR Method. STAR is an acronym:

Situation

Task

Action

Result

When answering an interview question with the STAR

Method, you would first identify a situation or task you

were involved in, then describe the actions you took, and finally, explain the result of those

actions.

Lets look at some examples of interview questions and how you might answer them.

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Tell me about yourself?

This is a very common interview question. A typical answer might look something like this:

Im from Vermont but I went to school in Boston. I graduated with a degree in

business, and have been working at Non-Profit Org as a marketing associate.

I like sports and my favorite food is pasta. Id like to continue working in marketing.

You might not necessarily mention that your favorite food is pasta, but most people who

answer this question include a mix of their work/education background and personal interests.

Heres a better answer using the STAR Method:

Im a marketing professional with a degree in business. For the last two years, Ive

been working at Non-Profit Org as a marketing associate. Im responsible for

marketing and event planning for our fundraising activities.

I created a marketing plan for our annual fundraiser, which had net earnings of

over $35,000. I really enjoyed the experience, and am excited about continuing my

career in marketing.

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In the second example, the individual mentioned a situation or task they were recently

involved in, what they did, and what the result was.

This question is a great opportunity to start the interview by highlighting why you have the

right skills for the job.

Do you have experience with Microsoft Excel?

Many interviewers will ask you yes/no questions around some of the required skills of the job.

If you have experience with Excel, you may be tempted to answer this question by simply

saying, Yes.

Heres a better answer using the STAR Method:

Yes. For my role as a marketing associate, I used Excel to analyze the ROI of our

various marketing strategies.

I sorted data into various categories, and created charts, graphs and tables to help

more clearly communicate my findings.

My analysis was used to help improve our strategy the following year.

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Again you can see that the person being interviewed talked about a situation or task where

they used Excel, explained how they used it, and then showed how they added value to the

business by talking about the results of their actions.

This is great if you have the experience or skill the interviewer is looking for, but how would

you answer this question if you didnt have experience with Excel?

Many people who find themselves in this kind of situation simply reply, No. You can still use

the STAR Method to answer this question, though:

Im not very familiar with Excel, but I do have experience using the other Microsoft

Office programs, such as PowerPoint. In my role as a marketing associate, I

compiled detailed presentations for my work group.

Im very comfortable with computers in general, and am confident I could quickly

learn how to use the program. Let me tell you about a time when I had to learn how

to use a new piece of technology for work

What you want to do is make the interviewer feel comfortable that even if you dont have a

particular skill, you could learn it quickly. If youve been in a situation in the past where you

had to learn to do something new, use the STAR Method to talk about it as part of your

answer.

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Tell me about a time when you had to speak in front of a large group.

Behavioral interview questions are generally asked in this format: Tell me about a time when

A typical answer to this question might be:

Last year I gave a presentation to my work group on marketing through social

media.

Instead of just summarizing the experience, provide a more rich and detailed answer using the

STAR Method:

Last year I gave a presentation to my work group on marketing through social

media.

After researching the topic, I created a presentation using PowerPoint about my

findings, and presented to a group of about 25 people.

My coworkers learned how to use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and

Blogs to reach and interact with consumers.

Remember, identify a situation or task you were involved, explain what actions you took, and

then provide the results of those actions.

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Preparation

Here are some tips to help you better prepare for your next interview.

Know Yourself

The best way to prepare for an interview is to simply have a great understanding of your work

history and how your skills and experience align with the job youre applying for.

Before going in for an interview, review your resume and the job description thoroughly, and

make sure that identify where your skills and the needs of the job overlap.

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Research the Organization

Visit the organizations website. Learn what they do and how they do it. Check out recent

news articles and make sure you know about any important recent events.

The more you know about the business youre going to be working for, the easier it will be for

you to explain how you can add value to the organization. Try to bring up some of the stuff

you find out in a casual way during the course of the interview.

Take Notes

Every time you go for an interview, take notes on what you did well and where you need work.

Make sure you work on improving areas where you didnt do so well.

Practice

Get a friend to ask you interview questions so you can practice answering them. If you cant

get a friend to help you, practice by yourself.

You can find a list of common interview questions at

http://one.emc.com/clearspace/docs/DOC-17536.

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Cultural Fit

Humans do a really great at communicating with words. We talk. We sing. We read and write

countless volumes of books.

Amazingly, though, researchers have found at about 70 percent of communication occurs

non-verbally.

What you say is important, but so is what you do.

What chimps can teach you about interviewing

I have a degree in anthropology. As part of my

program, I took a few courses on the behavior of

apes and monkeys.

If you ever watch chimps interact, youll notice that

they do a lock of mimicking. One chimp will make a

face, and the chimp shes looking at will make the

same face back at her.

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Interestingly, humans actually do the same thing. Next time youre walking down the hall,

smile at the people you pass. Most of the time, theyll involuntarily smile back at you.

Why is that? Researchers have found that you dont just smile when youre happy. In fact,

smiling actually makes you happy.

So when you smile at someone and they smile back, youre communicating the emotion of

happiness without speaking. Similarly, when one chimp makes a face and another chimp

makes that face back, theyre having a conversation.

This can help you be more successful during the interview process.

Smile during an interview

This has two benefits. First, smiling for extended periods will make you happier. You may find

yourself more relaxed and comfortable during the interview process.

Additionally, if you smile a lot, theres a good chance the person interviewing you will smile a

lot, too. Eventually, theyll start to feel happy being around you, though they probably wont

realize why.

If someones trying to decide if youll be a good cultural fit, making them feel about being

around is probably a good thing!

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Sit up straight

Non-verbal communication isnt just limited to facial expressions. Maintaining good posture

conveys confidence.

Sit-up straight during your interview to feel more confidence, and to project confidence to the

person whos interviewing you.

Make eye contact (sometimes)

In North America, making eye contact is seen as a sign of confidence as well. This isnt the case

in all countries, though.

If youre interviewing in a country outside of the US, Mexico and Canada, make sure you check

the local customs before trying any of these non-verbal communication tips.

Give a firm handshake

Much like good posture and eye contact, a firm handshake is often considered a sign of

confidence.

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It may not have anything to do with your ability to actually do the job or fit in with the team,

but like many non-verbal communication cues, people may make subconscious decisions

based on it.

Dress the part

The rule of thumb is to dress one level up from how people dress where youre interviewing. If

they wear jeans and polo shirts, wear a button-down with a tie. If they wear dress shirts and

slacks, wear a suit.

You should dress for an interview if youre just doing a phone screen. The way you dress can

have a subtle impact on how you carry yourself and answer questions.

Dont be late

Give yourself at least a 20-minute buffer in case you get a flat tire, trains are delayed or theres

a bad accident on the highway. If you get there really early, wait in the car until five minutes

before the interview.

It can make recruiters uncomfortable to leave candidates sitting in the lobby for long periods

of time.

For phone screens, be ready and at your desk at least five minutes ahead of time.

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Ditch the cell phone

If youre going for an in-person interview, obviously make sure your phone is off or on silent. I

also recommend that if at all possible, you use a landline instead of a cell phone for phone

interviews.

Aside from the obvious stuff like dropped calls or bad signal, theres another reason to ditch

the cell phone: They produce a slight lag.

As a result, it often gives the person on the other line the impression that you keep cutting

them off and talking over them, even though you may not realize it.

Take notes

Taking notes during an interview makes you appear more engaged. Make sure you dont

spend the whole time hunched over your notebook writing, but do jot down questions or

important information for later.

Another trick I like to use is to write a few bullet points in the corner of my notebook about

some recent experiences Ive had that align really well with the job Im interviewing for. Then

if I get nervous during the interview, I can look down and quickly remember a few things I

could talk about.

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In Sum

The STAR Method. Identify the situation or task you were involved in, explain the

actions that you talk, and mention what the result of those actions was.

70 percent of communication is non-verbal. Smile during the interview, sit-up straight,

make eye-contact (sometimes), and give a firm handshake. Dress the part, make sure

you show up early, and ditch the cell phone.