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The Interview... Making a Sales Call and Demonstrating the Product

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Face it. When you go to an interview, a purchase decision is being made. The employer is seeing you and others to determine who she'll acquire and who she won't.

Chances are she's read your resume, which you or a recruiter sent her. Now a salesman is coming over with the actual product. Get ready. She won't just look at the paint job and kick the tires. She'll take a test drive!

You're the salesman. And you're also the product,



Moreover, because it's an interview...not just a social call...your host has permission to probe deeply. She can ask tougher and more personal questions than she'd ask at any other time. And she can examine your analysis and strategy in solving business problems...yours and hers...far more frankly than she would under any other circumstances.

You've got to be prepared for a really penetrating inquiry, if your interviewer takes that approach. If she doesn't, you've got to reveal yourself to her. And if the interview fails to display your merits, that's your problem, not hers.

Ideally, your potential employer will wind up wanting to buy the car...or at least to drive it again, after she's seen and tried some others. If so, you'll be offered the job...or at least invited back for another round of interviews.

In the end, you may decide that this employer and her opportunity are not for you. But what you and I will work on in this chapter is making sure that she doesn't conclude you* re not for her.
  1. as a fine person, and

  2. as someone obviously able to do the job.
Your behavior and appearance will be scrutinized far more critically when you show up for an interview, than on any ordinary work day in the next ten years.

The person who's thinking of hiring you wants to be sure that you're someone he'll enjoy working with. And also someone who can walk around inside and outside the organization as a favorable reflection on the company and on him. Only if he's satisfied on these "fine person" points, will he concern himself with whether he thinks you can handle the job, as indicated by your experience and track record. He's hoping to find you:
  • Intelligent, and also "street smart," with abundant common sense;

  • Analytical, logical, goal-oriented, and a planner;

  • A skilled communicator...good at listening, speaking, and writing;

  • Unmistakably a leader...but also a "team player," cooperative, and congenial;

  • Healthful, attractive, and well groomed;

  • Tasteful in dress and decorum;

  • Poised, courteous, and cultured;

  • Sensitive to the feelings of others...not pushy, pig-headed, or obnoxious;

  • Honest, loyal, and straightforward;

  • Politically aware, but not a political operator;

  • Committed, responsible, and diligent;

  • Cheerful and optimistic, with a "can do" attitude;
And overall, an interesting person, with curiosity, enthusiasm...and maybe even a sense of humor!

Virtually all of the attributes listed above will help you to do the job, once you land it. And in interviewing to get the job, don't underestimate the seemingly superficial aspects that are more "image" than "essence." Appearance and behavior are first to be noticed. And if they're deficient, you may flunk the "fine person" test, even though you score plenty of "but-he-could-probably-do-the-job" points.

That's why I included those tips on "buffing-to-a-rich-luster" at the end of Chapter 14. You probably didn't need them. But some readers did. And interviewing is the time of maximum scrutiny, and therefore greatest need. For that reason, this chapter is just as concerned with interviewing behavior as with answering questions. At the end I've even included a "flight plan" for your interview.

But for now, let's forget "image," and go straight to "essence." This is a sales call. And, like any other salesperson, you've got to deliver enough persuasive information to convince the prospect that your product can do the job.

Interviewing is a difficult form of selling for two reasons:
  1. It's a "package deal," where the salesperson comes with the product; and

  2. The customer, not the salesperson, controls the unfolding of the sales presentation.
Ordinarily a customer can take the product, and leave the salesperson. Unfortunately, you're a "package deal." Therefore you must sell with great finesse. Much as you'd like to, you can't just make a well-organized presentation, and afterward deal with questions and objections.

The interview is a unique ritual drama, in which a sales call is played as if it's a social call.

Which it's not. One of the two parties is totally in command. He's the buyer. He's the decision-maker at the end. And he's in charge all along the way. By controlling the use of time and the choice of topic in a Q-and-A format, he determines which features are brought up, and in what order, and how thoroughly or superficially each one is discussed.

And the fact that your sociability is part of what's being sold prevents you from saying what a regular salesperson would say:

Politeness, modesty, loyalty, confidentiality. You must display these and many other attributes, because you're "the product." Unfortunately, having to do so handicaps your sales presentation.

The first principle of interview salesmanship: forgo the monologue ...at the outset, and all the way to the end.

Because the format of the interview is ritualistically conversational, you can't give a too-long answer to any question. You can't sell yourself as socially-polished, if you monopolize the conversation.

So don't use any question...no matter how broad...as a springboard for a monologue. Instead, give a concise answer that hits the highlights in clear and specific terms, including numbers ("a little under $5 million in sales and about 150 employees") and approximate dates ("as I recall, that was in late '78").

Don't ever talk longer than one or two minutes. Finished or not, wind up your sentence, shut your mouth, and look at your interviewer to see if she wants more on the same topic or would rather switch to something else. If she wants elaboration, she'll say so. What's more, she'll point you in the right direction:

"Interesting, and I certainly agree with your strategy. But when we tried something along those lines, we ran into trouble with the unions. How'd you make out on that score?"

Now you've got her eating out of your hand! How much better than if you'd bored her with a full explanation before "coming up for air."

Learn "newspaper style."

Written and oral, it will make you an outstanding communicator. ...And it's a lifesaver in the interview format.

Do me a favor. Next time you pick up a newspaper, notice the way every item is written:
  1. The headline sums up the article.

  2. The first paragraph lays out the entire story.

  3. The first sentence of every paragraph tells what the whole paragraph is about.

  4. And the major facts of every story always come earliest. Lesser, more detailed points come later, and the most trivial are at the end.
There's good reason for this "big-picture"-first format. It allows you, the reader, to get what you want out of the paper very quickly and efficiently. You can stop reading any article after a paragraph or two and still know the gist of the story. And when an article really interests you, you can dig deeper and deeper into the details, by reading further.

See the analogy to what you're trying to achieve in an interview? Just like you reading the paper, your interviewer always has the prerogative to dig deeper, or switch to a different topic. You can drop any article after just a headline or a paragraph. And he can divert you to a different subject, just by asking another question.

Therefore, all of your answers must be organized in "newspaper style." You've got to state your main point in the first sentence or two of each answer. You can't wallow in detail, "setting the stage" for your main point. Because if you do, a new question may cut you off before you get to your main point. Then you'll appear petty, illogical, and detail-oriented...even if you're not.

Surprisingly few people...even senior executives...have learned what their newspapers show them every day. Study and master newspaper style. Use it orally and in writing. Every bit of your business communication will improve...not just interviews, but memos and presentations, too.

Just because you can't deliver a salesman's monologue is no reason not to prepare one.

Analyze your product and your customer's needs, and develop the sales message you wish you could deliver in a 15-minute monologue. Then divide it into brief topical capsules. Believe it or not, almost every interviewer... no matter how inept...will ask questions that allow you to present everything you have clearly in mind.

That's right. The questions you receive will relate to what you want to say, if you know what you want to say. That's because your interviewer really does want to find out how your background and achievements fit his needs, and how they guarantee you'll perform as well for him as you have for others.

Fundamentally, he wants to hear what you want to communicate. Not necessarily, however, in the order you'd like to present it. And, of course, with more attention devoted to your failures and gaps in background than you'd prefer.

So prepare as if you could deliver a salesperson's monologue. If you've figured out what you should present, then you'll hear it asked for. And when each "appropriate" query comes along, you can drop in the right one or two-minute capsule. Unprepared, you'd have found those same questions "irrelevant," and "not leading anywhere." But knowing where the conversation should be going, you'll more readily see the interviewer's questions as a path to get there.

How often have you been asked a question in an important meeting and given a "so-so" answer, only to realize afterward that you had a perfect opening to say something really favorable? That's an experience we all have almost every day. Prepare yourself. Don't let it happen in a potentially career-making job interview.

The possibilities are endless...too many to discuss.

But almost all such zingers aim for a relatively few slips and wrong answers. Those I can identify for you.

As I said before, your interviewer is on your side. She wants to find out that you are the person she's looking for. If so, her staffing problem is solved. But if you're not as good as you appear to be, hiring you could cause far more difficulty than it resolves.

Therefore, she'll ask lots of questions aimed at revealing your flaws. Even your answers to the most bland and casual queries will be scrutinized for damaging admissions. And chances are, those revelations won't have much to do with your resume-stated background. Instead, they'll relate to your personality and your management techniques...the kinds of shortcomings behavioral psychologists probe. So here are some wrong answers to watch out for...both with the employer, and with the company's psychologist, if you consent to meet him:

WRONG ANSWER:   There's more bad than good.

Of all the "wrong answers," this one fits more questions than any other. So many, in fact, that I can't even begin to think up enough examples to suggest its vast possibilities. However, the minute you're about to list attributes of anyone, anything, or any situation, be sure to ask yourself:

"How many good ones should I mention and how many bad ones?"

Decide shrewdly. Sometimes there should be lots of bad ones and hardly any good ones, as in the list of probable results you mention when your interviewer gets your reaction to an operating policy that verges on the unethical and illegal.

But suppose he asks how you feel about your current job. Obviously, it fails to utilize your prodigious talents and energy level. But don't slip. There's more good than bad; otherwise, the interviewer will expect you to be malcontent in his job, too. And in describing your current boss, there's probably a lot that's admirable, not just shortcomings; otherwise your interviewer envisions you talking negatively about him. Same with your reaction to the overall management of your current company. Some policies and approaches (which you will list) make lots of sense. However, certain key ones have serious disadvantages (obvious to any thinking person, including your interviewer).

Needless to say, you also see far more advantages relative to disadvantages when asked how the job you're interviewing for fits your talents and aspirations, and how you fit the job. Same, too, when it comes to balancing the opportunities in contrast to the obvious problems facing the industry and company you're being interviewed for. Same goes for the U.S. and its industrial and other institutions, and on and on.

You're no Pollyanna. You can see defects and problems, analyze them accurately, and conceive and execute realistic and creative strategies for dealing with them. However, you're absolutely not one of those "nattering nabobs of negativism" Spiro T. Agnew warned us about.

WRONG ANSWER:   You'd live your life differently if you could.

This is the wrong answer to all those "if questions. If you could be anyone other than yourself, who would you be? If you could go back and change an earlier career decision, what would you be doing today? Don't accept any offer to re-write your personal history. You're basically a happy and highly functional person, who has high self-esteem and is busy producing and enjoying...not fretting and regretting.

Also bear this "wrong answer" in mind when faced with "if questions about the future. If you can be anything you wish five years from now, it will be something that represents fine progress along the path you're on right now.

With respect to your current and past marriages, outstanding or difficult children, and other highly personal facets of your life, probably the less said the better...at least until you're sure that your values and circumstances clearly correspond to those of your interviewer. You can't possibly gain anything by being either ahead of, or behind, him on these points.

And of course if you're asked whether you "consider yourself successful," the answer is "Yes" and briefly why...not, "Well, sort of, and I'd have been more so, if it weren't for..."

WRONG ANSWERS:   Illustrations of your greatest talents and achievements that:
  1. don't relate to the job you're interviewing for, and/or

  2. happened long ago.
Not surprisingly, your strongest attributes and the achievements you're proudest of are work-related and correlate amazingly well with the requirements of the job you're interviewing for. The fact that, after eighteen years of avid competition, you recently bred, trained, and groomed a Dalmatian that won Best-In-Show at the Grand National Competition of the American Kennel Club is hardly worth mentioning. Especially when compared with the fact that last month your Division's hemorrhoid remedy scored the highest market share in the 64-year history of the brand.

Don't be confused. When asked for your "best" achievements, always give your latest ones. Only when specifically asked about early phases of your career will you trot out the corresponding long-ago achievements-thus demonstrating that you've always been an over-achiever. The greatest days of your career are now and in the future, not in the past.

A variation on this theme has to do with what you like most and least in your current job or the one under discussion. Your preferences will match the job you're interviewing for just as neatly as your talents do.

These wrong answers are bookends; they come as a matched pair. You're apt to be asked what your avocational interests are. Better have some ready to mention. Active sports are always good. Intellectual and artistic interests begin to look respectable when you get comfortably over $100,000...and they take on great luster when you get way over $100,000. Charitable and "cause" interests also gain respectability and ultimately cache, as you soar into the corporate stratosphere.

However, until you're being considered for a position high enough to be corporately ornamental as well as useful, don't let on that your wide-ranging interests take any significant amount of time away from work. Chances are your potential boss wants you "hungrier" for corporate performance bonuses than for intellectual and humanitarian nourishment.

By the way, there's a chance you may be asked what interesting books you've read lately. Anyone who asks won't worry about your time, since reading is usually done when and where you can't work. Don't bring up the subject. But do prepare. If you seldom read, you should pick up a critically-praised /w/z-business volume...perhaps a biography or a spy novel...from the current bestseller list. Comment knowledgeably. And if pressed further, mention a couple other books you'd like to read but haven't had time for. That's enough. You're joining a business, not a literary society.

"What-would-you-like-to-be-when-you-grow-up?" questions are just a variation of the "if questions we discussed earlier. Make sure your stated objectives are consistent with getting the job you're interviewing for and pursuing it as whole-heartedly as the company could wish.

WRONG ANSWER:      Anything but the frank truth about when and why you're leaving.

If you were FIRED, say so. Reference checking will surely reveal the fact, even if you still have an office and phone message service at your former company. Any attempt at cover-up will seem dishonest, unintelligent, and emotionally immature. Give a short, simple explanation, objectively avoiding bitterness and complaint. Show you can rise above temporary setbacks. Your forthrightness and maturity in comparison with most people, who fidget, fiddle, and fume, will come off favorably. More about this later.

WRONG ANSWER:     The too-vague answer.

For every job you've held, know and be able to state without hesitation your title, whom you reported to, what size and type unit you commanded (in people, facilities, budgets, sales, profit, market share, etc). Know too in approximate numbers the size and situation of the overall organization of which your unit was a part. You absolutely must know what you're doing now...and you should also know what you've done in the past.

Remember JFK? Most of the nation became convinced he could cope with our problems...in large part because he could speak about them so succinctly, and yet so specifically in facts and figures. It takes no more time to say "a $55 million division in Akron" than it does to say "a medium-sized division located in the Midwest." Yet the former avoids raising several unnecessary questions in the interviewer's mind:

WRONG ANSWER:     "Confidentiality prevents me..."

Use common sense when it comes to confidentiality. Don't be a blabbermouth. But if the competitor who's interviewing you frankly discusses his business with you, then reciprocate. Knowing the other person's figures won't make them your figures, and vice versa. If you've been responsible for something very brilliant and very recent, which must be screened from your competitor, just give a definite but non-specific comparison he's undoubtedly already guessed:

The sparkle in your eyes and your smile of pride and achievement will communicate your accomplishment just as well as if you'd stated the exact figure for the new line standing alone.

Remember: A lot of people who've done a poor job use confidentiality as a cover-up, which is what you'll be suspected of if you "take the Fifth Amendment." People who've done a great job are eager to tell about it.

WRONG ANSWER:      More than was asked for.

One rather tricky question is to ask for your "four greatest achievements"...or your "three strongest talents"...or some other number of something favorable. Give exactly the number asked for, and no more. The test is to see if you'll plunge right past the requested number, piling on achievement after achievement, in a binge of self-praise. If so, you'll be revealed as a braggart, psychologically suffering from low self-esteem. At the very minimum, you'll seem to be someone who doesn't listen and follow instructions alertly.

WRONG ANSWER:      A too-long answer.

This wrong answer is asked for by every agonizingly open-ended question...one of the commonest headaches of the interviewing process. Here the remedy is one of those capsules that I suggested you create out of the fifteen-minute salesperson's monologue you're not being allowed to deliver. That highly refined quarter-hour of mandatory product description and product advantages nicely fills anywhere from seven to ten VA to 2-minute capsules, which can be administered as requested throughout the interview.

Suppose you're zapped with this frequently-thrown open-ender: "Tell me about yourself."

Don't be wimpy and grasp for help:

"Well, what particular aspect would you like to know about?"

Instead, just plunge in and cope! Take no more than one to two minutes and hit the highlights, covering everything from childhood to now. Include a few words about where you grew up, because this question is usually asked to evoke a broad-brush personal portrait. To prove it can be done, I'll give you my own:

"I was born and grew up in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a small town of 5,000 people, where my father was a partner in the Ford car and tractor business. Worked my way through the University of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin Law School as a radio announcer and taught Legal Writing at the Law School for a year. Came to New York City in 1960 as Radio-TV Contract Administrator at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency and later became an Account Executive on various consumer products. Joined Bristol-Myers Products in '65 as a Product Manager and ultimately became Director of New Product Marketing. Next I was Director of Marketing for the Sheaffer Pen Company, and then General Manager of the Tetley Tea Division of Squibb-BeechNut. In '711 got into executive recruiting with Heidrick & Struggles, where I became a Vice President and one of the firm's top producers of fee income. And in 1977 I started The John Lucht Consultancy Inc., specializing in the selection of high-level executives for major corporations-the same firm I operate today.

That's way under two minutes, and yet it certainly covers "Tell me about yourself." If this were an interview, anything else of interest could be asked about.

Capsules: The Interview Pain-Reliever

Gapingly open-ended questions are one of the worst headaches of the interviewing process. They're painful as you grope for an answer that's appropriate, clear, and succinct. And if not handled well, they can lead to the serious complication of bogged-down monologuing, which can demonstrate that you're innately a poor communicator, disorganized, less-than-candid...and more. Indeed, open-ended questions are asked, in part, because they are troublesome to insecure, fuzzy-thinking people, who don't communicate well under pressure...people the interviewer wants to weed out.

I just administered a capsule for "Tell me about yourself." You may not need yours, but be sure you take it with you to your interview. Indeed, take along plenty of capsules. Like the Lomotil®, Dramamine®, Tetracycline®, Acromycin®, Alka-Seltzer®, and Pepto-Bismol® you take on your foreign travels, you'll feel better knowing they're on hand, whether you wind up using them or not.

Your interview pharmacopoeia should include:

A "Tell-Me-About- Yourself' Orientation (CAPSULE) Already prescribed.

Key Segments of Experience and Achievement (CAPSULE)

These are the topically-organized segments of the fifteen-minute "sales-person's monologue" you'd love to deliver but can't in the conversational format of an interview. Have your selling points of experience and achievement clearly in mind, with specific figures stapled into your memory. Nothing minimizes an achievement more than failing to remember precisely what it was.

Achievements in Rank Order (CAPSULE)

This one prepares you for any "Top Three" or "Top Five" question. Since your greatest achievements should also tend to be your most recent, you'll ponder the importance/time tradeoffs in preparing this list. If there's nothing major to report from your most recent briefly-held job, don't feel you have to make something up, just to "represent" the ill-fated career move.

Maybe you have one monumentally large achievement sure to command awe and respect...and clearly attributable to your being there as the instigator and not merely one soldier in the platoon; but it happened too long ago to be one of your "latest-and-greatest." Prepare it succinctly, and deliver it...third out of three, or fifth out of five, depending on how many you're asked for.

Strengths and Weaknesses (CAPSULE)

Give this one some real thought. Your strengths are at the heart of your sales pitch, and they ought to be the right ones for this job...or you'll be better off not getting it. Be ready to name and...if asked...illustrate several. Include your high energy level.

Come up with a proper "more-good-ones-than-bad-ones" answer; the ratio should be overwhelming...maybe 4 to 1. But, within the boundaries of enlightened self-interest, also try to be honest. The standard formula for an interview-confessed "weakness" is "A strength carried to a fault.

Examples:

"Sometimes I may drive my people a little too hard. Since I'm a bit of a workaholic, I tend to expect others are, too."

"Sometimes I can be too supportive of my people...hanging on to them, still trying to train and coach, when perhaps I should just pull the plug a few months sooner."

And how's this for a reverse-spin on a weakness?

"I'm the broad overall conceptualist...the strategist, the planner, the schemer...and also the enthusiastic motivator of the team. But I'm not the down-to-the-nitty-gritty implementer. I always make sure to have an operations officer I can absolutely depend on to see that things don't slip between the cracks...and also a meticulous controller, to make sure that there are no financial surprises. Without both of those people doing their jobs, I couldn't do mine."

Obviously, this approach will work only if you're discussing a big job in a big company. But you get the idea and can adapt it to many situations.

Reason for Leaving (CAPSULE)

It's not enough just to avoid the "wrong answer" of saying you quit...or worse yet that you're still doing your job...when everyone who's likely to be asked knows you've been fired. Prepare an accurate capsule on what happened and what your current status is. And keep it brief and simple!

If the new CEO brought along his own person for your job, no harm in saying so. Add, if true, that you too might have brought along someone you knew and trusted if you were in the CEO's shoes and had such a limited time to effect such a major turnaround. Indeed, you went out of your way to cooperate with the woman who's now your successor, during those first awkward weeks when you were both on the payroll and she hadn't yet been named to your job. As you see it, what she has to do to be successful is to finish installing this-and-this program which you were putting into place when the upheaval occurred, and she seems to be taking basically that approach (if true).

There wouldn't be room in this entire book for the enormous smorgasbord of familiar firing scenarios...one of which may one day happen to you. A great many, like the one above and all sorts of consolidation and staff-cutting measures, can be frankly stated and endorsed. "Personality clash" with your boss, however, normally should not be the diagnosis. Say instead, "Fundamental policy differences," and cite some concrete examples. You simply can't afford to be categorized as someone who can't get along with people.

The trick in discussing firing is to take an open-minded dispassionate, managerial stance. Observe, comment, and react as an informed, objective observer, who's also a very skilled manager...not as someone subjectively involved, wronged, and wounded. You're willing to stand and be judged on the wisdom of your programs and the next administration may have to continue them. On the other hand, if you tried something that failed and you were in the process of changing course, say so. You'll be judged far more on the caliber and comprehension you demonstrate, than on the fact that you were fired. Chances are, your interviewer has also been fired at least once in his career.

Your Management Style (CAPSULE)

For your answer to ring the bells on this issue, you'd better know what style the company feels it has. Check in advance and also watch for clues dropped by your interviewer. The "participative" style is currently in vogue, whereby your door is open to your subordinates and their ideas, and you get results through motivation and delegation.

But for some companies you should hedge your bet..."On the other hand, nobody wonders who the boss is or where the buck stops." Other possibilities include: "Problem solving"..."I enjoy analyzing what's wrong, figuring out a solution, and implementing it." And "results-oriented"..."My decisions are highly concerned with how the result will impact the bottom line." You might add, "On the other hand, I also care a lot about my people; training and developing them and seeing they're fairly treated is extremely important." A pragmatic pastiche, plus taking the pulse of your interviewer, will you get you safely past this issue.

What Appeals to You About Our Job and Our Company? (CAPSULE)

Capsule or no capsule, you absolutely must study the company prior to your interview, if the career opportunity is of more than casual interest to you. Read the last couple annual reports, and the latest 10-K and proxy statement. If these aren't available in a library you have access to, phone the PR Department of the corporation and pick up copies by messenger or have them sent Federal Express. Also check the latest summaries of news on the company as indexed by Standard & Poor's and available at your stock broker's office...and of course what the business periodicals have been saying, as indexed by the Reader's Guide &Index to Periodical Literature and the Dow Jones Information Service, among others.

Knowing what's going on at the company not only helps you prepare an answer to the cliché question of what you like about the company; it also gets you thinking on your interviewer's wavelength long before you're in his office and on the spot.

Current Status and Long-Range Trends of Your Specialty and the Overall Industry (CAPSULE)

If you know anything at all about your present field, you certainly have some good ideas on where the action is now and where the future may lead. Marshal them. Don't just pull them together on the way home from an interview where the CEO of a conglomerate had more thought-provoking insights into your specialty than you did.

What Would You Like To Know About Us? (CAPSULE)

The easiest or the hardest of questions. Ironically, the more you want the job, the tougher the question is. If you're skeptical about whether the job will advance your career, you're loaded with questions that have to be resolved to your satisfaction.

But suppose you're thrilled to be considered for the job. It's with an impeccable company, and represents a career breakthrough in responsibility. Then what do you ask? Certainly not about benefits and retirement. Maybe about what they see as the key problems and opportunities to be addressed by the person who gets the job, willingness to invest in the business, and whether it's central to the company's future growth or a candidate for "harvest" and possible divestment. But be careful. Shouldn't you know what the problems and opportunities are? Check for a common view of such issues; but don't imply you can't see without being told, what some of the key ones probably are.

The invitation to ask questions is inevitable. Be prepared for it.

Reading...and Writing...Between the Lines

You know darn well that your interviewer will be trying to "read between the lines" of your answers...looking for accidental unspoken nuances that may be even more revealing than your statements.

So, since he's reading, you may as well make sure you're writing.

For example, when you're asked about your creativity, give some instances where you thought up a great idea that worked out well. But also give some samples of outstanding creativity within the unit you're responsible for, but which you personally did not think up. Give credit to the lower-echelon research subordinate whose "far-out" idea you backed with some money from your "Venture Fund," and to your CEO whose unpopular idea worked out sensationally well after you and your subordinates removed the kinks from it, and to the advertising agency that came up with the winning campaign after you asked them to give it "just one last try."

Incidentally, that until-recently junior scientist now has her own sizable section of the laboratory to run. And, far from being fired, you were able to help that ad agency win a client relationship with another division of the conglomerate you work for.

We see, of course, that you're creative. But we also read what you've written between the lines. You care about, and listen to, what others around you are thinking...even your boss! With you in charge, the company isn't limited to your own personal creativity. You recognize anyone's good idea when you see it. Moreover, you probably get along well with others, commanding their respect and loyalty, because you reward them for a job well done.

You get the idea. When answering questions about talents and triumphs, you have a perfect opportunity to write between-the-lines messages about your other fine characteristics and management techniques.

The "Pregnant Pause"...and How to Deal with It

The "pregnant pause" is a gimmick some interviewers use to unnerve candidates, and to force them to reveal personal insecurity, and hope-fully to voice unguarded statements.

Here's how it works. After you've finished answering his question, the interviewer says absolutely nothing to move his side of the conversation forward. Dead silence. No question, no comment. He just looks you in the eye, waiting for you to panic and rush in to fill the awkward pause.

This startling stoppage may come at random...or possibly when the interviewer suspects, or wants you to worry that he suspects, that you're not telling the truth, or at least not the whole story. One recruiter I know loves this gimmick so much, he tries to use it on his co-workers at lunch.

The only way to deal with this behavior is to nip it in the bud. The first time your interviewer breaks the rhythm of the conversation this way, pause with him long enough to make absolutely sure he's "pregnant pausing" and to make sure he knows that you know that's what he's doing...maybe 20 seconds or more. Then say, kindly and helpfully, as if perhaps he seems to have lost track of the rather complex discussion you've been having:

"Is there anything else you'd like to know about...(the question you just finished answering)?"

Treating the pregnant pause as a case of Alzheimer's Disease is the only way to deal with it. If you knuckle under to even one "cross-examination by silence," you'll signify that you're the insecure sort of person who submits to interrogation in this arch, smug fashion. If so, you're in for a tense, defensive interview. On the other hand, by kindly and inoffensively calling the interviewer's bluff, you create unspoken recognition and respect. If, by chance, your interviewer decides to try again, repeat the treatment.

Coping with the "Stress Interview"

Let's hope you never run into it, but there was a fad 20 years ago, which still hasn't completely died out, of giving a "stress interview." Pioneered by an executive recruiter who'd been a prisoner in one of the Nazi death camps, the idea was to discover what he called the "counterfeit executive"...the one who can't take pressure...by applying great pressure and tension during the interview. Seat the candidate with the sun in his eyes, hide the ashtrays (a lot more people smoked in those days), quickly interrupt his answers, telling him he obviously didn't understand the question, "pregnant pause," imply knowledge of information contrary to his statements. The possibilities for rude, challenging, inhospitable behavior are endless.

You'll almost certainly never get the full treatment. Even the guy who invented the process quit operating that way after achieving a few years of notoriety for inventing the concept. But you may run into someone who kicks off the interview by throwing down the gauntlet:

"I can't see how you're qualified for this job!"

He goes on from there with argumentative, demeaning, and perhaps embarrassingly personal questions. Maybe he deliberately misinterprets your answers. And probably he avoids looking at you...gazing over your head, thumbing through his calendar, and shuffling papers. You're getting an up-dated version of the stress interview.

What to do? You have to call his bluff. That may be all he wants. Say:

"I'd appreciate it if you'd look at me when I'm talking to you. If we can get this conversation on a more cordial basis, we'll communicate much better."

Maybe just saying something like that will pass his "test." If not, I suggest you get up to leave, turning back as you get to the door:

"I'd still be willing to have a good conversation with you, but this session doesn't really seem worthwhile."

Chances are, he'll call you back, say you passed his "test," and continue the interview on a new and more cordial footing. By then, however, you wonder whether you should even consider working for this guy or the company he represents. So do I.

Who's in Charge of the Interview ...You or the Interviewer?

No question who's responsible for the outcome of the interview. You are. You've got to get your message across. If your appropriateness, your ability, and what a fine person you are fail to register, it's your loss. And it's your fault, not the interviewer's.

But who's in charge? Now that's a different question. Believe it or not, some people think that you should take charge. Go in, say "Hello," and see if the interviewer asks the questions that draw out the information you want to convey. If not, begin answering different questions from the ones she asks, and twist and lengthen your answers to make sure you cover all the important points that support your candidacy. Be poised and pleasant, but don't be afraid to demonstrate aggressiveness and leadership...crucial qualities in an executive.

If you're interviewing for Vice President - Marketing of a company that sells vacuum cleaners door-to-door, that's probably good advice. Barge in and take over. But for any other job, in my opinion, a much more polite and sensitive approach is absolutely mandatory.

First of all, you're selling yourself as a "fine person"...polite, socially poised, and someone who, if hired, will wear well as a co-worker over the years. Somehow, the pushy vacuum cleaner salesman doesn't fit that description.

Secondly, and equally important, if you try to take charge and control what information is covered, you may not convey what your interviewer wants to know. You may bore her with a persuasive pitch on points she was willing to concede...meanwhile, failing to address the doubts and concerns you would have discovered if you'd sensitively followed her lead.

Moreover, since the interview is a demonstration of how you think and operate, there's a good chance your interviewer may conclude that you're a "hip-shooter"...a superficial thinker, who plunges ahead before gathering information, and checking pre-conceived assumptions. After all, that's the way you behaved in your interview.

Therefore, all things considered, don't try to grab control. In terms of personal image, you can't afford to dominate the interview. And in terms of accomplishing your objectives, you don't really want to.

Steering the Interview with Questions and "Red-Flagged" Answers

Only your own good judgment during the actual interview can determine to what extent you can and should try to influence the direction it takes.

If you're willing to become overtly pushy and aggressive, you can cover whatever you wish. But if you want to stay within the ritual boundaries of a social conversation in which the employer has the prerogative of asking most of the questions, there are really only two techniques by which you can gently guide him toward matters you'd like covered.

Out of Town layouts

Most people find that, in interviewing, "practice makes perfect." By the time they're in their third or fourth interview, they're very effective. But what if you haven't interviewed for quite awhile and you suddenly face an unexpected "biggie"? Or if you look forward to a series of interviews and don't want to waste the first one or two? Then try your show in Philadelphia and Boston prior to opening night on Broadway.

"Role playing," of course, is the answer. A social friend or your spouse can sit in for the interviewer, perhaps asking questions from a random list you've prepared. Better yet, try to set up a real grilling by a business friend from the right industry. Choose someone who can come up with his own tough questions, and who will give you a clear-eyed critique afterward.

The Danger of Being Prepared

There's no such thing as being over-prepared. There always is, however, the danger of being over-eager to play back what you've worked on. And by recommending "capsules," I certainly don't mean to encourage that tendency.

Occasionally I come across people so anxious to deliver the thinking they've developed that they don't listen carefully to the question and conform their answer to it. These people are extremely rare...only one of them for every 50 or 75 who fail to come up with clearly focused, brief, and factually explicit answers to questions they certainly should have anticipated.

Engines Ready...Contact!

Prepared as you are, you have absolutely nothing to fear as you take off into the sunrise. If you've got anything close to the right stuff, your interview will demonstrate it.

However, let's run through a pre-flight checklist of practical tips:

Check the forecast. If your interview has been arranged by a recruiter, call her in the morning or the afternoon before. She may have new information since you saw her last, regarding job content, what's looked for, how long other interviews have lasted, what line of questioning was pursued, and what mistakes other candidates made. Don't betray nervousness by asking about all these items. Just say: "Anything I should know before I go over there tomorrow morning?"

Pack your flight case. Into your elegant attachee go extra copies of your resume (just in case your host has misplaced his or wants to pass some along), a yellow pad and a quality pen, any charts of figures you may need to refresh your memory if questioning gets detailed, and a Wall Street Journal to pull out and read if your host is interrupted or you have to wait a few minutes.

Arrive early and check the equipment. Get there five minutes ahead of time and ask to use the lavatory before being announced. That way you can check for lint on your collar and parsley on your teeth. You'll perform best knowing you feel and look perfect.

Return your salute from the crew. The interview begins in the corridor as your host's secretary greets you and maybe offers to shake hands (be alert for this). He, and through him possibly the receptionist too, will probably be consulted for a report on your poise and personality. Your corridor conversation with him...cordial but not presumptuous...is the start of your interview.

Don't land prematurely. After your firm handshake, I hope your host doesn't feign a landing and then pull up, leaving you discourteously plopped for an awkward minute or two. But he might. It's a fairly common maneuver. Circle gracefully until you get landing instructions, or you clearly see where he's landing.

Warning. There's advice going around...maybe via a book or a psychologically-oriented outplacement firm...not to sit where the interviewer first suggests and, wherever you land, to move your chair. This odd behavior is supposed to connote an aggressive personality. I merely find it obnoxious. Unless you've got a bad back, or the sun's in your eyes, why not just sit down where indicated, and relax?

Five-minute warning. Don't go all-business all at once. Get off to a positive, upbeat start on a relatively personal note. Admire something in the office, or the company's convenient location, or the fine weather. Do not start off with the lousy weather, a bad commute, or any other "downer."

Hazardous terrain. Enter the Bermuda Triangle with extreme caution, if at all. Avoid such obviously hazardous topics as politics, religion, and sexually and racially-oriented issues. Beware of trick questions aimed at exposing your negative attitudes on these matters by implying in advance that the interviewer has such feelings. Even sports can be a hazardous topic until you know your host's opinions. Believe it or not, some interviewers will see your failure to share their views on player trades as an indication that you're probably not a very shrewd analyst in the world of business either.

Keep an eye on the radar. Read the interviewer's body language. Leaning back signals a smooth leisurely ride; tapping fingers, fidgeting, and checking the clock call for crisper answers. "Closed position" (tightly-crossed arms and legs) says you're meeting resistance, whereas open, loose limbs say "all clear." And hand-to-face says he...and you...are uncertain, possibly untruthful. Body language can be overrated, but shouldn't be ignored. If you haven't read a book on the subject, you ought to.

Don't go on autopilot. No matter how well things seem to be going, don't let your guard down. The most skilled and subtle interviewer is never the one who treats you roughly. The one who puts you totally at ease is the one who'll find out even more than you'd prefer to tell her.

Debrief promptly. If a recruiter is involved, call soon afterward to debrief. The client will also call, and if the recruiter can play back your favorable comments, they will reinforce the client's good feelings about you. Don't be a sappy sycophant. But don't be coy, either. People tend to like people who obviously like them. And recruiters are more inclined to support candidates who probably will accept, than those who might not.

File your flight report. Why not send a brief "thank you"...two to four paragraphs, using "Monarch" (71/4" x lO1^") personal stationery if you have it, otherwise "regular size." While you may refer in some way to what was discussed, this note is not a parting salvo of hard sell. Instead, it's a courtesy that says fine person...and differentiates you from the vast majority of candidates, who don't bother with amenities. Even more importantly, write down for future reference everything you found out at your interview. Most candidates won't do this either. Therefore, you'll be more on the employer's wave length than they will, at "second round" interviews three or four weeks later.

Answering the Unasked Questions

No interviewer these days is going to invite legal action by asking:

"Do you really think a woman can handle this job?"

"Aren't you a little too old for a grueling position like this?"

"Do people respond to you just like everyone else, even though you only have one eye?"

In an ideal world, these questions would not only be unasked, they would also be unthought. But our present world is far from ideal. If you vary much from the norm...if you're an ethnic or racial minority, physically handicapped, noticeably younger or older than most executives, considerably heavier or shorter...there may be unspoken questions in the mind of the interviewer about your ability to handle the job because of your "difference." The best course is to rebut these objections, even though they're not voiced.

But you must communicate indirectly. You can't simply pipe up and say, "Don't worry about my age; I'm more effective at 59 than I ever was at 30 or 40." If by chance the interviewer wasn't thinking of your age as a problem, he'll wonder why you're being so defensive. And if he was thinking about it: (1) he'll be offended that you caught him, (2) he'll be unconvinced by your self-serving assertion, and (3) he'll worry that you may already be hinting at legal action if he doesn't give you the job.

Just as in writing your resume, you can answer such unspoken questions with offsetting information. If you're probably a lot older than the other candidates, casually mention spending your vacation as an instructor for Outward Bound...or that you're leaving in August for two weeks of mountain climbing in Nepal. Or maybe just mention your interest in finding a challenging partner for a few good sets of tennis while you're in town. Make the interviewer think of you as healthy, vigorous, and in your prime. Don't talk about something you watched on television, or how hard you were hit by the flu that's going around. Everyone watches TV and gets sick occasionally, but you can't afford to raise image problems with someone who doesn't know you.

Shatter your stereotype.

Offset youth with civic and business responsibilities normally reserved for someone more mature-president of a stodgy country club, trustee of a college, outside director of a bank. (For this purpose, forget "when-do-you-have-time-for-it?" concerns.) Fight the age problem with evidence of vigorous physical activity and a fast-paced schedule. And if you're a woman, stress the fact that you're accustomed to extensive travel, to making difficult decisions, to operating independently. And throw in an anecdote that makes it clear that your household is organized accordingly.

If you belong to a racial or ethnic minority, be warm, self-confident, friendly and informal...thus demonstrating (1) that you'll fit right in, and (2) that you don't have any doubt or insecurity about fitting in. And if you're physically handicapped, stress your ability to function effectively in the mainstream of everyday life; mention a party you went to recently, grumble about a speeding ticket, talk about your participation in active sports. And if you're overweight, stress the fact that you lead a highly disciplined and energetic life...that you adhere to demanding self-imposed schedules...that you work for long-term goals.

What the Interview Can Do for You?

For years one of the leading literary agents has been trying to get me to write a book which ought to be called How to Package and Pretend Your Way Into a Big Job You're Not Qualified For. Naturally that's not the title he proposes, but it perfectly describes his premise.

Such a concept is not only dishonest, it's ridiculous. No combination of slick resume and glib interviewing can enable you to defeat an array of really excellent candidates and win a job you're not qualified for.

And you shouldn't want such a job. Get it, and your life will be miserable until you lose it...and even more miserable afterward!

However, armed with the information in this book, and the willingness to work as hard as necessary to obtain the position you do deserve, you should be able to fight off the other fine candidates competing against you for any job you fully deserve and can perform.
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