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Phases of the Interview
Whether you realize it or not, you will go through several phases during your interview. While the order and duration of each phase will vary slightly from one interviewer to the next, most initial, screening interviews follow this pattern.
Conversational tone and designed to put you in a relaxed setting. Expect questions like:
- How is your day going?
- Did you have a good morning?
- Were the directions OK?
- How far did you travel to get here?
This phase typically last 1-2 minutes and transitions directly into the Background Info phase
In this phase, the interviewer will attempt to gain biographical information about you.
Typically, interviewers will ask you to "...tell me about yourself" or for you to "...give me your 2-minute life story"
Keep your answer brief, 1-3 minutes. Most candidates have the tendency to babble on here and get into the details about every job or position they have ever held. This is not a recap of your resume, it is meant as an attempt by the interviewer to find out how and where you were brought up and developed.
There are some questions that he/she can not ask but would like to know:
- Do you smoke?
- Are you married?
- Do you have children?
Offer up as much detail as you feel comfortable doing so. If you are asked a question you know is illegal, do not say "That is an illegal question." Rather, state that you are not comfortable answering the question as you do not understand how it relates to the position.
This phase usually takes about 5-7 minutes and flows directly into Confirming Requirements.
In this phase, the interviewer wants to make sure that you are after the same type of position and work environment as the position you are interviewing for.
There are 3 topics that will preclude you from moving further in the process:
- Geographic Preference - While we all have our wish list, you must know what location(s) the interviewer is sourcing for before you start the interview. If you say "I can only live in X," and the position or positions are not in "X" then your interview may be over. If you are truly "open" on geography then say so, but also add that you know where this opportunity is and why it is attractive to you.
- Type of Work - If interviewing for an operations opportunity and asked "What type of work do you want to do?" Do not say "sales!" Keep your answers targeted directly at the opportunity in front of you.
- Salary Requirements - If you state that you will only accept "X", then you can forget about moving forward. Give broad ranges and do not reference what you currently make unless asked. Military pay does not correlate to civilian pay and you should expect to take a cut your first year off active duty.
This phase lasts 2-5 minutes and gradually eases you into the meat and potatoes of the interview, the Behavioral Questions.
Here your interviewer will seek to determine a pattern of past behaviors to predict future performance. Employers hire on behavior patterns and teach the specific skills required for the job. In the next section, we will learn how to answer behavioral questions using the SOAR method. You can expect this phase of the interview to last anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes.
You know the interview is winding down when the interviewer asks "What questions do you have for me?" or something similar. This tells you that he/she is finished evaluating you and is ready to entertain your questions about the company and/or position.
- Have 3 - 5 questions written out specific to the opportunity. Do your research ahead of time and have your questions ready. It is OK, and even demonstrates your focus, to refer to your notes when asking questions.
- Questions should focus on opportunity, growth, and development, NOT training. You are being brought on to make an immediate impact. If you focus too much on what your training will involve, the interviewer will get the impression that you will need your hand held.
- Use the "assumptive" position when phrasing questions. By assuming that you are already on the team, you are demonstrating to the interviewer that you do not waste time and that you are already focused on increasing sales, improving profits, and driving customer satisfaction.
What to Avoid when asking questions:
- What's in it for me? Do not ask about benefits, salary, relocation, etc. When the time is right, the interviewer will bring it up - usually near the end of the interview process.
- Questions that were covered in the interview or that can be answered with basic internet research
- Questions on who the major competitors are, what the company's stock performance has been, or about what the products and services offered are. You should already know!
Sample Questions to the Interviewer:
- To whom would I report to and where does this fit in to the organizational structure?
- What are the 3 most common traits of successful people currently in this position?
- How will my performance be evaluated?
- How many people will I be leading?
- What are the company's three biggest strategic initiatives for this fiscal year?
- How will we increase market share while maintaining a high level of customer service?
- Tell me about the most successful person you know in the company that is in this type of position and why you think they are successful in the role.
- What are some of the traits that would make someone a good candidate for this position?
- What are the three most important things you are looking for as you evaluate candidates for this position?
- What would a new hire need to do to exceed your expectations?
- What opportunities do you see in our marketplace over the next few years?
- What challenges do you see in our marketplace over the next few years?
- Who are the internal and external customers I would be serving? How would I interact with these customers and how could I exceed their expectations?
- What are some of the new areas of technology being explored? How do you think this will affect the business in the future?
- What are some barriers I could face in this position and how could I best address them?
Your last question should always be a closing question. The next section covers different types of closing questions and why they are important.
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