Ground rules for a winning interview
Need a dog walker, baby sitter, wedding photographer, lawyer, or, at your company, a new hire? Knowing how to interview will help you get the right help at the best price, and avoid those costly horror hires that we've all experienced.
Even if you're not hiring, knowing how to coax good information from others is an increasingly useful life-work skill in a crowded, mobile world where we deal far more often with strangers than with kith and kin. Listen, question, and judge deftly and you'll learn more during a doctor's visit, a conference with your child's teacher, or perhaps your next blind date.
In my more than two decades on three continents as a journalist, I've interviewed everyone from company presidents to celebrities, teens to undertakers. And I've often been interviewed about my work and writings. The questions, of course, invariably differ. Yet there are ground rules that can make any interview better and turn an anxious meeting into a pleasant event. Here are a few hints on the art form from experts in a range of fields.
At ease. Mark Smith, you could say, is in the interviewing business. As the owner and founder of the Boston firm, The Roommate Connection, Smith has helped thousands of people find roommates in 25 years of business. His first advice: put the other person at ease by treating them like a guest, not a supplicant.
"If you can eliminate that level of hierarchy, the person you're meeting is going to be more comfortable, more relaxed, and then you're going to see the real person, not their stage persona," says Smith, who interviews both clients and new hires for his business. Treat the interview, he says, as if it's just a conversation between friends.
Yes and no are no-nos. One of the hottest concepts in the recruiting world is the "behavioral interview." That's a fancy term for something your mom knew well: if you want information, don't ask a question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Smart moms don't ask, "Did you have fun at school today?" Instead, they unleash a zinger such as, "What questions did you ask in history class?" or "What were you doing with Timmy M. behind the gym?"
Good recruiters also draw out a candidate's character by paying careful attention during the meeting, says Celia Whitney , a senior recruiter for Sodexho, a Gaithersburg, Md., food and facilities management company. If you're distracted or dull-spirited, the candidate will pick up on that, even on the phone, says Whitney. "Attitudes are contagious," she says.
Wanted: Open minds. We could all use better social skills, but the interview is an especially good time to muster up your stores of empathy and tolerance. The person you're interviewing may not speak perfect English, but be a genius in their field. A firm handshake isn't always a guarantee of strong character.
"Sometimes when you're meeting with someone, it's about understanding your own perspective," says Sherazade Langlade of Upwardly Global, a San Francisco nonprofit that helps legal immigrants find work in their professions. Langlade gently teaches US firms that in many other cultures, job candidates aren't expected to ask questions or make small talk during an interview.
"Instead of saying, 'They didn't smile, so I don't think they're friendly,' you have to think, 'why would that be?' " she says. Her advice holds true for any interview. First impressions don't tell the whole tale.
Virtual isn't enough. With telephone job screening more popular, it was only a matter of time before someone tried the virtual job interview. In May,
The event was certainly different. A few of the 234 job seekers who interviewed during the three-day event came as creatures -- including a troll and a mermaid, says Russell Miyaki, national interactive creative director for New York's TMP. Many applicants and recruiters alike were new to the technology. T-Mobile recruiter Melissa Tucker, who did 15 interviews during the fair, met one applicant at the entrance to the TMP virtual building because the job seeker couldn't make her avatar walk.
"I ended up calling her," says Tucker. "It was a little bit comical. It helped break the ice." Still, Tucker says such exchanges lack body language, so she wouldn't make a hire virtually. Says Miyaki: "This is never going to replace a face-to-face exchange. It's more likely the start of a relationship."
Miyaki's parting advice echoes that of other veteran interviewers: look for the real applicant, in other words, the guy beneath the troll. "There may be someone who shows up in an armored suit but their resume is impressive," says Miyaki. "Expect the unexpected."
Balancing Acts appears every other week. Maggie Jackson can be reached at maggie.jackson@att.net. 
