The dreaded opening to the actual interview. “What do I say?” “Does the interviewer want me to start at the beginning of my career?” “ Does he/she want me to start with my work experience from the back and go forward or the most present and go backward?” I’m so confused….
What Are Employers Thinking During The Interview?
Every interviewer is different and with an opener like “Tell me about yourself…” we leave you plenty of room to hang yourself and begin the interview with laying an egg. Often that is our mission. “ How quickly will this candidate recover, how quick are they on their feet?” “Have they actually thought of an intelligent answer?” Can I “screen them out” with this zinger of an opener?”
Or is this candidate actually going to intelligently answer this question I ask 82% of the time in my openers? If your answer is “Yes I have a great plan to win this job by nailing the opener….” do something original that will show me you really do want this job because you knew my opener and handled it….how?
When I am interviewed (which I have been three times in 2013 already), I open with the close in mind. “Tell me about yourself” is really “Why should I hire you?” That is the interviewer’s bottom line. We have to go back to our bosses and say “I plan to make __________ a job offer because they demonstrated great behavior, effectively highlighted their previous and current jobs, and had a strong opener that set a very positive stage for the remainder of the interview. They will fit on our team.”
My advice…be ready, be prepared, be informed, be original, be special, be unique, be proud, be eager, and be the top candidate by nailing your opener.