Why is job searching a talking game?

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

My take:

It is obvious you are smart and qualified for the position - that's how you got your foot in the door for the interview. As a manager and interviewer for our company, I can tell you - personality is HUGE. People don't just get called in for interviews to prove how smart they are - that is what a resume is for. Unless you have some highly specialized skill that very few people have, your personality is a very important factor. I want to know that you are "normal" and not going to be a PITA to manage or cause issues with other employees because you have no social skills, I can't gauge that any other way than having a conversation with you.

The questions/answers, etc. really shouldn't be baffling or to embarrass you. If you really do want to work for the company, and really "know" your field, those things should come somewhat naturally. You should naturally have questions about the company/position and be able to answer any questions - there is NOTHING wrong with saying, "sorry, I don't understand the question" or "hmmmm, I'm not sure" and then just talk it out like you would if a friend were asking you the question. Interviewers are people too - they don't expect a robot to be sitting across from them, you know?

The way I look at it, at the least - if you can't be warm and friendly and smile when you greet me, what are you doing here? Am I inconveniencing you in some way by giving you an interview?

We've been doing a lot of interviews recently, can you tell?

LOL! Thank you! I guess it's hard to see an interviewer (the one with the power assessing my attitude/personality) as a "friend". I know it's a conversation, and I guess a lot of my anxiety is like stage fright and the anticipation of the interview. I can be friendly...but nervous.

Let me ask you, how do you deal with prospects that are clearly nervous, and have what it takes on paper, and can speak comfortably, but might be a little nervous? Does that seem like a NO? I mentioned earlier that my current boss nearly didn't hire me because he thought I was shy. He knows better now!

 

[waterlilly]

My take:

It is obvious you are smart and qualified for the position - that's how you got your foot in the door for the interview. As a manager and interviewer for our company, I can tell you - personality is HUGE. People don't just get called in for interviews to prove how smart they are - that is what a resume is for. Unless you have some highly specialized skill that very few people have, your personality is a very important factor. I want to know that you are "normal" and not going to be a PITA to manage or cause issues with other employees because you have no social skills, I can't gauge that any other way than having a conversation with you.

The questions/answers, etc. really shouldn't be baffling or to embarrass you. If you really do want to work for the company, and really "know" your field, those things should come somewhat naturally. You should naturally have questions about the company/position and be able to answer any questions - there is NOTHING wrong with saying, "sorry, I don't understand the question" or "hmmmm, I'm not sure" and then just talk it out like you would if a friend were asking you the question. Interviewers are people too - they don't expect a robot to be sitting across from them, you know?

The way I look at it, at the least - if you can't be warm and friendly and smile when you greet me, what are you doing here? Am I inconveniencing you in some way by giving you an interview?

We've been doing a lot of interviews recently, can you tell?

LOL! Thank you! I guess it's hard to see an interviewer (the one with the power assessing my attitude/personality) as a "friend". I know it's a conversation, and I guess a lot of my anxiety is like stage fright and the anticipation of the interview. I can be friendly...but nervous.

Let me ask you, how do you deal with prospects that are clearly nervous, and have what it takes on paper, and can speak comfortably, but might be a little nervous? Does that seem like a NO? I mentioned earlier that my current boss nearly didn't hire me because he thought I was shy. He knows better now!

Nervous is totally expected - if any interviewer does not expect you to be at least a little nervous, they are a jerk. The way I look at it, I try to make them as comfortable as possible, I want them to know I am not there to interrogate or intimidate them. If they STILL can not bother to be pleasant, make good eye contact, give me more than robo-answers, manage a smile - likely I am not going to give them another chance regardless of their resume. Even through the nerves you can still smile and be polite. Just TALK though, do NOT give one word answers. If someone asks you "how well do handle working with others?" and you are unclear of how to answer, you can say "so, do you mean - How do I handle working in group situations where we are sharing project responsibilities, or do you mean just in general - as in how would I describe my ability to get along with coworkers?"

You know what I mean? You can expand on their question or get clarification to give yourself time to come up with a response while at the same time engage in conversation. And then after you answer - ask them, " so, will there be a lot of group projects with this position?"

The questions they ask are pertinent to the position (hopefully!) so you can use those questions to ask your own throughout the interview. Get conversation rolling, don't just let it be a Ask. Answer. Ask. Answer. type of exchange....

 

[VRBeauty]

LOL! Thank you! I guess it's hard to see an interviewer (the one with the power assessing my attitude/personality) as a "friend". I know it's a conversation, and I guess a lot of my anxiety is like stage fright and the anticipation of the interview. I can be friendly...but nervous.

Let me ask you, how do you deal with prospects that are clearly nervous, and have what it takes on paper, and can speak comfortably, but might be a little nervous? Does that seem like a NO? I mentioned earlier that my current boss nearly didn't hire me because he thought I was shy. He knows better now!

Personally - I wouldn't go out of my way to see an interviewer as a "friend." They do hold the power, they do control the interview. If you go overboard on the friend stuff you could come off as being unprofessional.

I've had very good staff bomb out on promotional interviews (administered by others) because they got too comfortable and conversational... they forgot their "place" in the interview and their responses rambled rather than focusing on addressing the specific questions. I know of another person - again, very qualified - who failed an interview because he essentially took it upon himself to tell the interviewers what he decided they needed to know about him rather than addressing the questions and then using the more open-ended questions at the end of the interview to fill in things that weren't covered in the patterned questions.

Getting back to your original question...

In my job I hire people who need technical skills and an ability to work with and relay information to others, pretty much in equal portion. I also sit in on interviews with a colleague where the main focus is to people with very strong technical skills in engineering, modeling, and mathematical fields. In both cases, we need people who have the technical skills to do the work we have in mind for that position, and enough people skills to participate in more group-oriented projects and to their colleague's projects. We don't have the luxury of hiring someone who can work only in isolation and not contribute to the other people and projects around them. Normal shyness is not an issue, except for positions that specifically call for a lot of liaison work with outside groups. An unwillingness or inability to work with others is a major issue. A lack of curiosity, of ability to look beyond the task at hand to larger implications, is a big issue. An inability to communicate the results of technical work is a big issue (because we also don't have the luxury of having technical writers who are trained to translate engineering into English.) Each time I interview for a position I develop my rating criteria beforehand. Technical skills are important, but they never comprise 100% of the rating criteria.

BTW, I don't automatically count out people who might be "a threat" to my position. I'm in civil service so we work with a somewhat different set of rules that offer me some protections. That disclosure aside, I also feel confident that I do a good job and bring to it a wealth of knowledge that would be hard to replace and that my management would not be so quick to dismiss. I see it as part of my responsibility to bring top-flight talent to my agency, and I consider it a feather in my cap if I hire someone who's good enough to be promoted rapidly. Someone who's ego would prevent them from working well in my team and for me would be a problem, though, as would someone who looks like they're going to job-hop the first opportunity. Either would be a legitimate reason for me to look at other candidates.

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

LOL! Thank you! I guess it's hard to see an interviewer (the one with the power assessing my attitude/personality) as a "friend". I know it's a conversation, and I guess a lot of my anxiety is like stage fright and the anticipation of the interview. I can be friendly...but nervous.

Let me ask you, how do you deal with prospects that are clearly nervous, and have what it takes on paper, and can speak comfortably, but might be a little nervous? Does that seem like a NO? I mentioned earlier that my current boss nearly didn't hire me because he thought I was shy. He knows better now!

Personally - I wouldn't go out of my way to see an interviewer as a "friend." They do hold the power, they do control the interview. If you go overboard on the friend stuff you could come off as being unprofessional.

I've had very good staff bomb out on promotional interviews (administered by others) because they got too comfortable and conversational... they forgot their "place" in the interview and their responses rambled rather than focusing on addressing the specific questions. I know of another person - again, very qualified - who failed an interview because he essentially took it upon himself to tell the interviewers what he decided they needed to know about him rather than addressing the questions and then using the more open-ended questions at the end of the interview to fill in things that weren't covered in the patterned questions.

Getting back to your original question...

In my job I hire people who need technical skills and an ability to work with and relay information to others, pretty much in equal portion. I also sit in on interviews with a colleague where the main focus is to people with very strong technical skills in engineering, modeling, and mathematical fields. In both cases, we need people who have the technical skills to do the work we have in mind for that position, and enough people skills to participate in more group-oriented projects and to their colleague's projects. We don't have the luxury of hiring someone who can work only in isolation and not contribute to the other people and projects around them. Normal shyness is not an issue, except for positions that specifically call for a lot of liaison work with outside groups. An unwillingness or inability to work with others is a major issue. A lack of curiosity, of ability to look beyond the task at hand to larger implications, is a big issue. An inability to communicate the results of technical work is a big issue (because we also don't have the luxury of having technical writers who are trained to translate engineering into English.) Each time I interview for a position I develop my rating criteria beforehand. Technical skills are important, but they never comprise 100% of the rating criteria.

BTW, I don't automatically count out people who might be "a threat" to my position. I'm in civil service so we work with a somewhat different set of rules that offer me some protections. That disclosure aside, I also feel confident that I do a good job and bring to it a wealth of knowledge that would be hard to replace and that my management would not be so quick to dismiss. I see it as part of my responsibility to bring top-flight talent to my agency, and I consider it a feather in my cap if I hire someone who's good enough to be promoted rapidly. Someone who's ego would prevent them from working well in my team and for me would be a problem, though, as would someone who looks like they're going to job-hop the first opportunity. Either would be a legitimate reason for me to look at other candidates.

I think I would do well in your interview, actually, if I were to actually get it!

Thanks for your input...these are all things I will keep in mind for my next interview.

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

My take:

It is obvious you are smart and qualified for the position - that's how you got your foot in the door for the interview. As a manager and interviewer for our company, I can tell you - personality is HUGE. People don't just get called in for interviews to prove how smart they are - that is what a resume is for. Unless you have some highly specialized skill that very few people have, your personality is a very important factor. I want to know that you are "normal" and not going to be a PITA to manage or cause issues with other employees because you have no social skills, I can't gauge that any other way than having a conversation with you.

The questions/answers, etc. really shouldn't be baffling or to embarrass you. If you really do want to work for the company, and really "know" your field, those things should come somewhat naturally. You should naturally have questions about the company/position and be able to answer any questions - there is NOTHING wrong with saying, "sorry, I don't understand the question" or "hmmmm, I'm not sure" and then just talk it out like you would if a friend were asking you the question. Interviewers are people too - they don't expect a robot to be sitting across from them, you know?

The way I look at it, at the least - if you can't be warm and friendly and smile when you greet me, what are you doing here? Am I inconveniencing you in some way by giving you an interview?

We've been doing a lot of interviews recently, can you tell?

LOL! Thank you! I guess it's hard to see an interviewer (the one with the power assessing my attitude/personality) as a "friend". I know it's a conversation, and I guess a lot of my anxiety is like stage fright and the anticipation of the interview. I can be friendly...but nervous.

Let me ask you, how do you deal with prospects that are clearly nervous, and have what it takes on paper, and can speak comfortably, but might be a little nervous? Does that seem like a NO? I mentioned earlier that my current boss nearly didn't hire me because he thought I was shy. He knows better now!

Nervous is totally expected - if any interviewer does not expect you to be at least a little nervous, they are a jerk. The way I look at it, I try to make them as comfortable as possible, I want them to know I am not there to interrogate or intimidate them. If they STILL can not bother to be pleasant, make good eye contact, give me more than robo-answers, manage a smile - likely I am not going to give them another chance regardless of their resume. Even through the nerves you can still smile and be polite. Just TALK though, do NOT give one word answers. If someone asks you "how well do handle working with others?" and you are unclear of how to answer, you can say "so, do you mean - How do I handle working in group situations where we are sharing project responsibilities, or do you mean just in general - as in how would I describe my ability to get along with coworkers?"

You know what I mean? You can expand on their question or get clarification to give yourself time to come up with a response while at the same time engage in conversation. And then after you answer - ask them, " so, will there be a lot of group projects with this position?"

The questions they ask are pertinent to the position (hopefully!) so you can use those questions to ask your own throughout the interview. Get conversation rolling, don't just let it be a Ask. Answer. Ask. Answer. type of exchange....

I will try this when needed! Thanks, Waterlilly.