You are really in big trouble if you come across a job interviewer who just keeps talking.
What the interviewer really should be doing instead is asking questions, then listening to what you have to say about yourself and your work experience. You came for a job interview, not to listen to a marketing presentation.
Technically speaking, we say such a person has got logorrhea, an actual illness and pathological inability to stop talking. Sometimes, and less serious, you see a word like loquacious, for people who talk a lot and often about stuff they think we should all know.
What do you think causes excessive speech in a job interview situation? No, it's not logorrhea nor loquaciousness. Let me tell you, in 9 out of 10 times, it simply comes down to the inexperience of the job interviewer.
It's the kind of interviewer who thinks interviewing is just talking to people, who will ask old-fashioned and silly questions like: "What's your strength and weakness?" "Why do you want to leave your current employment?" "Can you sell?" (assuming the job is in sales).
It's the kind of inexperienced interviewer who is convinced that a gut feeling is all it takes to determine if a candidate is qualified or not. I kid you not!
An inexperienced interviewer believes he or she should talk 80% of the time and you only 20%. In fact, it's the exact opposite.
My mentor in teaching me to understand cross-cultural management in a Thai context -- we go back almost 25 years -- was Dr Henry Holmes who was a long-time resident of the Kingdom, a Harvard University graduate and author of several books on working and leading multicultural teams in Thailand.
Henry's favourite advice was: "Be a good listener". One gets more out of listening than speaking. The art of listening is to pose questions that get the candidate or applicant talking and provide the insights that one seeks.
COMPLEX SKILL
Interviewing is a highly complicated, multi-tasking activity. Don't let anyone convince you that interviewing is just about talking. That is so far from the truth. Interviewing is one of the most complicated skill sets of multi-tasking and takes practice for years to really master.
- Ask your interview questions by using the written questions you prepared beforehand. Key words here: written, prepared, beforehand.
- Take notes; write down the key points of the candidate's answers.
- Meanwhile, as you are still writing, concentrate and listen carefully to the answers to assess if the answer makes sense. Did the candidate actually answer the question? Decide what follow-up question you want to ask in order to further probe and uncover more needed information.
- Observe eye movement and body language. Look for eyes looking up, for eyes flickering from side-to-side, for arms crossed.
- While listening, while writing, while thinking of the follow-up questions, while observing body language; while looking at the clock for time management, look for the next relevant question on your list.
- And then it starts all over again and continues in that manner for up to two hours. That's what professional headhunters do, day in and day out; for years and years.
The No.1 tip if you interview and talk too much? Stop trusting your gut and take the interview process seriously. Follow a plan, prepare your interview agenda and stick to it, have written questions to ensure you remember to get all the important points covered.
Showing up at the interview with only the candidate's resume is the road to hell. To give yourself a fair chance of assessing the experience and skills of the candidate, prepare at least 20 questions that are linked directly to the required competencies.
TIPS FOR CANDIDATES
I am still flabbergasted when I hear the horror stories from candidates who talk about their job interview experiences. Many decided to turn down offers from certain companies because of the unprofessional and amateurish interview processes they experienced.
It's a nightmare and a challenge. Your first warning is when an interviewer comes into the room with nothing but your resume. Even if that much. If the interviewer did not bring a pen and paper to note your answers, or if the interviewer clearly does not use prepared questions, it spells trouble ahead.
If you haven't lost the motivation already, if you still want to give the company a chance, if you like to give them the benefit of the doubt, you need to take charge and be very assertive.
You need to politely interrupt the interviewer. Say something like: "Sorry, I'd like to interrupt. I have something important that I would really like to tell you. It's a great example of what I have done in a previous job."
Then go on and talk about your experiences, perhaps present some documents that support your point. And be prepared to interrupt again and again. Good luck.
Tom Sorensen is an executive search veteran at NPAworldwide with 20 years of experience recruiting in Thailand and recognised as one of the country's top recruiters and most profiled headhunters. To learn more, visit www.tomsorensen.in.th