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This article was prepared for the August 15, 2001 edition of U.S.
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Job Interview Dynamics
Job seekers be aware: “One bad impression will
influence
the interviewer.” So says Julia Poulos, a corporate
consultant,
whose specialties include training interviewers in the difficult art
of evaluating job candidates. Poulos, principal of All the World’s
A Stage, a company based at 33 Witherspoon Street, is quoting a study
done at McGill University. “The interview is vital,” she says.
While there are pitfalls all through the process, Poulos stresses
that the tone is set in the first few seconds in a mutual, and largely
unconscious, mental dance. “It’s a real time dynamic,” she
says. Both the interviewer and the candidate are “reading all
the signals all the time.”
Poulos holds a degree in communications and theater arts from San
Francisco State University. Before founding All the World’s a Stage,
Poulos, who is an actress as well as a corporate consultant, worked
in corporate training positions for several large companies, including
Merrill Lynch. Her clients include the State of New Jersey, for which
she was project leader for a program on the prevention of sexual
harassment
in the workplace, and the Bank of New York, where, most recently,
she worked with vice presidents on sales presentation skills. In her
workshops on interviewing she urges hiring managers “not to go
on gut feeling alone,” but to gather as much objective information
as possible, and especially to ascertain candidates’ competence at
“soft” skills such as teamwork and initiative.
Poulos speaks on “How Interviewers Interview” on Tuesday,
August 21, at 7:30 p.m. at a free meeting of Jobseekers at Trinity
Church in Princeton. Call 609-924-2277.
“I don’t know of anyone who had a horrible interview and got the
job,” says Poulos. Job candidates may not be sure that an
interview
went well, but most know when it didn’t. Poulos is no exception.
“I was at a lunch interview,” she recounts, keeping in mind
her own advice about interviews conducted over meals: During meal
interviews she suggests that candidates never, ever drink, and that
they order something safe. “No lobster, with the cracking and
spurting,” she advises. During her own meal interview, she ordered
a salad. “I thought that was safe,” she says. Partway through
the meal, however, her interviewer interrupted the flow of
conversation
to point out that she had lettuce caught between her front teeth.
“What do you do?” Poulos asks, clearly at a loss even years
later. “I said `Thank you,’” she says. “And I think I
excused myself and went to the Ladies Room.”
The interview had not been going well even before the lettuce
incident,
Poulos says. Perhaps pointing out the errant leaf had been just a
manifestation of the interview’s hostility. In any case, it is an
illustration of the tricky path job candidates face when, often after
many other steps, they win an interview. Here is Poulos’ advice for
making the most of the opportunity.
This is no time to carp. Training interviewers as shedoes, Poulos hears about the almost unbelievable behavior of somejob candidates. One interviewer told her about a candidate who wasbreezing along. Impressive in his skills and skillful in communicatingthem, the candidate was oh-so-close to an offer when he asked aboutthe company’s coffee policy. Told that employees pay for their own,he became upset, and spent the rest of his allotted time complainingabout what seemed to him a lack of corporate generosity at the coffeecart. Needless to say, he did not receive an offer.Sit up straight, but not too straight. Body language,silent though it is, communicates with a roar. That firm — butnot crushing — handshake upon entering the office sets a tone.Follow through by sitting smartly. Not on the edge of the seat, Poulossays, “but the chair should not support your weight.” Astraightspine should be the support. Lean forward slightly from that posture.Lounging back in the chair, legs crossed, is a no-no. The aim shouldbe a relaxed look that doesn’t break into something that works atMcDonalds or in a beach chair.Small talk can be dangerous. This is a tough one, butPoulos comes down on the side of a minimum of chit chat. What if youcomment on the photo of the handsome Golden Retriever only to be told,maybe through tears, that the pup is now living with the interviewer’sex-wife? “You never know what response you will get,” saysPoulos. Better, in her opinion, to start off with something like,”`Thank you for taking the time to see me.’” Then a neutralcomment, perhaps a comment on the handsome corporate campus, couldfollow.Think about your strengths well in advance. The smartinterviewer will look for evidence that candidates have demonstratedthe qualities necessary for the job in the past, either in other jobsor in school, or perhaps in volunteer work. Figure out whatcompetenciesthe job calls for, then do a mental inventory to recall where andwhen you demonstrated them. “You don’t have much time,” saysPoulos. The examples should be cataloged and ready to go.Don’t make anything up. It should be obvious that creatingsuccess scenarios in which to star is a bad idea, but Poulos stressesthe inadvisability of doing this a number of times. “Don’t makeup stories,” says Poulos. Instead recall as many details aboutreal incidents as possible. “People believe details,” shesays. They also enjoy narratives. Short narratives. Put it alltogether,and an ideal statement of competency might include the date a projectwas undertaken, for whom, how many people were involved, whatdifficultieswere overcome, how much money was spent, and what results wereachieved.Steer the interview. If the interviewer neglects toinquireabout your strengths, find a way to fit them in. “Sometimes thereare just general questions,” says Poulos. “`Tell me aboutyourself.’ or `Tell me about your last job.’” This is an idealopening for short, detailed-filled anecdotes about demonstratingleadershipor functioning under stress. Lacking this opening, it still isworthwhileto be assertive — but never aggressive — and search for away to insert a statement about how the qualities that led to a pastsuccess could enhance a current company project.Follow through. A thank-you note following an interviewis not optional, says Poulos. On the matter of how best to deliverit, she is more flexible. Snail mail probably is still the way togo, although she says “E-mail should be fine, too.”Don’t take it personally. Harder said than done, butbroodingover why an interview did not produce an offer is futile. “Youmay have reminded him of his brother,” says Poulos. If theinterviewerhas not resolved his sibling rivalry issues, he might have rejectedyou instantly (and possibly unconsciously) because of the resemblance.There isn’t a thing that would have changed the outcome.That seems to be the case with Poulos’ unhappy lettuce-marredinterview.The interviewer, using an unpleasant tone of voice, asked about apersonality assessment tool Poulos had administered in a previousjob. Poulos says she had thought putting skill at giving and scoringthe test, which divides people into 16 personality types, would bea plus on her resume. In this case, at least, she may have been wrong.”`And what type are you?’” the interviewer sneered. Sheappearedto dislike Poulos’ response, but who knows? Maybe her stock portfoliohad just collapsed. Or her neighbor had served papers connected witha midnight fall on her sidewalk. Or maybe she just thought personalitytests were stupid. Impossible to tell.While not every element of an interview is under the candidate’scontrol, and there may have been nothing Poulos could have done towarm up her interviewer, it is well worth preparing thoroughly toestablish the best rapport possible. “If there’s no rapport,”Poulos says, “there is no job.”Top Of PageFinancial AlleyFor the story on the moves of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch go towww.princetoninfo.com/200108/10815f01.htmlCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
