IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION, VOL. 33. NO. 2. JUNE 1990 67

Good Interviewing is Good Business Part II: Strategies for Applicants

(This article is the second part in a two-part series.)

GILDA CARLE

Few professional circumstances test our speech communication ?kills more rigorously than do employment interviews. Many of us in management see interviewing and hiring as our most important responsibility. Similarly, many of us who seek career changes know that a successful interview with prospective employers i s our only means for gaining desired opportunities.

The following i s the second of two articles on communication skills for interviews. The first part emphasized the responsibilities and concerns of interviewers. This part emphasizes the candidates perspective and offers advice on responding to questions and making the desired impression.

The author, Dr. Gilda Carle, i s a consultant in New York and conducts seminars on various topics related to professional and business communication.

Susan Dressel Associate Editor-Issues in Speech Communication

Abstract-The job interview tests the congruence, or fit, of personali- ties, attitudes, and values between the candidate and the employer. Successful candidates treat themselves as a product that must be marketed. Keys to the marketing process are researching the companys needs, engaging the interviewers attention, communicating in a non- threatening manner, asking relevant and incisive questions, envisioning for the interviewer the benefits of hiring the candidate, and enlisting the interviewer to act on the candidates behalf.

HEN INVITED to a job interview, the candidate can be reasonably confident that the prospective employer sees

a satisfactory match between the job requirements and the candidates credentials on paper. The company would proba- bly be just as comfortable employing this applicant as it would any of the other invited candidates. The issue that will determine the final outcome is the congruence or fit of personality, attitudes, and values between the candidate and the interviewer, or, more specifically, between the candidate and the company.

Until the offer is in hand, knowing how to secure a job can be as important as knowing how to perform it. While a resume reviews what an applicant has done, the interview asks the candidate how it was accomplished. A brief sixty-minute interview can land or lose a job for any interviewee. Beyond the resume, the moment of truth arrives with the candidates ability to persuade the prospective employer face-to-face that, for this interviewer, he or she will make a better employee than the other applicants. Such persuasion requires the applicants ability to sell.

For many professionals, the word sell holds a negative

Gilda Carle is with Interchange Communications Training, Yonkers, NY. IEEE Log Number 9034852.

connotation, particularly with regard to selling ones own capabilities. What often comes to mind is the used car salesman or the pushy, fast-talking huckster interested only in taking a customers money. Even the dictionary defines selling as cheating, tricking, and betraying. Selling is mistakenly thought of as something done to people, usually against their wills. Yet, today, whether engineer or entrepreneur, whether Lee Iacocca or Frank Perdue, every- body sells. Everyone wants to influence decision makers to accept their ideas, services, or products.

Selling is especially necessary for job seekers. Much preparation is required to insure that the application results in a job offer. The sellers must convince the buyers that they have the talent, the know-how, and the technology that sets them apart from all the rest. According to recruitment specialist Robert Half, 47 percent of the shortcomings of candidates involves their failure to research a firm in advance and to prepare for the interview. Another twenty percent of candi- dates errors concerns their failure to sell their strengths and accomplishments. These findings suggest that nearly 70 percent of an interview requires skills beyond technical training, education, experience, and ability. This large per- centage often offends professionals who have spent much time developing the talent directly related to their specific field. But the truth is that any candidate must show himself or herself as outstanding when compared with the increasing competition. And this is what we call selling.

One way to offset the negative implications of the term selling is for the candidate to view himself or herself as a product and the potential employer as a customer. As a product, the candidate must avoid reiterating the major points outlined on the resume. That would be analogous to Chrysler outlining to customers the basic parts of its automobiles: four wheels, an engine, brakes, and seats. Job applicants often make this mistake when they are asked to describe their backgrounds; they list their component parts, which, if the interviewer had reviewed the resume, would be unnecessary repetition. Besides, once the list has been reiterated, it is the interviewer who must then independently discover the poten- tial worth of the applicant to the organization.

Lee Iacocca sells his products not by outlining their features, but by exciting customers with the traits of depend- ability and comfort that the features can offer. In other words, the salesperson sells the benefits of a product, benefits the consumer would not want to be without. In the same vein, the candidate must show how the company will benefit by hiring him or her instead of the other applicants who have looked

0361-1434/90/0600-0067$01.00 0 1990 IEEE

6 8 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION. VOL. 33, NO. 2 , JUNE 1990

Objective Engage

Empharize

Ho Hum

Whdt Cdn Apphcdnt Offer

sufficiently attractive on paper to warrant an interview. Where is a candidate to begin?

Applicants Method Reldte

Communicate

FOR STARTERS: HOMEWORK COUNTS

Products dont just happen; they are designed to fill a specific need that has already been determined. Each resume should be accompanied by a letter of application that empha- sizes how the applicants major strengths fit the job require- ments. Key terms from the advertisement should be repeated in the letter, and even underlined, to make it easier for the screener to match the applicants qualifications with the job requirements.

When an applicant receives an invitation for an interview, based on the letter of application and the resume, the interviewer has already decided that the potential employer needs the skills that applicant appears to offer. But it is up to the applicant to discover pertinent information about the company so that the congruence of requirements and capabili- ties can be discussed during the interview. It is also imperative that the applicant thoroughly explore personal strengths and limitations because these will certainly be questioned. Self knowledge, as well as knowledge of the potential buyer, gives an advantage for selling the interviewer on the applicants ability to match all requirements.

Where can an applicant find information about the com- pany? A number of reliable sources, many of which can be found in the library, can educate a candidate about a company. Some of these sources are listed below.

RESOURCES FOR JOB SEEKERS

Business Periodicals Index Dun & Bradstreets Million Dollar Directory MacRaes State Industrial Direciory Moodys Bank & Finance Manual Moodys Handbook of Common Stocks Moodys Industrial Manual Moodys Municipal & Government Manual Moodys OTC Industrial Manual Moodys Public Utility Manual Moodys Transportation Manual Standard & Poors Corporation Records Standard & Poors Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives Siandard & Poors Standard Corporation Descriptions Thomas Register of American Manufacturers Value Line Investment Survey Wall Street Journal Index

Corporate profiles and annual reports are also useful. In addition, if a candidate must travel to an unfamiliar commu- nity, it is wise to arrive at the destination earlier than expected and read a local newspaper to become conversant about community affairs.

The homework an interviewee does may seem arduous and time-consuming. But the knowledge gained will help the interviewee clearly demonstrate a sincere interest in working for the company and a dedication to getting the job. Successful job seekers attest that homework pays high dividends.

How TO ENHANCE AN INTERVIEW

After learning a good bit about a particular organization, the candidate should follow a four-part approach to selling the interviewer. summarized in the chart below.

For Example? I Envision I Illustrate Enh\t I So What? ~~ Activate I - ~~

Part I: Engage the Interviewer Engaging the interviewer at the outset sets the stage for what

will follow. Interviewers who have been consecutively meet- ing and greeting a series of applicants may regard subsequent interviews as a Ho Hum ... routine. The candidate must, therefore, take the initiative to engage the interviewers attention immediately, creating good will through receptive body language, focused eye contact, and a light, but sincere attitude, all relating a blend of personal vulnerability and professional seriousness.

Because the applicant does not have the position power that accompanies being part of an organization, he or she must rely on personal power. Personal power requires that the applicant find an assertive way of relating to the interviewer that is professional and nonthreatening.

Professionalism involves not chewing gum or smoking, not sporting an overcoat or sunglasses, and not reading or picking up objects on the interviewers desk. A job seeker must project a professional image, one that extends beyond clothing to attitude and manner. It may be hard for professionals to believe, but body language accounts for 55 percent of the impression a candidate makes. Image begins with a firm and confident handshake. But energy and vitality can also be projected through such action words as: Establish, de- velop, participate, initiate, and innovate. These terms suggest a person who gets things accomplished.

Applicants can build interviewing muscle if they practice selling themselves in 30-second time slots, similar to media commercials with which everyone is familiar. Candidates must also keep in mind that a listener may taken a mental vacation after only 7 seconds. Although an interview is scheduled to last 60 minutes, it may be the first 60 seconds during which judgments are formulated to determine an applicants future with that company.

Part of preparing a 30-second commercial on oneself requires organizing and focusing key points concisely and eliminating unnecessary information. Thirty seconds flies by quickly. Job applicants can study television and radio adver- tisements to understand how professionals sell their benefits in very short time frames.

Part II: Emphasize the Match between Qualifications and Requirements

After a candidate has attracted an interviewers interest, it is time to sell the benefits that set this candidate apart from the others. Now that the candidate has successfully nudged the interviewer from the Ho Hum ... fence or routine, it is necessary to address the interviewers main concern: How

CARLE: GOOD INTERVIEWING 6 9

does the candidates qualifications match the requirements of this position in our company?

At this point, the applicant must communicate with the host by appealing to the companys needs and interests as uncov- ered with thorough homework. Communication empha- sizes a communion of ideas and philosophies indicating the appropriateness of the fit between speaker and listener.

One means of accomplishing this communion is by asking relevant and incisive questions. Author Jame Thurber wrote, It is better to know some of the questions than to know all the answers. As part of the candidates homework, prepare eighteen complex questions in advance to enlighten the interviewer that the applicant is familar with the history and goals of the organization. For example, I know that your company has had an accelerator technology program since 1977, but that some of your projects have been discontinued. Could you explain how your focus has changed in the past few years? This question is open-ended and provides an opportu- nity for the interviewer to explain information perhaps not provided in general sourcebooks (See Part I of this two-part series [PCMarch 1990, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 19-22.] for further discussion of open-ended questions). It also emphasizes for the interviewer that the candidate prepared well for the meeting.

While the interviewer is responding to the questions posed by the applicant, the candidates listening skills are being evaluated. Candidates must be careful to allow interviewers to complete their thoughts without interruption. The general rule of thumb for good listening is to use the ratio of two ears to one mouth. The candidates enthusiasm about the information being presented is also being assessed. It is a good idea to match energy levels with the interviewer because that will enhance the chemistry between the two parties.

Just as it is imperative to prepare eighteen questions that the candidate might want to ask of the interviewer, the candidate should also create eighteen questions he or she would hate being asked. For example, one engineer was asked the illegal question, Are you married? Having rehearsed for such possibilities in advance, and recognizing that she wanted the job and did not want to quote chapter and verse from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she responded with, What do you mean? The interviewer, knowing that he had overstepped his boundaries, covered his tracks by explaining that the job required much travel, and he was looking out for the stability of the candidates family life. However, he immediately dropped the question. By formulating possible responses to objectionable questions in advance, an applicant can be better equipped for a difficult meeting.

Part 111: Envision fo r the Interviewer

the question, For Example?, the candidate can demonstrate business letters, reports, company statements, statistics, charts, articles, or brochures to which the candidate has contributed. Examples often remain in an interviewers memory long after the interview is over because the define the hows of a candidates accomplishments.

Such illustrations bring a candidates accomplishments to life by demonstrating the applicants transfer of ideas into actions, and problems into solutions. Examples can help the interviewer envision the benefits the candidate will bring to the organization.

Part IV: Enlist the Interviewer to Follow Up Now that the candidate has posed the significant benefits

and presented the fit between the candidate and the potential employer, a conclusion is in order. Although the applicant has motivated the host, communicated their congru- ent philosophies, and illustrated the hows of former perform- ance, the interviewer may still skeptically respond with So What? This is the candidates final chance to make a lasting impression. The objective is to enlist the interviewer to act by selecting the candidate.

Similar to a successful salesperson who knows when to close the deal, the applicant should request the interviewers action or reaction. In other words, the candidate should ask for the job! A passive job seeker, subordinate to the interviewer, may leave an impression of disinterest. Assertive applicants will make that last pitch, summarizing with cogent reasons the case for their being offered the position, and then leave with an upbeat comment and a smile.

The image an applicant presents at parting will carry long after the meeting. The applicant must be in control. If a candidate has followed all the steps to enhancing the interview, but omits this last crucial enlistment, the deal has not been completed. Make the final image a positive one. Activate the interviewer to choose YOU.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

J. R. Baehler, Appearance and reality, Success, May 1987, pp. 24-26.

S. Blotnick, The Corporate Steeplechase. New York: Facts on File, 1984.

D. Leeds, Smart Questions: A New Strategy fo r Success- f u l Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1987.

S. K. Merman and J. F. McLaughlin, Out Interviewing the Interviewer: The Job Winners Script f o r Success. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1982.

New A. Pell, How to Sell Yourself On an Interview. Telling isnt everything. People remember only 10 percent

of the information they receive through words. Showing is a better approach. It employs a stronger pitch for a candidates accomplishments, and provides the opportunity for an inter- viewer to remember a large 25 percent of the information given in the interview. This percentage is considered ,,good,, by communication experts.

A candidate may state that as Chief Engineer in the XYZ Company, he was responsible for saving $20,000 dollars of his departments budget. AS the interviewers mind races to

York: Simon and Schuster, 1982.

Job. T. T. Pettus, One on One: Win the Interview, Win the

New York: Random House, 1981.

Dr. Gilda Carle is President of Interchange Communications Training, Yonkers, New York. As an image and communications specialist, she trains experts to make public presentations and give testimony, requiring enhanced rapport-building and interviewing techniques. She is also a keynote speaker. Her clients include politicians, academic leaders, and presidents of Fortune 500 companies in the United States and abroad. In addition, Dr. Carle is a professor of business management, industrial psychology, and organizational behavior at Mercy College, Pace University, and Long Island University.