The Interviewing Silver Bullet

What if I could give you a one-shot, one-kill methodology to dominating interviews?

I’ve been asked time and time again if I had one piece of advice on interviewing. Well, buckle your seat belt. Only a fraction of the candidates that I talk to on a daily basis are even remotely close to understanding this concept.

Problems

The secret to interviewing is to stay as close to the problem as possible. Whose problem? Not yours. Quit focusing on yourself, because nobody cares about your problems, your career growth, your work-life balance, your compensation. People only care about their own problems, their career growth, their work-life balance, their compensation, their staffing headaches. Get it?

This is difficult for selfish people to understand. That’s why the best interviewers are empathetic. They put themselves in the hiring manager’s shoes.

ID The Problem

In order to speak to the problem, you must identify it. Ask questions like, How can I make your life easier? If you hired me, and I was successful in the first 90 days, what would I have accomplished? These sorts of consultative questions at the beginning of an interview give you the insight to understand your interviewer's needs.

Stay Close to the Problem

Our brains are hardwired to avoid problems. This a really poor interview strategy though. You should stay on that problem like a dog on a pork chop. When you identify a major problem, refer back to it again and again whether it is technical, personnel, or otherwise. Tell relevant stories of what you’ve done, and draw a parallel to the problem.

This will be your competitive advantage, because nobody does this. As long as you have relevant experience, this strategy trumps all others.