CareerMysteries

I hear complaints from people who have been in an interview with a company representative who did not know how to interview an applicant. Some folks are poorly trained, get nervous and talk way too much during the interview, thus learning very little about the candidate they are seeking to hire.

This is a difficult scenario for the interviewee. He is uncomfortable butting in when the interviewer is talking as he does not want to seem rude. However, if he doesn’t, he won’t be able to win the day on a great interview if he cannot get in a few choice words.

My advice in this situation is to avoid being rude. Do not break in mid-sentence. Let him run off some nervous steam, but be sure to interject politely, where you want to make a point about your experience as it relates to his stream of words.

When the interviewer is finished with his own portion of the interview, it is time for you to get in gear and take over. Ask any questions you prepared at the end and wait for his long winded answers to finish. Then, before you leave, give him your “spiel”. This should be about a five minute capsule of your background and experience that ends with the reason you feel you are ideally suited to the job you are applying for. In making this statement, try to tie into the information you have just learned about the job and the company if you can.

As always, write a brief but detailed “thank you” letter to the interviewer the next day and reiterate your selling points as much as possible. If you do ultimately get hired, you can recommend a training program for interviewers if you get the opportunity.