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What if it Didn't Happen?

In my last post I talked about how you can use behavioral interviewing techniques to succeed in job interviews. I also mentioned that many employers use behavioral interviewing techniques to predict how you will act in the future. For example, if they want to know how well you work under pressure, the interviewer might ask: "Tell me about a time when you had to complete a tough project to a very tight deadline."

I received this question in my email this morning from a reader:

In a behavioral interview, if you are asked about a situation that never happened to you in your career should you just say "This never happened" or make up a fictitious story?

You must definitely be honest.

That's rule #1 for your entire job search in my opinion, since being false in any way may result in you getting a job you're not really suited for. If you are asked a question and have never been in that situation,  just be honest and straightfoward. If you say "I honestly don't think that's ever happened to me" the interviewer can ask another question to try and get the information they're looking for.

Alternatively if you can tell what's at the root of the question, you might be able to answer with a different example. For instance, let's say you're asked: "Tell me about a time you worked with someone who was really challenging to deal with. How did you manage the relationship?" In this case, it's obvious the employer wants to know how you have dealt with problematic co-workers (and beware, because there's a reason they're asking!).

If you have never been in this situation, you could either just say so, or you could go further "I've actually been lucky so far with my co-workers, but I did have a very challenging customer in my last job. He would always ... and what I did was ... " In other words, look for what's behind the question and address that issue with a different example.

But if this seems to complicated, or you're a little nervous anyway in interviews, just stick to a polite explanation that you've never been in that situation.

Never, never, NEVER make up a fictitious story.

Use Behavioural Interviewing Techniques to Take Charge of Your Interviews

You are not alone if you dislike job interviews. Many job seekers are uncomfortable with the uncertainty of the interview situation.  The good news is that you can take charge of every interview, by using a common interview technique to your advantage.

I’m referring to the technique of behavioral interviewing, which simply means that interviewers ask very specific questions about real situations. The theory is that your past behavior is the best predictor of how you will behave in the future, so employers probe your background for clues.

Let’s imagine that XYZ company is looking for a Marketing VP who can generate a lot of buzz with a small budget.  In order to understand your experience in this area, an behavioral interviewer will ask:

“Tell me about a time when you had to promote a product with very little cash.”

or :

“Describe a time when you created a lot of excitement about a new launch using non-traditional marketing techniques.”

Behavioral interviewing has become quite common over the last 15 years and, you may well have experienced it yourself, either as an interviewer, or an interviewee.  Provided you are prepared (and we’ll talk about this in a moment) a behavioral interview gives you an excellent opportunity to talk in detail about your experiences and accomplishments.

Unfortunately, many interviews still follow the old format – the questions may be arbitrary, sometimes based on the content of your resume, sometimes on the preoccupations of the interviewer.  They may also be very general in nature.  For example, if the XYZ company isn’t using behavioral interviewing, they may ask VP candidates a question such as: “How much experience do you have working with a small budget?”  This question doesn’t invite the same detailed response as the request for a specific example – but who needs an invite?  The secret to wowing them at every interview is simply this:  act as though your were asked a behavioral question, even when you were not.

Imagine two different candidates for this fictional marketing position. When asked “How much experience do you have working with a small budget?”, Candidate A replies, “I’ve had to do that a lot actually – most of the companies I worked for were small to mid-size, so there was never a lot of opportunity to spend money. I’m very good in those situations and I always find a way to make things happen.”

Candidate B, however, gives a ‘behavioral’ answer:  “I’ve had to do that a lot actually. Let me give you a recent example... you know the film “Dark Night?” I created the campaign around that movie with a $10,000 budget.  It came to my attention because it was the only film all our staff were excited about, although it was a low-budget, independent production.  I decided to create a really cool web site themed around the film, and then we planted seeds of interest on forums and in chat rooms ... the whole thing took off within weeks and the movie eventually grossed millions. We never did run a single TV advertisement.” 

By answering in such a concrete and specific way, Candidate B brings himself to life – and ensures that he will be much more memorable than his competition.

You can use this technique for any question that is vague or general in nature:

Q: “How much do you know about?....”
A: “I’m very familiar – just recently I ....”

Q: “How often have you had to ....?”
A: “That’s something I’ve done frequently ... actually, I remember when ...”

The technique also works when an interviewer asks a hypothetical question:

Q: “What would you do if .....?
A: “Well, I faced a similar situation just last year. What happened was ... ”

PREPARATION IS KEY

To prepare effective stories you must first focus on the employer’s needs and then develop examples that demonstrate your ability to meet those needs.

The employer’s needs

Research the company before you go for the interview – identify their key business issues (Are they growing rapidly?  Are they in a crowded marketplace? Are they planning new product launches?) Get into the minds of the company’s executives and ask yourself: Given their business issues, what will they want to know about me?

Developing Your Examples

Use the C-A-R (challenge-action-result) formula to develop stories that demonstrate your ability to meet the needs of the employer.  If you know from your research that ABC Corporation needs a sales executive who can forge new strategic partnerships, develop stories about your experiences in that area.  Describe the initial challenge (e.g. need to enter a new market), the actions you took (researched the market, identified targets, met C-level decision-makers) and the results (built partnerships worth $15 million in revenues within 12 months). 

If your interviewers have been trained in behavioral interviewing, you’ll be exceptionally well-prepared.  But if not, you’ll be able to separate yourself from all the other candidates by telling compelling, interesting and targeted stories that demonstrate your ability to add value.

This article was also published in Career Hub's "Insider's Guide to Interviewing" which is one of a series of free eBooks available for download here.

The Secrets of Interview Success - Free eBook

Over on my group blog Career Hub, we've just released our third free eBook. "The Insider's Guide to Interviewing" features articles from 14 of the country's top careers experts. I asked our writers to give readers their best advice for interview success and the answers are varied, interesting and sometimes surprising.

If you don't have our earlier eBooks, you're missing out on similarly great advice about resume writing and job search strategies. Now, for the first time, we're making all our eBooks available without email sign-up. Simply download the PDFs and start reading! And to stay regularly updated with all the best in career advice, bookmark Career Hub, sign up for the RSS feed, or have the articles sent directly to your email box.

Insider's Guide to Interviewing

Expert advice on how to succeed in interviews - topics covered include effective interview planning, tips on taking control of the interview situation, advice on closing the conversation, and the best approaches to salary negotiation.

Download any of our three eBooks here.

Questions to Ask at the End of the Interview

It's always tricky at the end of a job interview, when the interviewer has asked all her questions and now turns to you and says "Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

Back when I was in HR, there was no greater turn-off that the candidate who said "No. I think you've answered all my questions." For me that just showed such a lack of curiosity  and I wasn't looking for uncurious people.

HR Guy points to this article on questions to ask during an interview. There are some great questions there and any one of them will (a) impress the interviewer and (b) give you some more information about whether this is a place you actually want to work.

My own personal favorite when I was being interviewed (as opposed to conducting the interview) was this:

"A year from now, how will you evaluate if I have been successful in this position?"

I liked this question because it showed the interviewer that I cared about being successful and it gave me solid information about whether I could be successful. Sometimes the answers were just plain unrealistic - and I'd rather find that out during an interview than months after I took the job.

Remember, looking for a job is like shopping for jeans. You're not looking for the first pair you find - you're looking for the ones that fit just right. When it comes to job search, good questions can help you get there.

The Best Interview Advice You'll Ever Get

And it wasn't even written about interviews. Jill Konrath writes a blog on selling to big companies.

Today's advice jumped off the page because it's perfect for anyone preparing for interviews. She talks about the mistakes many sales people make when asked the open-ended question: "Tell me more." According to Jill, most launch into a description of their process or their proprietary approach - exactly the wrong answer to give a busy, stressed executive looking for solutions to his problems. Her advice is to deal directly with the executive's problems by:

1) Expanding on how tough it is for companies to achieve their objectives using outdated systems or processes. Talk about all difficulties that arise, the bottlenecks and the workarounds, the frustrations. Mention the ramifications on other areas in their business.

2) Sharing a story about a particular customer you recently worked with, how they were doing things when you initially started working together, the problems they faced and the impact of these problems on their business. Then briefly summarize the outcomes.

3) Then you wrap it up by asking a question that engages your prospect in discussing the issue in greater depth.

She then outlines how she would answer the "tell me more" question:

The biggest challenges facing sellers today is cracking into corporate accounts. Decision makers never answer their phone. They roll all calls to voicemail and they never call anyone back. Most all direct mail goes into the trash and emails from strangers are considered spam. You may have the greatest product or service in the world, but if your people can't get their foot in the door, it's all academic. Most sellers I work with are extremely discouraged. They've tried everything they know, but it's not working. I help them figure out what it takes to succeed in this crazy business environment. How big of an issue is this for your company?"

Can you see how this would work for an interview? Don't you dread the "So tell me about yourself" question? How about: "So, why should I hire you?" Honestly, in my experience most interviewers don't even really know what they want to hear when they ask this question -- but we do. They want to hear an answer that tells them their problems are over. Using Jill's formula, you can give it to them.