“Interviewing Fluency,” finding your interviewing genius, and 7 helpful questions toward interview mastery.
Virtually all of us will experience seasons as a “Professional Interviewer.” As a hiring official and member of hiring teams, I’ve interacted with several hundred Professional Interviewers. And, as a person whose career began in the 1970s, I’ve lived through my own share of such seasons. All of that, plus some ideas that have come up in recent coaching sessions, produced a lightning flash of perspective that someone might find helpful and encouraging.
Isn't “interviewing” an exercise in communication? Words tell the interviewer what we want them to know about our qualifications. Non-verbals (e.g., body language, tone of voice) communicate our heart, confidence, and passion for the position. Even our home office background, in this age of videoconferencing, communicates something about us.
Introducing "Interviewing Fluency"
Nothing I say here justifies discrimination against those who are interviewing in their second or third spoken language! No… when I refer to "Interviewing Fluency" as an important tool in convincing a hiring team that you are an outstanding fit for the position, I mean something far more than vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
I connect “Interviewing Fluency” with “flow states.” A flow state happens when we’re so absorbed in what we’re doing that we lose our awareness of time, space, and distraction. As a young musician, I’d begin practice right after dinner. I’d finish to discover it was past midnight - though I intended to stop at 8 p.m. That’s a flow state!
How does “flow” relate to interviewing? Well, interviewing involves conversational communication. Think of a great conversation you've been in lately. Chances are the participants were energized, enthusiastic, and felt safe in sharing their knowledge, thoughts, and ideas. Chances are you enjoyed the interchange and wished it could have continued. Maybe you've even replayed some of it in your mind. What if your interviewers experienced you that way? What if you could answer their questions, ask your own questions, and establish yourself as the hands-down best candidate with such fluency, such GENIUS, that your interviewers got into flow with you? Perhaps even spent more time enjoying your company than they planned on as they saw more and more of your value?
I believe this does require some pre-work on the interviewee's part. You've heard that genius is 10% inspiration and 90%... let's turn our focus to that 90%.
Tapping into your Interviewing Genius
A highly fluent person is so FAMILIAR WITH THE TOPIC, and so PRACTICED IN DISCUSSING IT, that they can use whatever words they know “on the fly” to get their points across clearly as the conversation moves along. Because I've studied it a lot, I can discuss World War II fluently; but I am not fluent in the rules of Australian football. Whether through career experience or time spent preparing for a specific interview, a fluent interviewer has ensured they have learned and practiced the dance steps of the conversation before it happens, so they can be convincing simply by being themselves.
For instance, if you know you'll be submitting to a behavioral interview, you might rehearse stories given in the STAR format about the successes your interviewers will most likely find relevant, until you can literally tell them backwards without getting tongue-tied.
The athletic world offers some interesting points of analogy. The best players, including those who excel when the stakes are high, are so well-trained that they react naturally and successfully as the action unfolds. Their genius is a natural expression of who they’ve trained themselves to be. Their focus and dedication to their trade over a period of years, allow them to do amazing things without thinking - even when faced with surprises. And they’ve chosen a sport for which they have a special gifting. For a professional interviewer, this might translate to:
Pursuing opportunities that you’re gifted for,
Practicing the skills that lead to Interviewing Fluency, and thus… ·
Communicating so smoothly and convincingly that your interviewers will likely see you are the right person for the job, and...
Finding yourself able to handle unanticipated questions while keeping the conversation "in flow."
Seven Helpful Questions
Here’s seven questions that people who are, or soon will be a Professional Interviewer, might want to explore – possibly with the help of a career coach or mentor. I believe these questions address some aspect of “Interviewing Fluency” and unlocking your interviewing genius.
1. Am I pursuing jobs that are appropriate to my capabilities and interests? While it’s healthy to stretch – can I easily sell my ability to make this stretch to an interview team?
2. Have I rehearsed and role-played enough that actual interviews feel like practice? Have I prepared myself to answer tough questions so well that my audience will think, “Hire this candidate, because this is the confident and poised person we’ll be getting!”
3. Do I know how to play “defense” as well as “offense?” Can I defend myself against “deer in the headlight” moments that can unnerve even the most skilled interviewer, such as an unexpected question? How does one do this? Ask a clarifying question! Relevant clarifying questions showcase your intelligence and expertise, keep the conversation in flow, and buy you time to formulate an answer.
4. What would make me freeze or think too hard during an interview? What questions can you think of that would trigger your “deer in the headlight” moments that savvy interviewers catch and read as insecurity and inexperience? (I can’t tell you how often my interview teams eliminated people because of this...) Identify these triggers in advance, and rehearse how you’ll navigate them until they no longer make you anxious.
5. What stops my best "self" from coming through in the interview? A common characteristic of people I’ve hired is that, in addition to being technically qualified, they convinced us that they would contribute something positive to team culture: our unity, enjoyment of the work, cooperation, etc. Your genuine SMILE is a powerful ally. How can you ensure your smile is the genuine kind that can cause interviewers to trust and believe you? Back to Question 1 above: Are you genuinely excited about and qualified for the position you’re seeking?
Think of a hobby, sport, or art that you’re quite proficient in. Chances are, when you tell others about these things, you’re showing up to others as knowledgeable, positive, and confident. Can you bring all those things to the interview? If so, you’re on the road to Interviewing Fluency.
6. What would it be like for me to show up to interviews with no fear or anxiety? If you’re carrying fear and/or stress into the job search process, chances are it will hurt every aspect of the process, from how you decide which opportunities to pursue, to how well you prepare, to how you show up in the interview. Don't struggle with these things in isolation: free yourself from them! A trusted friend, coach, mentor, or life partner can be a big help.
7. What's my coping strategy for "no?" Even the best interviewers will hear it, and multiple times! But not everyone is deterred by it. Do you want to be among the people who shrug off “no” and stay hot on the trail of your better future? One way is to answer the following question and to keep your answers top of mind: What realistic outcomes are so important and compelling to me that "no" does not shake my resolve to stay vigorous and positive in pursuit of my career goal? In the face of inevitable temporary detours, rehearsing these answers will help sustain you in all the disciplines needed to develop and maintain your Interviewing Fluency, and your innate interviewing genius.
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