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TURN YOUR INTERVIEW AROUND
Les,
I’m about to start interviewing for jobs after graduation and I’m dreading the thought of being grilled over and over again about my work experience, goals, strengths, weaknesses, and who knows what else. I’m sure that the interviewers will be nice, but I think of the actual interviews as inquisitions and this makes me very nervous before and during the process. Is there anything I can do to make the next months less stressful as there are a lot of other things I need to deal with besides finding a job?
Felicity
Dear Felicity,
Wow, “inquisition” is a stressful image full of blinding spotlights, mean dudes in uniform, snarling dogs and cigarette smoke. They’re rarely that severe, but let’s face it, interviews sometimes feel like professional strip searches and are almost always stressful for interviewees. How could they not be when you’re being questioned, tested, compared and sized up in 60-minutes or less—usually by total strangers who almost always have more information than you do?
Could you take your inquisition image down a notch or two by thinking of an interview as a two-way process and preparing to turn the spotlight on your questioners? Nervous or not, job seekers should interview prospective employers about their mission, expectations, work environment, org chart, benefits, growth potential and other conditions appropriate to particular positions. I know, you may need a future employer more than they need you, but turning the interview table communicates self-respect, self-confidence and skill under pressure. And even if your interviewers don’t give a rats behind about what you think of them, this counter interview technique works to reduce interview stress by giving you another role and place in this dynamic beyond defendant in the hot seat. Feeling in control and taking the steering wheel when appropriate can dramatically reduce the stress ahead of, during, and after an interview, as well as during other challenging encounters.
Best of luck and remember: Ask not what you can do for your future employer. Ask what your future employer can do for you.
Les
4/07
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