Interview Behavior: Communication Skills for Job

The art of conversation when interviewing job candidates.

We notice it in politics and in our lives in general: the art of conversation – along with good manners and other niceties that define a civilized way of life – is in a state of disrepair.

Certainly in the job-related sphere, the way we converse leaves a lot to be desired. What’s wrong? We’re not really conversing.

The dictionary defines “conversation” as an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions or ideas. Such an exchange presupposes that both parties have something to say (stream-of-consciousness ramblings don’t count), and that each pays attention to the other. Alternating monologues don’t qualify.

A good conversation requires thinking, listening, analyzing and caring about what you and your partner are discussing. Now, I don’t think every ordinary “I’ll-have-a-Coke” exchange should be blown up into a Broadway drama, but when we’re talking about something as important as a job, our conversations should be on a higher and more complex plane than when we communicate with an automated phone.

What brings this to mind are two recent job interview situations. In the first, an editor was interviewing a candidate for a senior job. The candidate came for the interview, sat down, and then spoke virtually non-stop for 20 minutes about his background, the job he recently lost and his opinions of the magazine. He asked no questions and, in a real sense, did not engage the editor in conversation. The editor, quite naturally, was shocked. He thought the candidate either was extremely ill at ease, socially inept or just so traumatized by the loss of his job that he was falling apart.

The candidate, in short, had either forgotten or was incapable of engaging in a real exchange with the editor. Had he listened, asked questions, and shown interest in what the editor said (or tried to say), he would have been seriously considered for the job.

In other job situations, the trick is to get beyond or to bypass the formalities of ads, resumes and applications – all of which are important to get you in the door – in order to engage in a real conversation with someone who can hire you.

A reader recently wrote that she was discouraged. She had moved to a small California town a few months earlier and couldn’t find a job. She hadn’t worked for several years while raising her now grown child, and had held several part-time jobs before that. She was so downhearted, she admitted she probably appeared sullen or unenthusiastic in whatever limited dialogue she had had with potential employers.

I told her to forget answering ads and to find nearby businesses where she wanted to work, such as a local packaging and mailing shop. Her job was to engage the owner or manager in a conversation. Compliment him or her on the store and then gradually reveal that she recently moved to the area, that she would like a job near home, and that she is free to work any hours necessary at any reasonable wage. Does the owner need someone like that or know of another business that does?

I believe that a compelling conversation usually trumps compelling credentials. Let me know what you think.

Article – Copyright 2000 Evan Cooper. Syndicated by ParadigmTSA

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