Executive Interview Techniques
When it comes to an executive interview you are probably asking yourself “what is the best technique?”
One of the best executive interview techniques is having the ability to EVALUATE the interviewer!
If you do your research properly, by the time you enter the interview you should know some basic things about the interviewer:
Name
Position
Work History
Achievements
And most importantly:
Personality!
You have to be able to determine what kind of interviewer he or she is, what is he or she looking for in an applicant, however, in most cases it is almost impossible to get this kind of information beforehand, therefore, you have to do that EVALUATION during the interview!
The executive interview techniques to remember here are the triple A’s:
Anticipate the interviewer’s questions, reactions, attitudes and fears.
Adapt to the interviewer’s style, try to share their values and get into their line of thought.
Act upon the feedback from the interviewer, you must use the clues he or she gives you to your advantage, if the interviewer is inclined towards employee ‘man- management’, emphasize your experience of ‘ man-management’.
Although some interviewing specialists may disagree, I personally think it is good practice to take notes during the job interview (only while the interviewer is speaking of course!).
This would help you in case you are called for a second interview or to evaluate the job later, should you have more than one job offer, just make sure you do not overdo it!
Your notes should be as brief as possible, to enable you to maintain eye contact with the interviewer at all times.
In some instances, you may be required to use an overhead projector, flip chart or another visual aid, if the use of such equipment is considered a normal part of the job you are being interviewed for, do not use anything you are not comfortable with.
Long powerpoint presentations can be a mundane experience for any interviewer, these long drawn out presentations will not have as much impact as a well chosen image or a simple overhead transparency. Let your message do the talking, not the equipment!
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