Interview skills: take a tip from the movies to make a powerful lasting impression
The impact you make at the end of the interview is just as important as the one you make at the start. Here’s some advice on how to get it right.
Savvy candidates prepare their opening gambit for interviews, the answer to ‘tell us why you are interested in this role’, but can neglect to visualize how they will perform at the end.
How you end an interview will stick in the mind, as much as how you start it.
It can be the end of the story that stays with us the most, not the beginning. The final words of a book, ‘Reader, I married him’ for example, can frame our memory of the entire tale. Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman calls this error of judgement the “peak-end rule”. An event makes its mark in our memories more by what happens at its end than at any prior point.
Movies often have powerful, evocative endings that remain with you. Think of Slumdog Millionaire, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Shawshank Redemption, even King Kong.
I was inspired to write this piece after my recent experience of being on a panel to chose a Charity Chair. I was intrigued by how some good candidates ruined their polished performance by a clumsy exit: scooping up their belongings awkwardly, escaping apologetically and not getting real detail from us about the opportunity they were chasing.
It felt like they assumed they weren’t going to get an offer. They were right about that. They revealed all the vulnerabilities they’d covered up with well-prepped STAR statements. The peak-end rule applies to even trained interviewers.
Leave like the aspirational Leader you are claiming to be, as if you deserve to be there. Interviews are competitive situations, so learn to play the game – and win it.
Always prepare good questions for the ‘anything you want to ask us?’ stage. That doesn’t mean asking about the quality of training we offer! You rule yourself straight out with that – we will hire the candidate who can hit the ground running, thank you, not the one we have to train.
Instead, ask smart onboarding questions. After all, you have other options to consider, so this is an information gathering process for you too.
This isn’t being presumptuous; it’s behaving like the role you are applying for. Strategic, detailed, cautious, thorough.
- Where should I focus my attention in the first 100 days?
- What could derail me?
- How will my performance be measured in the initial stages?
- What do you think I should prioritize in the first few weeks?
- What’s really happening in the team at the moment?
Asking questions like these will make them imagine you in the job and start to think about parts of their workload they could pass onto you. It’s a puppy-dog close: they won’t want you to leave.
Make your exit a confident one. I’m not suggesting a song and dance routine, but at least a smile, a strong handshake to everyone on the panel, eye contact and a thank you for their time. You look forward to hearing from them and want to reiterate how keen you are to make a contribution to the organization. ‘When will I hear from you?’
Be charming to everyone you meet on the way out. No nervous eye rolling, or ‘phew-ing’.
The interview isn’t over just because you have left the building. If you can, keep the contact going. Email your recruiter some pithy comments that they can easily cut and paste in their feedback, including any information you didn’t mention, or questions you wished you’d handled differently.
If possible, email the interviewer or chair of the panel directly to thank them for their time, briefly repeating why you are interested in the role.
Consider sending them LinkedIn invitations. Even if you don’t get the job, they could still be a valuable part of your network. Your LinkedIn profile will reinforce your brand message and your recommendations will impress them. (Sort this out now, if that’s not the case).
Tap into the power of reciprocity.
Finally, be aware of the power of reciprocity when trying to influence decisions your way: the social rule that says people should repay in kind what others have provided for them. This could be behavior, treatment, or expectations.
It’s why waiters give you a mint or chocolate at the end of your meal. Your subconscious mind wants to return the gift. One mint on average gives a 3% increase in tips than the diner planned to give. Two mints give a 14% increase. A waiter leaving one mint then going back and giving more, looking like they liked the diner so much they changed the rules for them, makes the tip sky-rocket.
How can you use this law of reciprocity to your advantage at interview?
Obviously no tips or gifts! Plant the expectation of future contact and collaboration, the expectation that the conversation will continue.
Candidates with one job offer under their belt frequently go on to land more offers. They expect to have a successful interview, they relax and engage with the panel, and get what they expect. That expectation and confidence is contagious.
Think of some way to pass on a contact, lead or anything that came up in the conversation, but without looking like you are trying too hard to ingratiate yourself.
Good luck. And remember to negotiate, not take their first offer.
You know where to find me if you need some hard-core, challenging, interview practice. Feedback is always that the real one is a doddle in comparison.
Warm wishes
Zena