I hope 2015 is the year we finally lay those awful job-interview scripts to rest.
A human conversation is not scripted. If it’s scripted, then it’s a citizenship exam, an oral exam in school or a police interrogation. Real conversations are organic. Surely we can teach interviewers to speak to other people the way humans do.
This is the way a job interview should unfold:
INTERVIEWER: So, Denise, how were our directions?
DENISE: Fine, thank you! I got a little turned around getting off the expressway but Siri got me here.
INTERVIEWER: Siri is a peach! So, you’re meeting Paula Smith later to talk about the Marketing Assistant job. How did you hear about that position opening?
DENISE: It was my senior-year roommate, Tiffany Vasquez, who told me about it. Tiffany was an intern here last summer. She’s in Guatemala now, teaching English.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, Tiffany was a terrific intern! So you and she were roommates? What has life been like since graduation last June?
DENISE: A whirlwind, honestly. I moved back to my parents’ house and got a job at Taco Bell for the summer. I figured I’d get all the work experience I could.
INTERVIEWER: You probably have some ideas about Marketing that you learned at Taco Bell.
DENISE: Tons! I see how they do promotions and pricing. I’m paying close attention. They do upselling at the drive-through. They do a promotion during baseball season. When the home team wins, everybody gets free tacos!
INTERVIEWER: Everybody who drives up?
DENISE: Drives up or walks in. The customers buy more than just the tacos, most of the time, but if they don’t, maybe they’ll think of Taco Bell the next time they’re driving around and they’re hungry. Plus it’s a nice thing to do, to support the home team. It’s a kind of co-branding.
INTERVIEWER: Cool! So for starters, what can I tell you about our Marketing Assistant job?
DENISE: I want to understand a typical day. I’m a mixed-bag kind of person; I like to write and talk on the phone and work on the computer and do a lot of things. Not that I think I can necessarily design my perfect day in my first career job, but I’m curious.
INTERVIEWER: Listen Denise, it’s wonderful that you know some things about yourself. You’re right that you’re probably not going to be able to design your dream job in your first position after college, but the more you know about where you shine and where you feel comfortable, the better!
DENISE: Thank you for saying that. I’m a hard worker. I’m not a prima donna, but I want to be in a situation where I can be incredible at my job.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me a story about a time when you made a huge difference at work — or maybe at school.
DENISE: This is a story about a time when I organized a charity event for my sorority — mine and Tiffany’s. It was an event for a women’s shelter….
Denise and the interviewer are getting to the heart of what each of them needs to know.
Denise wants to know: What will be the job be like, if I get it and if I take the offer?
That’s a good question!
The interviewer wants to know: What will you be like, Denise, if you walk in here and become our new Marketing assistant? We want to know before we and you make a deal to work together.
That’s a good question, too!
Get off the script and stay human in your next job interview. Can you memorize these three questions, the only questions you need to ask job candidates? The rest of the interview can be devoted to standard, friendly back-and-forth conversation.
You can hear about your job candidate’s background. You can share with him what you’re looking to do in the position the two of you are discussing. You can hear his or her stories, and your job candidate can hear your stories.
We teach managers how to hold human interview conversations, when they’re not sure. Our approach is called Interviewing with a Human Voice.
If you’re nervous about remembering these three questions during your next interview, you can make yourself a little cheat sheet. We’ll let you get away with that. I wouldn’t call that a script!
Three Great Interview Questions Every Manager Should Know
- How does this job advance your career?
- What excites you about this mission?
- What are we doing wrong?
Have you got a favorite interview question? Leave it in a comment, below!
This article was written by Liz Ryan from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. SmartRecruiters is the hiring success platform to find and hire great people.
