A quick way to tell if your interview has been successful is the flow of the interview. Some of the best interviews I have given and where my clients are sure to get a role usually are “conversational.”

“Actually, we just had a good talk about the business and what they need and how I can contribute "is how they describe their interviews.

You don’t need to wait for the interviewer to take the lead on making it conversational – here is a quick tip that will completely change your interviewing.

Once you have introduced yourself, ask them – “I am happy to go in-depth about my experience. If it’s okay with you, can I ask a quick question before that?”

Now you have pre-empted them before the questions and respectfully asked for their permission. Honestly, if they say No, I would count that as a red flag.

Now, here is your question:

“I have read the Job description and understand the role. As ‘XYZ’ in the organization, I would like to know your expectations from the person joining this role”

3 things happen when you do that:

1. You actually get “their” expectation early on in the interview

Now you can tailor your answers based on what is actually most important to them instead of what your understanding is about what should be important to them

And you get this right at the start of the interview!

2. You break pattern and restore the power balance

Most interviewers expect to ask you question after question to assess your skills for the role and give you a few minutes at the end to ask questions

When you make this request, you have broken that pattern. Now, they are no longer operating on an auto-pilot of questioning your abilities

They pay attention to you more closely.

And in one instance, you have demonstrated your ability to manage stakeholders by understanding their needs and expectations.

3. The interview becomes a conversation!

Imagine the person said – “Well, we are actually looking for someone who has managed a complex digital transformation project for…..”

You can respond with, “It’s interesting you mentioned the need for handling complex digital transformation projects. In my role with ABC, I was handling exactly this…… “

You have not only understood their biggest pain point, you now have demonstrated you can solve it.

Chances are the conversation will now focus very heavily on this experience and you get to address the most important issue for them instead of some arbitrary examples of your competence.

A quick word of caution:

This technique is best applied to Business Leaders or very senior HR professionals.

I hope it helps you to crack your next interviews! And here is a less than 2 min video on answering behavior-based interviews to help you prepare your career stories..

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