HOW TO INTERVIEW

Learn how to have purposeful conversations with anyone, and the job interview will be a piece of cake.

by: Brooke Allen

When Darya Gorlova met Lola Falkowski through No Shortage of Work, they did not just chat; Darya interviewed Lauren about her business, LolaFalk.

And Darya did not just write down notes, she wrote up an article.

She published it on her blog.

I am often asked by colleges to speak to their seniors about interviewing. I ask the colleges why they don’t want me to speak to their freshmen.

By the time a student is a senior, and ready to apply for the first serious job, she could have dozens, perhaps hundreds of interviews under her belt. And, I’m not talking about “practice interviews,” I’m talking about real ones. An interview is little more than a purposeful conversation intended to obtain information. If you want to learn something from someone, interview them.

A college friend of mine was never satisfied simply referencing publications in her schoolwork; she often called the authors on the telephone and interviewed them.

In a classic scene in Annie Hall, Woody Allen gets in an argument with a pedantic professor. Woody finds Marshall McLuhan behind a movie poster and gets him to straighten out the professor. Likewise, my friend could tell her professors, “Well, when I spoke with the author last night, he said…”

I admired my friend, but I did not emulate her, and that is why, when she graduated, she had many more useful contacts than me, and she was much more at ease speaking with strangers – particularly ones more powerful or knowledgeable than her. She had practice. I did not.

Here are some suggestions for how you can be more like my friend:

When you interview someone, your goal is to learn something. You will soon discover that people love it when you take an interest in their interests, and they will be very forgiving if you are amateurish at first.

It is important that you take notes. Not only does it make it clear you respect the person’s words, it will help you remember later. And if you don’t remember a conversation, it may as well not have ever taken place.

Take some time and write up your notes in more formal prose. As you do, you will uncover follow-up questions. This will give you a reason to call or write and that will solidify your relationship.

Everything is interesting when viewed from the right angle. Occasionally, you’ll find yourself interviewing boring people, and you’ll start to lose focus. Here’s a trick I use: I ask myself, “How am I going to make this interesting when I write it up?” Committing to producing a finished product gives you a goal that will motivate you to continue. You will discover that almost everything can be made interesting.

Learn to interview like a reporter (and get lots of practice), and you’ll ace the job interview. Few hiring managers know how to conduct an interview, so it will help you greatly if you do. My suggestion: don’t just make the other person’s interests (or yours) the topic of the interview. Make the conversation be about the WORK. Look to learn all about what needs to be accomplished, how it gets done, and why. Don’t try to impress people with your knowledge (reporters don’t do that) but rather with your interest. People would rather hire a learn-it-all than a know-it-all.

Look for every opportunity to interview people, and there is a good chance you’ll get job offers without needing to answer ads or go on “job” interviews. Hiring managers know how hard it is to find people with a sincere interest in the job at hand, and when they run across you, they will wonder if you might be available the next time something opens up. They don’t enjoy conducting “job” interviews any more than you like going to them.

So, take the initiative as Darya has.

A No Shortage of Work networking party is a good place to find people to interview – we’ll even help you. Of course, so is every other place in the world – wherever you find people.