Go for a mock exercise before the real talk at the job table.........................
How to assess the interviewer...............
In a normal interview situation, the interviewer assesses you. Why not turn the tables?
Let us switch roles for once. Instead of being assessed by the interviewer, why not assess him instead? Is he worthy of conducting the interview? Is he competent enough to be given the role of being the one who decides the course of your life by determining your career? Let's start by figuring out what the interviewer is thinking.
Let's turn his checklist on him:
IS HE PREPARED? Interviewing is a responsible job. If the interviewer doesn’t even bother to
find out the details of the position being offered, or the background of the applicant, he is not
suited to the task. An interviewer has to do his homework as well-he just cannot presume he
can run an easy-flowing meeting without knowing the basic details.
IS HE NERVOUS? Look for the give-aways: shifting legs, tick in the eye, avoiding eye contact.
Realise that probably he's nervous as well. Interviewing is not an easy task. The onus of
selection weighs heavy on the interviewer. He has been given the difficult task of finding a
suitable candidate who fulfills all the criteria, yet has moderate salary expectations and is also a
reliable person. All this to be found out-and that too in the duration of a couple of meetings.
IS HE HONEST? Find out if the interview is just a sham, and the MD's sister's son-in-law has
already been promised the job. A just interviewer will play it fair, will follow the rules and will be
sincere with you. He/she won’t come to the interview with preconceived and fixed ideas.
He/she will be ready to listen to you and give you, and other applicants, a fair hearing.
IS HE NASTY? Tough questions are part of the interview repertoire, the likes of which have
been listed by William A. Cohen in The Executive's Guide to Finding a Superior Job.
A few examples:
"What are your three greatest strengths, in order?"
"Where do you want to be in five years?"
"What does the word success mean to you?"
"Why should we be interested in hiring you?"
But there are questions he/she ought not to be asking:
"Why did you go in for a divorce?"
"Why are your parents separated?"
KEEP A DISTANCE
There is really no need to get familiar or personal during the interview. Don't, however, get too
involved or preoccupied in your attempt at analysing/assessing the interviewer. For, you may
then forget the real reason for the interview: getting the job
