How interview analysis really works

There are two ways of looking at job interview analysis. The first, covered in this article, is all about assessing your own performance in the interview as a tool for learning and improvement in the future to allow you to better manage your career. The second is the assessment that the employer makes of you. You know, the one when they decide whether or not you actually get the job. Have you convinced them you are the candidate you should make an offer to?

So how does interview analysis work?

The interviewer(s) will sit around in contemplation of who was the best candidate. They will base their analysis on your demonstration of the core competencies for the position………or at least that is how it works in theory. Of course, in reality there is also a fair amount of weight given to the “gut feeling” they have. Who "seems" right? who impressed them? Who can they picture working as part of their team? This is not just about your answers to questions or the words on your resume. It goes deeper.

Remember the interview is designed to answer the core questions: Can you do the job?

Will you do the job?

Will you fit the team?

If you make it to interview it is safe to assume they believe you can do the job. However, the further two questions are more about you as a person than anything you can actually say………with your words anyway.

Whether or not you will do the job, or fit the team are more to do with your unique motivations and personality. Often these types of questions are not explicitly asked in the interview, but instead are assumed about you through the way you present yourself. (Even if they are asked, the “right” answers can often sound like a tired cliché. When they ask about your strengths and weaknesses and you tell them “I’m a perfectionist", most interviewers will take your answer with a pinch of salt! )

Essentially the job interview scenario does not match how we assess people in real life. When was the last time you gave a potential friend or partner a competency based question to assess them? Its just not part of the way we judge one another. Yet we always know who we like or don’t like, often after ridiculously short periods of time. Something else is going on here!

Of course, in reality the fact is what we consider is not always rationally what it “should be”, and the same is often true in the interview. Don’t get me wrong, you need to do your interview preparation so that you give great answers to their questions. Just be aware that the interview is about more than this.

When you appreciate that there will be more to the interview analysis than simply what you say, you realise that a large part of interview success is knowing the art of how to put your best foot forward. Things like the first impression you create and the way you carry and present yourself will have a massive impact on whether they like you or not. this is as much a part of a good interview as practicing your answers, arguably more so.

If you want the interview analysis to work in your favour, don’t neglect the power of your personal impact. It’s time to think about your interview presentation………………………

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