AKA: : Making a Good Impression on That Guy That’s Not Going to Get the Job!
“Say what?” you might be asking yourself. Why in the world would you want to impress an interviewee? It’s their job to impress you, right?
Companies are constantly promoting themselves: Through advertising and seminars and all kinds of PR campaigns. But the most pointed impression any company will ever make is the job interview. If you interview twenty five people for one position, how you and the rest of your team compose and comport yourselves will make a huge difference to the twenty four people who did not get the job. No type or amount of PR or advertising will ever sway those twenty four on what your company is like. What happens during and after that interview will indelibly shape their impression of your business, more so than anything else.
That is a concept that seems to be lost on a lot of companies. Too many in fact.
You may ask yourself again, “What difference would it make? I’m not supposed to impress anyone.” I have been on dozens of interviews and I can honestly say I came away with a very good impression of several companies, companies that didn’t hire me. The way they presented themselves, the way they asked me questions and how they responded to me, these particular companies left me feeling good about them, even though I could easily have a negative impression of them because they didn’t hire me.
The same cannot be said of other companies. I have a very bad impression of other corporations that interviewed me, and I remember who they are. Again, you might ask yourself, what difference does it make? I’m not the one who has to impress them. And if you decide you don’t want someone working at your company, what difference does it make what they think?
That hopeless dipstick with the messy code who you might have been curt with because you knew you weren’t going to hire her after a few minutes of interviewing? She may be running her own successful company several years from now, or she may become a product manager for a large and powerful corporation that you don’t want to be on the wrong side of. Yeah, you didn’t think they were going to get anywhere, but how many times have you thought, “She got that job???”
At this moment I am being assailed by sales reps left and right because I am currently working on a database for a successful non-profit. I keep getting calls and emails from people trying to schmooze me. Imagine the kind of reaction I would have when I got an email from one of those companies that ticked me off or treated me shabbily during an application and interview process.
So here it is: How to interview prospective employees:
Dress Well
Say what? Don’t they have to dress well? Yes, but so do you. Many is the time I’ve shown up in a suit, just to be interviewed by a couple of guys in t-shirts and jeans. Don’t get me wrong, t-shirts and jeans are just fine. In fact, it can help an interviewee feel more comfortable. But make sure your t-shirts aren’t old and faded, and your jeans aren’t frayed. And for the love of Pete, make sure your t-shirts have sleeves. (True story!) You’re not going to a dive bar, you’re trying to make an impression.
Feel free to dress in something that makes you feel comfortable, but keep in mind that your potential employee should also feel comfortable. Wear clean clothes, straighten that tie, tuck in that shirt, (Unless it’s a t-shirt with a picture of the USS Enterprise, which yes, is kosher,) and double-check your hair. Yes, your hair! I have been interviewed by frazzled hair people who obviously didn’t give two shakes about what they looked like at the time.
Think of it as an interview for your company when it comes to your appearance. You’re trying to convince the interviewee that you’re a good, reliable, and respectful company with good people.
Act interested in the Interviewee. (Even if you’re not!)
Too many times I’ve had an obviously bored or disinterested hiring manager ask me a bunch of pre-programmed questions. At one interview an engineer, who was one of a group of people who interviewed me, came in and asked one question and then just got up and left, clearly annoyed that he had to come in at all, and obviously unconcerned with what was going on. Everyone would had been better off if he had not come in at all when it came to making an impression.
If you have a long and rigorous interview schedule, and you’re talking to another engineer who will give the exact same answers to all of your Node.js questions as the previous interviewee, it will be difficult to keep up the facade that you find the whole interchange interesting. Well, tough beans! The person you’re interviewing may be doing this for the fourth or fifth time this week, and repeating answers that she’s already given dozens of times, all while trying to look bright-eyed and enthusiastic. You should do the same.
If you really want to be professional, if you really want to promote your brand, then it’s your job to seem interested in the people you are considering for a job. Disinterest and oblivious ennui happen far too often with interviewers, and it’s bad form.
How to respond to those who did not get the job
First of all, respond! Nothing is louder than silence. I know more than a few people who have a really bad impression of a company because they never heard back from them at all concerning a position they interviewed or applied for. And believe me, that is far too common. Yeah. It’s a pain in the ass to respond to all of them, but do it anyways! That is important work.
Having said that, how you respond is extremely important. A few tips:
Take a few days to respond, especially if you said you will. Nothing is more deflating than an autoreject. I once came home from an interview that I thought went really well, and the decline email was already in my email inbox by the time I got home. I realize it’s probably because they quickly decided who they wanted for the job, but it was still very demoralizing. Take a few days to inform applicants that they didn’t get the job, even if you know from the get-go that they aren’t right for the job, and especially if you already told the interviewee that they would hear from you in a few days.
And when you respond to someone who didn’t get the job, schmooze them.
Say what? Schmooze someone we didn’t want? What the hell?
If you don’t know the reason why, then you simply haven’t taken in what I have already said. Be diplomatic, and be courteous and complimentary in your rejections. Below is part of a rejection letter I got from a software company:
“I wanted to extend a virtual wave and thank you for your interest in joining our team. You obviously have many of the skills we’re looking for. That said, we’re moving forward with others whose experience speaks more directly to our current needs.
Based on your background, there is no doubt that you will shine in your next career endeavor. ”
That’s how you write a rejection letter! What, you don’t actually think that way about the rejectee? Do it anyway! Like I said earlier, you never know what that amateur nerd who you don’t think is going to get anywhere is going to end up. They may be running their own successful company someday, or might be in a position to make contract or buying decisions for a giant mega corporation. As Sean Connery said in The Untouchables, “There goes the next Chief of Police.”
Other tips:
– Introduce yourself and tell the applicant something about yourself and the company. Think of it as you’re being interviewed! (But keep it succinct. Don’t get TL;DR on them!)
– Let the applicant know what the format of the interview is going to be before you start. Let them know what they’re in for!
– Give the applicant time at the end to ask their own questions. Not only is it helpful for the person getting interviewed, but it’s also a great way to learn more about them.
What I’m trying to do is to get hiring people to really realize what interviews really are. It’s a daunting task, looking for a job. When you’re in the hot seat and the way you answer one or two specific questions can mean the difference between getting that hot software position or continuing to sweat out side gigs to make ends meet in a pressure cooker of financial precipices, the way you are treated by the people deciding your career and economic fate becomes intensified, even if that applicant has already slogged through a dozen interviews in the last week. Your actions, words, appearance, and attitude are amplified and represent your company as a whole. If you value your brand at all, you will take that to heart.
Because making a good impression on someone you turned down for a job is the most amazing PR any company could ask for. Work for that!
Note: Obviously I’ve been focusing on my experience with software companies. For the purposes of this essay, this applies to all kinds of companies, whether you’re retail, or manufacturing, or whatever your business is!
