How to ace a job interview? We asked a manager
Want to work? Chances are you’ll need to interview. Trying to charm a potential employer isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but Yale professor Jason Dana questions whether job interviews are useful at all.
Some of you reached out to Marketplace Weekend with your thoughts:
@Marketplace As much as the interviewer thinks he’s interviewing me, I’m doing the same. I wouldn’t walk into a job sight unseen or without information.
— SopranoGirl (@Bombaysoprano1) April 17, 2017
@Marketplace Interviews are a good way to let your personal bias have a chance to override the merit of the candidate. Sometimes a necessary evil though.
— David Carroll ? (@Animated_David) April 18, 2017
@Marketplace They can be if the interviewer is not properly trained or prepared and understands what qualities are most valued.
— Coast2Coast (@C2CHoops) April 20, 2017
@Marketplace Interviewing well is a skill in itself that doesn’t directly transfer into most jobs’ day-to-day. It also enables interviewer prejudice.
— JDS (@110101notabot) April 18, 2017
Sadly, the job interview isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So what to do when you put in an application and then get the call for “a chat?”
We’ve got you covered. Alison Green from the popular blog Ask a Manager, joins the show to answer all the questions you wish you could ask your boss — or potential boss.
Here are her takeaways to ace that next job interview:
Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes: “If you were looking at yourself as a candidate, what’s the evidence you’d look for to prove you can excel at this job?”
Prepare for the question you’re most afraid of: “Most people have an interview question that they dread being asked … whether it’s salary, or why they left their last job. It’s so much better to figure out what the thing is that you’re worried about so you can plan an answer and practice delivering it in a way that you’re comfortable with.”
Ask about salary (if you want): “It is important to realize that some people still buy into [thinking it’s rude to ask about salary], and you do take a risk if you ask about salary during an interview. I do think it’s changing, and I do think people are becoming more reasonable and realistic about this. I also think it’s safer to ask about salary later in the process if it’s turning into multiple interviews or … if you’re being asked to invest serious time or even money in taking part in the interview process, it becomes more understandable.”
For more tips from Alison Green, click on the media player above.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
