A few years ago I was interviewing candidates for a really cool job. The position was Special Projects Coordinator for the President of a public organization. The lucky person to get the job would work on a wide variety of projects involving public and private stakeholders and would have the chance to meet many smart and influential people. It was the type of job that carried a high degree of ambiguity with it, but could also really be a career builder for someone.
We knew when we posted the job that we would get a lot of resumes - but I never expected to get over 200 resumes the first couple of days, and another 200 in the weeks that followed. I spent a lot of time screening resumes and ended up doing phone interviews with about 20 candidates before bringing about 7 in for the first round of face to face interviews.
Celia made it to the first round of face to face interviews. Right away I noticed her polished professional presence when I met her in the lobby (very important in this job). She walked behind me as I led her to the conference room to meet with two members of the Leadership Team who were doing further screening before bringing candidates back to meet with the President. We all sat down and within 60 seconds I knew Celia was not the candidate.
She completely collapsed in front of the panel and had a very difficult time giving the succinct, articulate answers she had provided during the phone interview. Further, she kept gazing at the ceiling to gather her thoughts before responding to our questions. One of the interviewers signaled to me that he was ready to cut the interview short (yes - we have signals for situations like this). Because she had driven all the way downtown, and because she really was a pleasant, earnest person (and not one bit glib ) I wanted to give her a soft landing. So I threw her a softball question to start to wrap things up:
Me: "The President serves on many Public Committees around the state. Occasionally he cannot attend the meetings but wants our organization represented. Typically the Special Projects Coordinator will fill in for him. Are you comfortable in situations like that?"
[Note: Naturally every candidate we asked enthused about this opportunity. Celia completely caught us off guard with her response, though. She snapped her head down from gazing at the ceiling, looked us all in the eyes for the first time since the interview began, smiled gleefully, and gushed with confidence:
Celia: "I would LOVE to do that! I absolutely EXCEL at casual banter!"
As an interview team we were slightly stunned by this sudden display of clarity and energy, but managed to ask a few follow-up questions. Celia responded with story after story about interesting people she had met, how she approached them and initiated conversations, how she continued the relationship, etc. She had us listening, laughing, and literally on the edge of our seats with her tales.
We ended the interview much more pleasantly than we began. However, during the debrief session we concurred that she simply hadn't demonstrated the conceptual thinking and project management skills that were important to this role, and we just couldn't move her forward in the process. But trust me, we had a hard time deciding not to move her forward. Why? Because she was FUN to interview and for a few brief moments we forgot that we were spending our days talking to and rating candidates that were all starting to look and sound the same while work was piling up back on our desks.
So what's the point? Be a fun person to interview. I am not advocating that you go into an interview prepared to tell jokes and tap dance. But I am advocating that you try to understand the interviewer's perspective when you go in. While you may be nervous and keyed up for the interview, it's very likely the at least one of the people you are about to meet with is bored with interviewing, possibly fatigued by it, or just plain frustrated by how hard it is to tell candidates apart and select the one that can make a positive difference. Being fun won't help you if you don't have the skills to do the job. But if you are one of the many candidates who is qualified, then being a little fun can help you stand out from the crowd. If you can make the interview process easy for the interviewer, and a little bit entertaining too, then you have a good chance of being remembered and moving forward.
It also helps if you have a memorable line to leave them with - something uniquely you. I will never forget Celia saying "I absolutely EXCEL at casual banter!" I personally get fatigued going into work events and committee meetings in the late afternoon and evening. Often in the parking lot, I will pump myself up by silently telling myself "I absolutely EXCEL at casual banter!" It brings a smile to my face every time.
And Celia - wherever you are, I truly hope you landed well and you are having a great (and fun) career that uses your considerable talents and brings you joy!
I will try that too, "I EXCEL at casual banter, I EXCEL at casual banter . . ." Great "feeling good" kind of a post!
Posted by: Lisa | October 11, 2007 at 05:14 PM
What a great story! How do you rank 'excellence in casual banter'?! I hope it isn't anything like, 'I am a detail-oriented person.' I interviewed someone who said that, with at least three shirt buttons unbuttoned, and the shirt wrinkled...
Posted by: Red Jello | October 11, 2007 at 08:50 PM