“Don’t make them work for it.”
See what I did there?
If you’ve ever had to dig through an article for the information promised in its title, you know how frustrating the experience can be.
No one appreciates being made to mine for information, least of all hiring managers. Over the years, I have run, observed, and participated in hundreds of interviews and debriefed with countless candidates and their interviewers, and, in my experience, nothing tanks an interview faster.
As a Talent Consultant with DRG, I help people at the helm of mission-driven nonprofits identify their organizational gaps, goals, and ambitions, craft a role around those priorities, and recruit the transformational leaders they need to realize their vision.
Most of the candidates I support through the interview process are CEOs, Executive Directors, lead fundraisers, and C-Suite executives of all kinds—polished professionals who have spent decades honing their communication skills and hiring teams of their own. Yet I’ve seen even the most seasoned leaders fall apart when they find themselves on the other side of the interviewing table.
All too often, exceptional candidates are rejected because they made it harder for their interviewer to get what they need: they omitted specifics in service of keeping the conversation “high level,” buried the lead within a litany of anecdotes, or attempted to demonstrate subject-matter expertise by peppering their answers with acronyms, dropping names, or making other types of inside baseball references without the necessary context to bring their interviewer along.
So, before the big day, I remind candidates that while the best interviews are structured to feel like a good conversation, they are, in fact, data-gathering sessions. Your interviewer’s job is to determine if you have the specific experience and approach that the organization needs.
Your job is to make your interviewer’s job as easy as possible.
Say you are a senior-level HR professional up for a Chief Human Resources Officer opportunity at a complex social service agency. The organization is struggling with high turnover rates and has determined that they need a CHRO with the vision to help integrate their staffing needs into the strategic plan, the grit and expertise to handle union negotiations and entrenched interdepartmental dynamics, and the cultural sensitivity to celebrate and retain their diverse, direct-service workforce.
As interviews last anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour, with some of that time reserved for candidate questions, hiring committees have a tough job: they need to learn enough about your experience with and approach to each of their priority areas to make an informed decision, all within an extremely limited time frame.
Don’t make them work for it! Instead, I advise candidates to follow this formula:
Answer the question posed within the very first sentence, then follow up with one or two brief anecdotes that are specific, relatable, and, if possible, show some kind of growth.
Given this committee’s priorities, they might choose to ask a question like:
“Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to navigate complex staff dynamics and break down long-standing siloes? What was the situation, and how did you resolve it?”
The question itself should tip you off that the committee is dealing with some of the staffing issues they’re asking you to discuss. Your first sentence, if not your first word, should put their concerns to rest and make it easy to check “yes” next to their “candidate can fix our infighting” box:
“Absolutely! No organization is immune to these sorts of dynamics, so solving for them has become a bit of a specialty. In my most recent role, I [insert problem/solution here] …and now that Development and Marketing are working toward the same goals, contributions have gone up by 20%.”
But what if you haven’t had to deal with this kind of situation or don’t have an example that precisely fits their scenario?
Own it! Make sure to highlight any skills you would draw on to address the problem and follow up with how you’ve approached similar situations:
“I haven’t had as much experience diffusing long-standing staff issues since I’ve built my last two teams from the ground up and had the luxury of starting with a blank slate. But I’ve got a good eye for hiring staff who mesh well with the personalities already in-house, and I’m especially proud of the work I’ve done over the years to keep everyone rowing in the same direction. And, of course, no team is perfect, so when issues have come up, here’s how I’ve helped course correct…”
Whether you’re up for a CEO or a part-time Admin role, it’s important to remember that the position you’re interviewing for plays a crucial role in keeping the organization running smoothly and lightens the load for its direct supervisor, on whom the work would otherwise fall. Chances are, that supervisor will be your interviewer. You can’t go wrong by making things easier for them from your very first meeting—and doing so sends a strong signal that you’ll do the same once they bring you on board.
