![\"Vintage](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/interview.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There are two ways to approach a job interview.<\/p>\n
With the first, you take a pretty passive stance. You control what you can on your side of things — dressing well<\/a>, acting confident, trying to give good answers<\/a> — but a lot of how the interview goes is left up to chance: Is the interviewer effective at asking good questions that allow you to talk about why you\u2019re a great fit for the job? Is he or she feeling tired or fresh? Is the interview long or short? You get whatever kind of interview you happen to walk into.<\/p>\n With the second approach, you take charge of the interview. Rather than hoping you\u2019ll land an eager, experienced interviewer, you make stuff happen for yourself. You talk about the things you need to talk about to make yourself look like the best candidate for the job, even if the interviewer doesn\u2019t directly lead you there. Regardless of the quality of the interview you get, you\u2019re able to offer a complete, persuasive picture of yourself.<\/p>\n How do you control a job interview like this? That\u2019s what we\u2019ll teach you today.<\/p>\n In Thinking on Your Feet<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Marian K. Woodall argues that there are two ways to control an interview:<\/p>\n Basically, you want to know what a potential employer is looking for in an ideal candidate, match those requirements up with your own experience and traits, and then share those matchups as much as possible during the interview.<\/p>\n Figuring out these matchups is something you should do in the days leading up to the interview. To do so, Woodall recommends creating two columns on a sheet of paper. On one side, list the skills, experiences, aptitudes, preferences, etc. the potential employer is looking for in a candidate. You can figure this out by reviewing and parsing the job description, researching the company, and simply using your powers of deduction. Consider not just the \u201chard\u201d skills the position calls for, but the attitudes and interests the employer likely wants too. A job at a museum may not require that someone love art, but a passion for it will add value to the position; likewise, being a regular camper may not be mandatory to be hired at an outdoors store, but it can go a long way towards making a candidate more attractive. Finally, keep in mind that there are traits employers are prohibited from advertising for, but desire nonetheless. For example, a construction company may be looking for someone young and strong, while a library prefers someone who\u2019s quiet and mature. List as many traits as possible that the potential employer may be seeking.<\/p>\n On one side of the paper, write the skills\/traits an employer is likely looking for in a hire. On the other side, write the skills\/traits you possess that match those requirements.<\/p><\/div>\n Now in the right-side column, write down any experiences, skills, interests, etc. you possess that match up with each trait or skill you listed on the left side. Making some of these matches will be easy; the employer\u2019s looking for computer programming skills, and you\u2019re adept at javascript and C++. Some may require a little more thought and imagination, though. If you think an employer is looking for someone older, and you\u2019re in your twenties, write down the fact that you\u2019re mature beyond your years due to the fact that you learned patience, responsibility, and organization in taking care of a sick parent while you were growing up. If you think the employer is looking for an energetic young buck, and you\u2019re longer in the tooth, put down the fact that you work out 5X a week and do triathlons. If they\u2019re looking for on-the-job experience, but you\u2019ve just graduated, think of projects, community service, and other things you\u2019ve done that demonstrate the same kind of skills and training.<\/p>\n Review your matchups several times before your interview, and then during, weave the information from the right side column into as many questions as you can. Oftentimes the questions the interviewers ask make this easy — your experience\/skills are relevant, and all you have to do is emphasize and highlight the information that best parallels what they\u2019re looking for. You don\u2019t have to always make explicit parallels between the job\u2019s requirements and your own traits, though you can when they ask something like, \u201cWhat makes you the right person for this job?\u201d \u201cThe job description says you\u2019re looking for someone with experience with social media. In my last job, I grew the company\u2019s Facebook page by 10,000 fans.\u201d Or: \u201cI can tell this job requires physical stamina. I still go to the gym 5 times a week and am entering my fifth triathlon this summer. I love physical challenges and enjoy being up and doing things all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Peppering your answers with the information from your matchup sheet is an easy way to guide an interview. But what if the interviewer simply isn\u2019t asking questions that give you the opportunity to highlight your strengths?<\/p>\n You can control the questions you get by adjusting them to your advantage.<\/p>\n In our primer on answering difficult questions<\/a>, we shared Woodall\u2019s advice on how to respond to challenging queries. The trick is often to adjust or turn the question around in such a way that you can talk about what you<\/em> want to. Several of her techniques work well for fielding those interview questions that don\u2019t offer the chance to paint yourself in the best possible light:<\/p>\n If there\u2019s part of a question you don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea to speak to, focus on an aspect that will allow you to highlight one of your matchups. You do that, Woodall writes, by taking \u201cone word from the question (usually not the main topic word) which you are willing to talk about, and [building] a strong, supported response around it.\u201d<\/p>\n So let\u2019s say a candidate doesn\u2019t have the advanced degree usually required of a position, and is asked:<\/p>\n With this technique you build a bridge from what the question asked to what you really want to talk about. This technique is similar to the refocusing strategy, but the break between the content of the question and that of your answer is sharper.<\/p>\n The trick is to bridge to your talking points as smoothly as possible so the transition isn\u2019t too awkward or noticeable. To do this, first acknowledge the significance of the question\u2019s subject, and then look for a logical pivot point towards what you think is the more important factor:<\/p>\n With the bridge technique, you pivot entirely away from the question\u2019s main subject. But sometimes you just want to narrow the field of discussion, while also encouraging follow-up questions and continued conversation on one certain aspect. With the funnel approach, you can accomplish this by acknowledging the larger issue and then using narrowing words to direct the interviewer\u2019s attention to the area you most want to spotlight:<\/p>\n The final way to take charge of a job interview is to use the final moments\/questions to your best advantage.<\/p>\n If the interviewer closes with \u201cIs there anything you\u2019d like to add?\u201d highlight 1-2 of the matchups from your original worksheet that you didn\u2019t get to mention over the course of the interview. \u201cThe job description noted that you\u2019re looking for someone with editing experience. Part of my last job included editing the company\u2019s newsletters as well as its blog posts.\u201d<\/p>\nMaximize Your Matchups<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Bullet](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/job.jpg\")
Turn Questions Around to Your Advantage<\/h3>\n
Refocus the Question<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Build a Bridge<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
Use a Funnel<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Use Your Closer<\/h3>\n