Jul
08

37 comments

The First 5 Minutes. How To Kick-Off A Successful Interview

I’ll be honest. I can tell pretty quick whether you are likely a good fit for a job.

And I can tell in the first 5 minutes.

If that sounds unfair, wrong or short-sighted then you need to remember that we are all human. And that we all react very quickly to a variety of stimuli. Many of them are ones that we cannot even identify. Just a feeling but one that stays with you all the way to the group meeting where the candidate’s fate is decided.

So even if I am not consciously aware of all the stimuli, I will tell you that there are things that I am conscious of and do look for in the first 5 minutes. You know what they say about a good first impression, right?

So, whether this is exactly right or not, here’s the truth from my viewpoint. As an interviewer over twenty years and as a job seeker on the other side of the desk.

1st MINUTE

Your approach is important. The way you walk and carry yourself. The way you communicate with whoever is guiding you to my office matters. I am looking for confident but not full of yourself. Friendly but not too comfortable. If you are tentative on the way in, that’s a problem. It’s important that you act as if you deserve to be there.

Look nice. No frayed shirts. No twisted neck ties. Shine your shoes. New, clean coat. Should be obvious. Be hydrated. Dry mouth helps no one. The presentation of you as a candidate starts with how prepared you look. How you speak.

Your handshake says something. We all know this, right? So why are there so many bad handshakes? A confident, inviting smile tells me you are relaxed. That helps everyone else relax. Immediate and consistent eye contact. Introduce yourself to me. Now I know how to pronounce your name and you get a chance to say it with pride. It tells me you are engaged and ready. You are not sweating or breathing hard. It says you got there early and had plenty of time to check in and rest your legs.

2nd MINUTE

Say “thank you” for the opportunity and grab a seat once I do. Thank you? Sure, why not? I had a lot of people to choose from in that stack of resumes. Oh, and everybody likes to hear it. Tell me something that lets me know this is an important interview and that you are excited for the opportunity. Not desperate. Appreciative.

Engage in a little light banter before my questions begin. Have a few intro questions to lighten the moment. Allows me to see you as a possible co-worker vs. someone with whom I am jousting.

Appear comfortable. Be interested in me and in the company from the start. And also? Provide long or short answers to each question, as appropriate. Open ended questions are asked to elicit a deeper, more detailed response. Have one ready. Closed ended questions are asked to get specific details. Be ready with those, too.

3rd MINUTE

Keep eye contact. Have good posture. Says you haven’t relaxed or become complacent. When in doubt, provide a shorter answer. This allows you to hit with your best points. Allowing me a follow-on as necessary. Meandering or long answers early in the interview says that you are winging it. Or that you aren’t sure what I was asking. So you provide the whole truth. And then some.

Ask me to clarify a question. Ask me if an answer was satisfactory. It says, early on, that you care that I am getting the right information. And it will guide you as well.

4th MINUTE

Include key “leave behind” points in your answers. Start doing so in your response to an open ended question that gets to career summary (“Tell me about yourself”). Guide me back to successes, traits or key accomplishments. These allow me to envision your repeating those someday on my team.

Be real. Be honest. Give me the sense that you are the real person I am interviewing. Not someone who is trying desperately to fit a certain stereotype. If you get a question that forces you to admit a lack of perfect fit, admit it and move on. Don’t create a new past for yourself.

5th MINUTE

Look for an opportunity to ask a follow-on question. Keeps interview conversational. Like the beginning of a solid and trusting partnership. Inquire about my challenges, team objectives and goals for the next few years. While I may not leave you an obvious hole in my questioning, look to ask one at the end of an answer to a prior question. Understand my situation and you can better position yourself to be part of the solution.

Be interesting. Make key points by inflection and emphasis. Displays focus, understanding and passion. In short, give me solid indications that you are someone with whom I should spend the entire 45-60 minutes. Make me want to get deep into your background. Tease me with an interesting story of how you creatively solved a big problem. Paint me a bright picture and get me involved. Engaged in what happened and the role you played.

Establish yourself not just as a pursuer but also as the pursued. I expect to be interviewed as well. Early and throughout. You are not taking over the interview, but rather looking for openings to gain the information you need to make a separate and independent decision about whether the company is right for you.

So . . .

Your first five minutes should read like the back cover of a good spy novel. Convince me there is a great story with you. That you are a great character. Well developed, interesting and driven to have a big impact. One that compels me to dig deep and read on. But don’t wait too long to begin sharing some of those juicy details. Show me your best traits early and keep the measurable examples coming.

I’ve got a business to run and grow. And I need someone’s help to do it.

Make those first 5 minutes count.

ALSO, READ THESE RELATED POSTS:

The 5 Keys To Successful Information Interviews

How to Prepare For A Successful Interview. Take A Sip™.

Quick Tip – Don’t meander in job interviews

AND please join the LinkedIn Group!

Comments

Executive Resume Writer July 9, 2009 @ 4:52 am

Hi Tim,
Good advice! I love the minute by minute. For many “1st time job seekers” (i.e. a 25 yr. exec recently “downsized”), they don’t know what to expect. This helps.
Nice post.
Erin Kennedy
Professional Resume Services
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 9, 2009 @ 6:04 am

Thank you, Erin. Appreciate the feedback!
Martin July 9, 2009 @ 11:47 am

Wow.
Short, sweet, and special.
THIS is a KEEPER. Thank you!
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 9, 2009 @ 5:27 pm

Thanks Martin! You are very welcome!
Kathleen Mahony July 9, 2009 @ 5:27 pm

Thanks for some great concise advice for those “in transistion”. So much advice out there but so few are as clear & prioritised as this advice.
Best of all, once I am “settled in” and not longer “in transition”, it becomes a fantastic check list to tick off in between back to back interviews as a hiring manager, if there are several great candidates to consider.
D Russell July 9, 2009 @ 8:25 pm

Tim:
Thank you for providing excellent information. I have successfully utilized your points in obtaining several positions throughout my career. I look forward to reading more of your timely articles.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 9, 2009 @ 9:26 pm

Glad to hear this article has helped. Appreciate everyone’s comments!
Joni Fastnacht July 10, 2009 @ 8:31 pm

Tim,
Thank you for the great article! Very helpful, useful info!
Raghavendra Sharma July 11, 2009 @ 8:09 am

Great article. Very useful. Thanks
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 11, 2009 @ 10:49 pm

Joni and Raghavendra – You are very welcome. Good luck to you!
Corine Ford July 12, 2009 @ 4:30 am

This is great information… Thanks for sharing!
Bernie Warren July 12, 2009 @ 7:59 am

Great article Tim! As usual, your advice is right on and will be useful in my next interview….thank you once again!
Bernie
Robert Zuniga July 14, 2009 @ 7:14 pm

Appreciate your insight. There is a delicate balance to promoting yourself and you catch all the key points. Thanks for sharing.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 14, 2009 @ 9:25 pm

Thanks everyone. Appreciate all the feedback.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 14, 2009 @ 9:34 pm

Thanks Corine. Appreciate your feedback!
antonio July 15, 2009 @ 7:27 am

I liked your article.
Very sinthetic and useful.
I want read more articles, like this one, from you.
Antonio
Todd Hamo July 15, 2009 @ 8:20 am

Wow. Great piece, Tim! Very down-to-earth, very practical, and very useful! Love it!
What is a “leave behind point”? I don’t know what that means.
This is a keeper – I’ve archived it already!
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 15, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

Hi Antonio. Glad you liked it! Come to the blog anytime and also check out the “Top 10″ in the right sidebar . . .
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 15, 2009 @ 5:15 pm

Hi Todd – Thanks for the feedback!
To me, a “leave behind point” is a key point that you make and support with the hope that this information will stick with the interviewer in a positive way. It’s one of the key things that they will remember about you.
Does that help?
Eileen July 17, 2009 @ 10:38 am

Thanks Tim-
Very helpful information which I will be using on Monday for a final interview. I’ll also be passing it on to some of my other job search networking groups!
Eileen
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 17, 2009 @ 3:08 pm

You are welcome, Eileen. Good luck on Monday and thanks for sharing!
Al Damico July 17, 2009 @ 6:11 pm

Thanks Tim, I agree with everything you say and would like to offer one other thought that has been useful to me over the years. The person being interviewed should quickly observe the personal effects in the office of the interviewer (assuming it’s in an office and not a conference room). At some point during the interview there should be an opportunity to make a comment about a photo, a momento, a collectable item, something. I find that it personalizes the interviewer and and often leads to a less strained conversation.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 17, 2009 @ 10:54 pm

Al – I don’t disagree with your approach. Be careful, though, as there is a trap here. If you appear too anxious to get personal with an interviewer, that can backfire a bit on you. Done well, however, I agree that there is information to be learned and used.
Maheen July 22, 2009 @ 1:32 am

Great Tips and am sure they work.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 22, 2009 @ 5:35 am

Hi Maheen – Thanks and I hope they will help you . . .
Stephanie July 23, 2009 @ 8:41 am

This is great advice. A must-read for job seekers.
Tamara July 23, 2009 @ 9:01 am

Finally, a lovely presented observation about human interaction in human language…Well done. As
a job seaker with a more than a decade of experience on a global scale, I’d add that the same 5 min is applicable for a company: after 2-3 min of observation of the individual, I can tell with a great degree of certainty )whether I can work with him/her, and by the end of 45-min conversation – I have the answer for sure.
Thank you, Tim.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 23, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

Thanks Stephanie – Appreciate the feedback!
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 23, 2009 @ 8:23 pm

Tamara – Great point. And, yes, I agree. I really appreciate your adding that point. It reinforces the importance of job seekers actively interviewing and evaluating the hiring company. And importantly, as you suggest, the hiring manager.
Aries July 28, 2009 @ 10:35 am

I found this information to be very helpful. I’ve heard and read a lot of interview tips but I think this was one of the best by far.
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 28, 2009 @ 2:49 pm

Thanks Aries. Glad you found this one helpful!
Mallikaarjunan R July 29, 2009 @ 9:55 pm

Excellent Information. I will share it with my friends…
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 29, 2009 @ 10:37 pm

Great! I always appreciate the referrals!
Todd Hamo July 30, 2009 @ 4:39 am

Hi Tim! Yes, now I understand what “leaved behind” means. Thank you!
Tim Tyrell-Smith July 30, 2009 @ 6:48 am

Glad to clarify, Todd. Kind of made up a term there. But I think it works!
Debbie said August 25, 2009 @ 3:52 pm

Phenomenal, motivating information! Re-read it five times, plus will continue re-reading because of the pertinent context of material. Again, thanks a million!
Tim Tyrell-Smith August 25, 2009 @ 6:37 pm

Thanks Debbie! Glad you found it helpful!

The First 5 Minutes. How To Kick-Off A Successful Interview

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