- You so badly want to rock this interview and land this job. So what can you do that doesn't just make
your interview good, but completely blows the interviewer away and makes you the obvious
choice for the job? Hey, everyone, this is
"Self Made Millennial," I'm Madeline Mann, and today you'll learn the
number one top approach to ace the job interview that is so beyond what
your competition is doing, but is simple enough that
with a little bit of practice and a little bit of encouragement from your old pal, Madeline, you've got this, you've got this, you can implement this right away. I am the human resources
and recruiting professional who has the down low on what
companies are looking for. So if you want to know how to be better than your competition, then make sure you
subscribe to this channel and hit the bell to get
new videos on Thursdays. These approaches have
been so thoroughly proven by both my coaching
clients who've landed jobs and also from reviewing
thousands of scorecards from interviewers evaluating candidates that show that these
approaches are game-changers. And stay to the end because I tell you a killer question to
ask in the job interview that I bet you, your interviewer has
never been asked before. The skill I'm going to teach you today is how to make the interview
feel like a conversation. I will teach you three
strategies of how to do this that will leave them feeling like you're quite possibly
the most competent person they've ever interviewed
and give them no choice but to offer you the role. Strategy number one, clarify
it before diving deeper. You will often be asked
broad questions in interviews and possibly those questions
aren't even well-crafted, but there is an intention behind them. Help the interviewer to further guide you. So, if they ask a broad question, like, "What is your project
management experience?" What do most of us do? We just start rambling
and talking in circles until we see some sort
of acknowledgement or nod that we're on the right path. Or we are far too concise
and say something like, "Yes, I have three years of
project management experience." (crickets chirping) What should you do instead? Give what I call a "Menu answer" where you understand
where to dive in deeper, such as "Project management is
a huge part of my day-to-day for the past three years. I define the team's project
scope and objectives, I manage the project scope,
the schedule and costs, and I have extensive experience with different project
management software. Would you like me to dive
deeper in any of those areas?" So here you're giving them a menu of what you can serve
up as a fantastic answer so that you can better understand what the heck were they trying
to get out of that question? Maybe it's simply checking
that you have the experience, so they just want short and sweet answer, which you gave them, or are they waiting to hear you say that you've worked with a
certain type of software. You don't know. And so by providing a broad answer and asking them to narrow you down, you'll give the type of
answer they were hoping for. Another example is I was
talking to a sales leader and he came out of the
interview jaunting and happy and he said, "We have got
to hire this candidate. She has such a consultative approach." What I found fascinating about this is that this candidate had
limited sales experience and had also been a stay-at-home mom for the past three years. So she was a bit of an underdog. And I said, "How did you know that she
had a consultative approach from one interview?" And he said, "When I asked her to walk
me through her experience, she said, 'I've done a lot in my career, where would you like me to start?' He loved that she took
the time to understand what he was looking for instead of word-vomiting her background. Now, there is a concise
and highly-effective way of answering the question: "Tell me about yourself" that I swear by. It prevents you from
tossing a big or word salad. And so I have a download worksheet that helps you craft your perfect answer, which I will link in the
comments and in the description. Strategy number two, flip the question. This one has dramatic results. For some questions that you are asked, finish by asking a question. Such as, they ask, "What
is your leadership style?" And you answer, "My
leadership style is, answer" and then make it more of a conversation and ask, "Does that fit
with how you all work? Which leadership styles
are most successful here?" This is important context for you to know should you work with this company. I have a full video on how
to answer this question: "What is your leadership style?" because it can be a really
challenging question, which I will link in the
comments and in the description. Another example is that they ask, "Why should we hire you?" Classic. And you answer "My
understanding of this role is" explain the role and how you
are qualified to rock it, and then ask, "Is that how you
see me fitting in this role?" Again, we are making this feel like an authentic conversation and are also learning so much more. And this question is really tricky, so, I will link a full
video in the description and in the comments of how
you can craft this answer. So this is insanely
effective for two reasons. First, candidates who ask questions show that they are high-value. They're critical thinkers and they are vetting the company. Second, you are given an opportunity to discuss and even reframe your answers. If they present a demo perspective, you can address that right on the spot. This can save you from hasty rejection. Strategy number three, ask questions at the end of the interview. All the time I hear people say, "Oh no, don't ask questions
at the end of the interview. The company will get annoyed." What all those people have in common is that they have never hired anyone or they ask really poor
questions in the interview, such as before they
get to the offer stage, asking questions like "How much vacation time can I take off?" Or asking a lot of questions that are easily answered online, such as "What does your product do?" Don't do that. But a very common reason that a candidate is not selected for a job is if they didn't ask any questions. Happens all the time. You need to ask questions
at the end of an interview. If you only get one thing from this video, it's that when they ask, "Do
you have any questions for us?" you ask them several questions. You come across as someone who isn't properly vetting
the opportunity otherwise. I've seen this time and time again, folks. I cannot emphasize it enough. I'll put it in a noxious
text across the screen so you all can see it in the back. What do you ask though? Well, I have a few questions
that are super effective. Ideally, your questions are
customized to the opportunity, but watch the video I have
on five questions to ask during the interview. I will walk through five
different types of questions asked and several variations for each. Those work really well in
many interview scenarios. Excellent success stories have
come from that very video. A few of my favorite approaches include tailoring the
questions to the interviewer. So asking them how long
they've been at the company, or if you've done your research
on LinkedIn ahead of time, you already know that answer. And then ask them, if
it's been over a year, how the company and their
role has changed over time or what has kept them at the company. And if it's been less than a year, asking things like how has their expectation of what the role in the
company would be like different than their actual
experience once they joined. Another great question to
ask the hiring manager is, "Has the search for this
role been moving quickly or have you been
interviewing for a while?" If they say the latter, ask them, "What have candidates
been consistently missing when you interview them?" The answer to this question is some of the most valuable information you could ever dream of. Whatever their hang up is, now you know and you can address that
head on in your interviews. You gotta make sure that won't trip you up and stop them from choosing you. Another way of asking this is if they hire the same role frequently, you can ask, "What type of candidate is
most successful in this role?" Again, use that information to
craft your future key points when answering interview questions. Remember to grab that "Tell
Me About Yourself" guide in the comments and in the description. Like this video and
subscribe to this channel. You've got this. Wifi high five (claps).
