Interview tips and techniques are very subjective. During my time at Cornell I’ve been told what to do and what not to do by many who have been through interviews. One thing I learnt was that was people had very different opinions on what you should do at an interview. With this is mind I decided to attend the Rose Seminar on interview tips and techniques to see what different or new tips and techniques I could learn.
GRF Sara who conducted the seminar gave us an interesting example of a fictional character George Costanza from Seinfeld, and his interview with the New York Yankees. The idea behind this example was “opposite behavior”. George does not behave in the manner someone being interviewed usually does. Instead of only answering as many questions as the interviewer throws at him, George is very relaxed and calm and keeps questioning the interviewer as much as the interviewer questions George. Secondly, he even goes as far as to criticize the policies implemented by management, which instantly gets him the job because he was honest and didn’t say what the interviewer wanted to hear instead he was honest and provided constructive criticism.
I found this example to be very helpful. More often than not most people are preoccupied with trying to impress the interviewer they forget that it’s a two-way relationship rather than a one-way relationship. While the interviewer tries to gauge if you are a good fit to the company and job position you too should question the interviewer and try to find out if the company is the right for you. Since, finding the right job is like dating. Only if both parties are compatible will it work out.
In conclusion, it’s important for you to be yourself and be honest because if the interviewer doesn’t like you, this means that chances are you might not be a good fit to the company culture. Further, it’s important to ask questions from the interviewer since in some ways you are also interviewing them to see if they will be a good fit to you. The idea of opposite behavior is a very valuable takeaway for a successful interview in my opinion.
Hi Dhanushka, I find the example in your blog striking. It will definitely be very hard for me to give criticism to my interviewer, even if the criticism can be constructive. I feel that during an interview, it is very important to stay who I am and be true and sincere. But also it wouldn’t hurt at all if you just wrap yourself up a little bit better, since I feel that is necessary and we only get a very short amount of time to impress the interviewer sitting next to us.
Hi Dhanushka,
Loved the example. I think, more than anything, it highlights the importance of trying to form the most genuine connection possible with your interviewer. Personally, I believe the criticism isn’t necessarily what landed him the job but simply the fact that he was able to form a connection strong enough to be able to criticize was the reason. I’ve always been told to try and steer the interview questions into conversation pieces that make the interviewer talk about themselves.
The opposite behavior technique seems like a helpful tip. I think that it is especially import to ask questions of the interview to get a sense of the workplace culture and how you would fit in.