What’s the most important tip you should know about interviewing?
Inspired by a clip of Brian Cranston offering advice for actors going on auditions, there’s a powerful reframe we can all use:
Don’t try to get a job. Focus instead on presenting what you do. The decision on who might get the job is out of your control.
Here’s three ways to look at it.
Table of Contents
As a Recruiter
When presenting candidates, you will not be present in the final interview and you won’t make the decision on hiring. With that being said, you should view your mission as matching talent with opportunity.
Instead, what you can focus on is finding and presenting the best people.
As a Candidate
If you’re interviewing, you’re also not controlling the selection process. And if you’re focused on the goal of getting a job, you’re focused on the wrong end of the balloon.
Instead, focus on:
- Presenting your best self
- Your interpretation of the job
- Doing your research
- Asking questions related to the selection process and the role
As an Employer
If you’re focused on finding the right candidate, you’re missing a big part of it. What you should focus on instead is your selection process.
Ask yourself:
- Are you making it too complicated?
- Are you filtering out great people as a result, either by omission or by mistake?
Conclusion
The most important tip about interviewing, whether you’re a candidate, an employer, or a recruiter, is focus on your area of control. Stop worrying about outcomes you can’t influence. Instead, put your energy into what you can actually do well.
When you shift your focus from getting the job to presenting your best work, from finding the perfect candidate to building a better process, or from making the hire to matching the right talent with opportunity, the rest will follow. Control what you can control, and let the results take care of themselves.
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