Page 37 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

THE RULES OF THE GAME

viewer is finished asking the question. Sometimes they want to show off
and demonstrate that they “get it.”
Don’t do it. The risks of flubbing outweigh any points you may get
for appearing swift. To combat the tendency to interrupt, make sure
the interviewer is really finished with each question. It’s a good idea
to pause three seconds before answering. If you can, use the time to
think about what you want to say. In your mind’s eye, repeat the ques-
tion to yourself. Consider repeating it to the interviewer. See if you re-
ally have it. If not, ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Even if
you can’t make productive use of the three seconds, the pause will
make you look thoughtful. The pause will also protect you from an-
swering an incomplete question. For example, one candidate reported
the following exchange:

HIRING MANAGER: I see by your résumé that you’ve had six systems
analyst jobs in six years . . .

CANDIDATE [interrupting]: . . . And you want me to explain the job hop-
ping, right?

HIRING MANAGER: Actually, I was going to ask what’s one new skill
you took away from each job. But since you mentioned job hopping,
I am concerned about your ability to stick with one employer for
more than year.

Oops. Better to wait for the full question.
How much better it would have been for the above candidate if the ex-
change had gone this way:

HIRING MANAGER: I see by your résumé that you’ve had six systems
analyst jobs in six years. Can you mention one specific skill you took
away from each experience?
CANDIDATE: You’re asking what’s one important skill I added to my
portfolio from each of the jobs I’ve held, is that right?
HIRING MANAGER: Exactly.
CANDIDATE: Fair question. Let’s take my jobs in order. At Netcom, I
learned how to implement an enterprise network management strat-
egy. Then at 4Com, I worked with client-side Java programming. I

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