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How Your Listening Skills Can Help You Get The Job
You Want
It's In The Ears
If you thought interviewing was only about answering
questions, you've been missing the point. You've also
been missing an opportunity to gather valuable information.
Listening is one of the skills most underutilized by
candidates. Most people go into the interview thinking
and worrying about how they will answer the questions,
and they forget that they are there to find out about
the job and the company. They forget to listen, observe
and read between the lines.
Ready to Answer Questions
The first candidate, Reena sat answering questions
and waiting for her turn. When asked, "Do you have
any questions?" she was ready and took out her
list of questions.
Sounds like she did everything perfectly. Right? Not
quite. She forgot one thing, and that was to listen.
If she had been listening, she would have heard the
emphasis placed on retention. There were at least three
questions asked about her plans for the future; how
long she planned to stay with the company; why she had
only stayed with her last company two years. If she
had been listening, she might have been struck by the
focus of these questions.
"I've heard some concerns about retention in the
questions you've asked me. Could you tell me the turnover
rate for this department/company?"
If she had asked that question she might have found
out the turnover rate was quite high. In fact, that
was a big problem for the company. If she had been listening,
her next question should have been, "Is there a
specific reason employees leave?" She may, or may
not, have a gotten a forthright answer, but she would
have been able to make her own judgment, and observe
the interviewer for signs of discomfort with the question.
Observing is another way of "listening" or
taking in information.
Turn up your Intuitive
Another candidate, Jerry, listened when he interviewed,
and picked up the thread of questions pertaining to
stress and long hours.
He asked, "On a scale of one to ten, with ten
being high, how would you rate the stress and pressure
levels in this department?" And then, "Is
this the norm, or a seasonal level workload?"
He had already worked in a "sweat shop" where
he was expected to work 60 plus hours a week. He isn't
about to walk into that situation again. He noticed
the two interviewers look at each other when he asked
this question, and they agreed it was a six. Jerry figured
that must mean an eight or ten, and continued to ask
more questions about the subject. He listened carefully
– reading between the lines. He gathered information
he wouldn't have gotten had he not been on their wave-length
– tuned in and listening. He now had enough information
to make a decision as to whether he wanted to work for
this company, in this department.
Rewards of Listening
When all you can think of is the answers that you will
be giving, you miss a premium opportunity to garner
information about the situation you are about to enter,
if you take the job. The bonus of listening is that
you impress the interviewer by the fact that you have
heard what was said, and sometimes what was not said.
The best questions you can ask come as a result of listening.
Turn up your listening and intuitive skills. Read between
the lines! You'll be surprised at what you hear.
Author: Carole Martin
Carole Martin, America's #1 Interview Expert and Coach,
can give you interviewing tips like no one else can.
Get a copy of her FREE 9-part "Interview Success
Tips" report by visiting Carole on the web at http://www.interviewcoach.com
Keywords :job interview questions, listening, job
interview skills, listen to the interviewer for clues
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