Three Cs for Job Interviewing (2024)

Summary: Honing the 'Three C's of interviewing (Calm, Confident, Competent) can help you be more successful in your job search.

__________________________________________________________________________

Normally, I'm not a fan of kitschy phrases or initialisms that encompass an idea, but since I came up with this one, I guess an exception is in order. :)

I'm not yet a recruiting expert but I have been on both sides of the 'table' for quite a while and have developed a perspective that I feel is valuable. Let's face it, interviewing for a job sucks; you're nervous, sweaty, and may find yourself lacking a little (or a lot) in self-confidence. There may be no way to completely eliminate these jitters, but just like any other skill you can prepare and practice your way to interview days that are not filled with dread.

The irony of this is not lost on me. I acknowledge that interviewing sucks, but I signed up to do it every workday. Giving an interview is, of course, a different experience than being interviewed. I love my job because I get to talk about my amazing company all the time! I also get to speak to new people every day; smart, educated, and experienced professionals that allow me a peek into their personal lives. How cool is that? I consider that opportunity to be an honor and one that I don't take lightly.

I recognize the inherent power dynamic that interviewing creates so I try not to abuse it. I'm not a big believer in putting candidates under stress to see how they perform. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for this in many industries, but for the roles that I recruit, I find that I get the best out of a candidate when they are relaxed. I get to 'see' something closer to the real them. This is also advantageous for me because I'm able to get richer information than I would have otherwise. But you may be asking yourself, how can I practice being calm? Certainly exercise, meditation, and a good night's sleep can help, but I think the key is setting yourself up to be calm, which means being prepared. For example, put in the due diligence when researching the company and make sure it is targeted toward the role you're applying for. You won't be expected to be an expert on the company, but having context for the details that the interviewer may discuss will give you mental and emotional space to focus on any of the curveballs you'll get.

Listen. I cannot stress this enough. We are so conditioned to lazy interviewing that it is easy to launch into the same spiel about career history when that wasn't even the question the interviewer asked. A good interviewer will always be prepared and will have read your resume; they don't need another overview. Listening also means that you can't be doing all of the talking. If you know that you have the tendency to ramble when you're nervous, then practice and ask a friend to time your responses. Chances are that if you're taking more than 60 seconds to answer a straightforward question, you're taking too long. Remember that interviewers want time to talk or redirect the questioning. Monopolizing the conversation can be a queue to them that you may not be an equitable teammate. And, whether we like it or not, ego plays a role. Albeit subconsciously, interviewers want to brag about their company or show that they know a thing or two about the topic they asked you about.

I'm not talking about "portraying a sense of confidence," here. I'm talking about real, honest-to-goodness confidence; the type of surety that starts with self-awareness. When you're looking at a job description, be honest with yourself. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you're an expert with Tableau if you haven't used it in 5 years. Just be honest about it because it may not be the deciding factor for the Hiring Manager. The combination of your other skills and experience may be enough. Don't waste your time or the interviewer's time by putting up a flimsy front that will easily collapse under direct questioning. You may lose the job opportunity, but you will retain your integrity, which, when lost, cannot be easily regained. After all, there may be another job at the same company that you are qualified for. Or, the job you are truly qualified for may open up in 6 months. Don't shoot yourself in the foot now and lock yourself out for future consideration.

If you are truly self-aware then confidence and competence are one and the same. However, competence is a multifaceted concept. Your resume may showcase your ability, but you still have to back it up with examples. You run the risk of shattering the interview's impression of you if you don't have a concrete example of every skill and achievement in your resume. Don't put it in your resume until you can tell an honest and believable story about it. After all, in most cases, the interviewer won't have direct experience with your work. Your ability to corroborate your claimed experience determines nearly all of your perceived competence.

Keep in mind that competence and co*ckiness are two very different things. Aside from being offputting, co*ckiness too often masks incompetence; this is something most of us understand implicitly. Unfortunately, if you're prone to overconfidence or even just come off as arrogant you probably won't recognize that in yourself. This makes practicing all that more important. Choose people who will tell you the truth. If your mom loves everything that you do, she's probably not the best person to help you prepare for your interview.

______________________________________________________________________

Adam Starris a Technical Recruiter with MongoDB. He lives and works from his home in Indianapolis, IN with his wife, Johanna, and rescues Pickles (pictured) and Lucy! When he's not hiring amazing people to work with him, he's binge-watching something related to sci-fi or the paranormal.

The opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Medidata or Dassault Systèmes.