The other day a client of mine came to see me, crestfallen, having been rejected from going further in the interview process right after the first round. So, I asked him what happened and he went on to tell me his tale of woes and how it got worse as the interview proceeded. I asked him what the sequence of events was during the interview, and what he proceeded to tell me sounded danger signals aloud. After he finished telling me about his defeat I began to reflect on what happened in his case and what happens in general when similar situations arise during an interview:
- If you are going to an interview—even your first screening call—go as if this is your first date, where you have to be on your best behavior. This does not mean that you want to start this process with a lie or with a pack of lies to protect your options, but it means that you must disclose the appropriate information strategically to keep the entire discussion on a positive track.
- Early interviews are typically with low-level screeners, so you have to be cautious in how you present any information that may quickly disqualify you from moving forward. Instead of saying, Sorry I am not very coherent today, I had too much to drink last night before driving home. This shows three things that are irresponsible: You did not plan to stay alert for your screening interview; you drove home drunk; and worst of all, you went drinking before an important event. In your desire to be honest and to disclose fully your situation you just compromised your prospects for moving forward. If you must acknowledge your groggy state, if you cannot avoid it, it might be better to say, I took some over-the-counter pills to deal with the cold and I guess I am reacting to it. Best is to say nothing.
- If you were fired from your previous job it is best to not go into the details about your incompetent boss, lousy company, and the snitches in your team. Just say that we both realized that the fit was not as we expected and decided to mutually separate, and leave it at that. If you move ahead with further interviews and the topic comes up, bring it up appropriately without bad-mouthing anyone or your past company.
- If you have something adverse on you that is readily known, first Google yourself and find out. This takes just a few seconds. Sometimes, the interviewer has already done this and if you do not preemptively deal with it early in the interview when it is in the right context, you might get disqualified from moving further.
- If you get caught in telling something that might derail your interview catch yourself early and stop before it is too late. In one instance a client applying for a law-enforcement position went on and on about sexual habits in an interview and was disqualified because the agency did not want to take any chances with this one. Most of the disclosure was gratuitous. The other problem with early disclosures of truths about yourself is that the other person might infer, if this what I am hearing in our first encounter I wonder what else this person has to tell me when we get to know better.
- Do not casually make statements about your personal life that may disclose details to disqualify you. Instead of saying, I need to wrap up here because I need to watch my grand kids next door, say that I have a tennis game planned later, so we need to stop at 4:00 PM. If you deem this to be a lie then stop from saying anything at all.
Initial screening or early interviews are designed to quickly disqualify candidates, so keep that in mind and manage your message to keep your options protected. Do not lie, but that does not mean that you must disclose everything about yourself in the first 15 minutes.