3 Tips to Win the Interview Game: LinkedIn Launches “How I Hire”

What if you could get inside the minds of the top leaders about their hiring decisions and strategy? Given that the interview is inherently designed to screen you out, the better you can assess the hiring leaders’ styles and their needs, the better your chances are of meeting them where they are in their decision making processes.

LinkedIn is giving candidates some insight into this strategy this week, with a new series called “How I Hire.” This blog series captures what influential hiring leaders in the strongest companies believe to be essential about their specific hiring processes. Let’s take apart a few of their comments so you can assess your interviewer’s style and needs.

1. Time Frame to Assessment

What the Interviewee Thinks: When will they decide what think of me?

What the Interviewer Thinks: At what point in the process do I know this is the right–or the wrong-person?

Interviewee Solution: As the interviewee you might not know much about your interviewers’ personalities ahead of time, so you need to assess them as quickly as they are assessing you. Are they quick to ask you deep questions about your level of commitment, or are they asking all kinds of seemingly disconnected questions? This can help you decide if the interviewer is a go-with-the-gut rapid decision maker or someone who needs a dozen or more data points to come to a solid conclusion.

2. Intangibles Essential for Each New Hire

What the Interviewee Thinks: I have the technical expertise

What the Interviewer Thinks: I need a culture fit.

Interviewee Solution: Do your research, but not only on the company’s product or service. Learn how the current employees are like one another to figure out what makes the company unique from a cultural point of view. Read its mission and values statements. Find out where its employees volunteer their time. Learn what personality characteristics are vital for success in this company. Your answers to questions about your own personality and culture profile might stand up nicely to those of others interviewing for the same roles.

3. Being the Part–If That’s Really Who You Are

What the Interviewee Thinks: I’ve got to be my best because I need this job.

What the Interviewee Thinks: I need someone whose core personality fits my company and the specific role.

Interviewee Solution: Be yourself. The interview is your time to shine–or be instantly screened out. Those influential hiring leaders surveyed for this LinkedIn series seem to agree that they have preconceived notions about what a person should do/be like/project–and it’s up to them to fill the position appropriately. So while you should know the needs of the role and the corporate culture, you also need to be true to yourself. If you don’t fit at the beginning, don’t force the round peg into the square hole. Neither you nor your hiring leader will be happy.