‘Outplacement Outtakes’ v.19 – Mohammad’s Lesson in How to Influence the Line of Interview Questions

After all, what is the point of working so hard to develop a strategic career development plan and an effective, professional résumé only to fail them once they get invited to compete for that job they’ve always dreamed of!

It is the job of the Program Coaches at CMS to continue the positive momentum of each candidate’s outplacement program.  Part of that work during interview preparation is to teach our candidates to have the confidence to showcase their relevant skills and career history during an interview – even when those questions are not directly asked.

This is exactly the experience Mohammad had when he interviewed for a Process Engineering job in the food manufacturing sector.  Mohammad was a relatively young engineer, still pursuing his P.Eng. designation. He was smart and enthusiastic and generally interviewed well. However, without a lot of work experience yet under his belt, competing for entry to mid-level process engineering roles was fairly competitive.

At the advice of his CMS Program Coach, Mohammad was encouraged to take advantage of lulls in the interview conversation to highlight some of the successes he achieved during his university co-op position with a plastics manufacturer, where he had the rare opportunity to take on quite a lot of responsibility with a team, project and budget to manage.  Many interviewers may overlook experience on a résumé such as an educational co-op program, but in Mohammad’s case, the experience he developed during that summer was critical to elevating his credentials above the other candidates.

So, that is exactly what Mohammad did.  He used his awareness of the interview process to politely direct the conversation so that he could highlight this particular project experience, detailing the rare level of responsibility he was given.  As it turned out, he was the successful candidate for this particular job opportunity and continues to grow with the same company today.

Many job seekers are nervous or are intimidated to speak outside the set of questions an interviewer may have, which can be detrimental to their success and put them at an unnecessary disadvantage.  Therefore, it is important that the Program Coaches at CMS help to build their candidates confidence to engage at this level in an interview.  Ensuring that they maintain their awareness of the interview process and feel empowered enough to direct the conversation to their advantage is important, especially when employers are faced with a number of well qualified candidates.  Encouraging our candidates find out as much as they can about the company and the role at the beginning of the interview by asking questions can help to spark conversation, lead the line of questioning to their advantage, and also helps to show genuine interest in the opportunity.