Remember JFK? Most of the nation became convinced he could cope with our problems...in large part because he could speak about them so succinctly, and yet so specifically in facts and figures. It takes no more time to say "a $55 million division in Akron" than it does to say "a medium-sized division located in the Midwest." Yet the former avoids raising several unnecessary questions in the interviewer's mind:
- "I wonder what she means by 'medium-sized.' "
- "Where in the Midwest?"
- "Why didn't she just give me the specifics? Maybe she's afraid I'll know somebody who was there when she was."
Use common sense when it comes to confidentiality. Don't be a blabber mouth. But if the competitor who's interviewing you frankly discusses his business with you, then reciprocate. Knowing the other person's figures won't make them your figures, and vice versa. If you've been responsible for something very brilliant and very recent, which must be screened from your competitor, just give a definite but nonspecific comparison he's undoubtedly already guessed:
"With the new line included, sales for the first quarter are more than double what they were in the same period last year. Much more than double."
The sparkle in your eyes and your smile of pride and achievement will communicate your accomplishment just as well as if you'd stated the exact figure for the new line standing alone.
Remember: A lot of people who've done a poor job use confidentiality as a cover-up, which is what you'll be suspected of if you "take the Fifth Amendment." People who've done a great job are eager to tell about it.
WRONG ANSWER: More than was asked for.
One rather tricky question is to ask for your "four greatest achievements"...or your "three strongest talents"...or some other number of something favorable. Give exactly the number asked for, and no more. The test is to see if you'll plunge right past the requested number, piling on achievement after achievement, in a binge of self-praise. If so, you'll be revealed as a braggart, psychologically suffering from low self-esteem. At the very minimum, you'll seem to be someone who doesn't listen and follow instructions alertly.
WRONG ANSWER: A too-long answer.
This wrong answer is asked for by every agonizingly open-ended question...one of the commonest headaches of the interviewing process. Here the remedy is one of those capsules that I suggested you create out of the fifteen-minute salesperson's monologue you're not being allowed to deliver. That highly refined quarter-hour of mandatory product description and product advantages nicely fills anywhere from seven to ten VA- to 2-minute capsules, which can be administered as requested throughout the interview.
Suppose you're zapped with this frequently thrown open-ender:
"Tell me about yourself."
Don't be wimpy and grasp for help:"Well, what particular aspect would you like to know about?"
Instead, just plunge in and cope! Take no more than one to two minutes and hit the highlights, covering everything from childhood to now. Include a few words about where you grew up, because this question is usually asked to evoke a broad-brush personal portrait. To prove it can be done, I'll give you my own:
"I was born and grew up in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a small town of 5,000 people, where my father was a partner in the Ford car and tractor business. Worked my way through the University of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin Law School as a radio announcer and taught Legal Writing at the Law School for a year. Came to New York City in 1960 as Radio-TV Contract Administrator at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency and later became an Account Executive on various consumer products. Joined Bristol-Myers Products in '65 as a Product Manager and ultimately became Director of New Product Marketing. Next I was Director of Marketing for the Sheaffer Pen Company, and then General Manager of the Tetley Tea Division of Squibb-BeechNut. In '711 got into executive recruiting with Heidrick & Struggles, where I became a Vice President and one of the firm's top producers of fee income. And in 1977 I started The John Lucht Consultancy Inc., specializing in the selection of high-level executives for major corporations...the same firm I operate today. I also continually update THIS OF PASSAGE, take on about three high-level outplacement cases per year, do some executive coaching, am an expert legal witness on lost earnings in major personal injury cases, and these days devote most of my efforts to ****Site.com ... the fastest-growing paid membership career Web site for executives.
That's under two minutes, and yet it certainly covers "Tell me about yourself." If this were an interview, anything else of interest could be asked about.
