So your resume has won over the hiring manager and they’ve asked you to come in for an interview.  Interviews can be really awkward for both parties involved, especially if you don’t do them all the time.  I’ve been on both sides of interviews that just felt weird.  This was always a sign to me that either the job, the hiring manager, or the company wasn’t a fit for me.  Great interviews however can lead to great jobs and partnerships.  But what is an interview really and what makes some great and some terrible.

At their core interviews are a conversation.  You’ve caught the hiring managers attention with a great resume and he wants to get more insight into how you think and operate.  That’s why the best resumes are ones that provoke interesting questions.

The best interviews are often the best conversations.  Both parties should leave the interview thinking, “wow, I really enjoyed speaking with them.”.   You should leave excited about a potential partnership with that person.  If you don’t leave feeling that way, either its not the right job for you or you aren’t the right fit for the job. 

An alternative way of looking at an interview is as a negotiation.  The interviewer is trying to convince the potential new hire that they should work for the company for an offered price and the potential hire is trying to negotiate that the interviewer should not only hire them, but that they should give a higher offer.

The people interviewing you are the people you’re going to have to work with.  That first time you spend with them in the interview is a window into what working with them is going to be like.  If you didn’t enjoy that meeting, they either need to pay you more to make it worth your while or you should pass and look for a team that is a better fit.  That’s all a part of the negotiation.

Do you have a different approach to interviews?  Share your thoughts.