The Interview Process

By David Soloman

Let’s face it, interviewing isn’t easy. You have to prepare your CAR/PAR/STAR stories. You have to know which story to tell for which question. You need to feel natural retelling those stories (which should be simple because you lived through it). Practice, practice, practice.

I had two employers in the last 15 years. Back in 2009, when I interviewed for my prior employer, I only met with the hiring manager. She was a senior managing director. As I recall, she didn’t ask any technical questions (I guess she expected that if I had this on my resume then I was most likely capable.) Interviewing with her was more about fit and personality. We spoke at length for about an hour. I received an offer the next day.

Fast forward 12 years, a promotion, increased responsibility, a corporate takeover, new leadership and I was now looking for a job. This time, when I went job hunting, I had some interview experience under my belt as I saw the handwriting on the wall after the takeover.

My interview for my next employer consisted of two rounds. The first round was a panel interview with the hiring manager and a colleague. I recall relaying a few CAR/STAR stories as part of the interview as they were looking for someone who could walk the walk. After that interview I was asked to meet with the CIO. This was just a personality interview for confirmation. All went well and I was hired.

Three years later, there’s a change in leadership and my position was being eliminated. Time to start hitting the job interview circuit. This time the interviewing was going to be different.

I managed to get some interviews early in my job search. I spent time putting together my CAR/PAR/STAR stories for the last three years of work. (Not such an easy thing to do when you’re under the gun to get ready for an interview.) It really was a matter of recalling many of the memorable situations that I went through over the past three years.

My first job interview was with a hiring manager followed by a panel interview. It was during the panel interview that the group asked the “tell me about …” questions. They called it their “company values” questions. I was prepared as I was told in advance that this was going to occur. I told multiple stories at times to show that I was good at what I do and that I am a high performer. I was probably struck when the interviewer asked me to talk about a time I went “above and beyond.” I said that some of what I already spoke about showed some of that, but they wanted more. It was the first time I was specifically asked about “above and beyond.” It was not something I was expecting. I had a hard time coming up with a third story and they didn’t want to hear about just putting in more hours to meet a deadline. Lesson learned: don’t volunteer too many stories; keep some for later.

Another job interview was with a place of higher education. I met with the CIO initially. Then met with a panel of techies, and that was a fairly straight forward interview, which I thought went well. I also was scheduled to meet with two people from HR. I was told that this was going to be about “fit.” I was unsure of what to expect here given the prior two interviews and I already had the initial HR screening. I was taken aback when they started pressing in on the “tell me about …” questions. Really? HR asking those behavioral questions? Are you kidding me? It wasn’t what I was expecting given the role I was applying for. Fortunately, I had my stories from other preparations. However, they asked questions I would not have expected. Lesson learned: be prepared with your stories and don’t discount any question no matter what your previous experience or who the interviewer will be.

I interviewed with a few other groups. I was certainly better prepared, but I also wasn’t necessarily as qualified. I’m ok with getting the practice of telling my stories.

My observation is there are now multiple rounds of interviews. No one wants to make the selection on their own. Take each interview with the same amount of preparation as you don’t know which interviewer is going to ask you walk through your CAR/PAR/STAR stories and which ones just want to get to know you. Even in the get-to-know-you interviews you should weave in a CAR/PAR/STAR story. That’s where you really get to shine and make a good impression.

About the Author

David Solomon is an IT Business Relationship Manager/IT Business Partner who builds bridges and roadmaps between IT and the business user community with the intent of implementing technology solutions for business problems. David most recently worked for South Jersey Industries and Cushman & Wakefield.