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How to exponentially increase your interview success rate — Transcript

by Matt Huang · 3,141 words · 438 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00all right so why should you listen to
0:01some random ass dude with a white
0:03T-shirt on standing in front of a
0:05whiteboard my name is Matt I'm a current
0:07strategy and operations associate at
0:09Google prior to that I was a Management
0:11Consultant at BCG and before that spent
0:14some time in Investment Banking as well
0:16and so while I can't say that I've got
0:18it all figured out I have picked up a
0:20thing or two about interviewing over the
0:23course of my career and today I just
0:25want to share with you some of those
0:26learnings and specifically we're going
0:28to be talking about how to get your
0:30interview to think to themselves after
0:33they've spoken with you holy I need
0:36this guy or girl on my team let's get
0:38into it now the first thing we have to
0:40understand is what is an interview right
0:42and now I know most of you are probably
0:45thinking I know what an interview is
0:47it's just when you go into a room or
0:49into a meeting with somebody else on the
0:52team working at the company that you on
0:54work at and you have a conversation for
0:55about 30 minutes where they mostly ask
0:58you questions about your background and
1:00your experiences and maybe you get a
1:01chance to ask them the questions as well
1:03but it's mostly where you are basically
1:04telling them about yourself and why you
1:07deserve this job now if you were
1:09thinking something along the lines of
1:10what I just described then you've got it
1:13all wrong interviewing is not so much
1:15about what you have to bring to the
1:17table there's really just one question
1:21that is going through your interviewer's
1:23mind when they are talking to a bunch of
1:25different candidates and that is do I
1:28want this person on my team right so
1:30this is the only question that they need
1:33to answer let's say they're talking to 5
1:3610 20 people all of whom might have
1:40similar levels of Education similar
1:43background experiences if you've made it
1:45past the HR screen and the application
1:48process and you've made it into the
1:49interview room then that already means
1:51that you have the basic qualifications
1:54that they are looking for but if
1:56interviewing was purely about hiring
1:58someone who can do the job then what's
2:01even the point of meeting and speaking
2:03to someone in person if you can see from
2:05their resume that they already have the
2:07prerequisite experience and education
2:09required to do the basic tasks right and
2:12the reason for this is because again
2:14interviewing is actually a deeply
2:16interpersonal thing and although the
2:20interviewer may think that they are
2:23trying to hire someone based on say
2:26qualification or hard stats and although
2:30the candidate probably also thinks that
2:32oh I need to demonstrate that I have the
2:34qualifications and I am the right person
2:36I am the smartest person I am the most
2:39accomplished person I am the person with
2:41the most experience and then I'll get
2:42the job I would argue that that is not
2:45actually what's at play I want to caveat
2:46that yes you do obviously need to have a
2:50solid resume and you do need to have the
2:53right experiences to show that you will
2:55be able to do the job but again 90% of
2:58people 99% % of people do not make it
3:01past the application especially when you
3:02are going for extremely competitive
3:04positions in Industries like Investment
3:06Banking management consulting or big
3:08Tech right there's a thousand
3:11applications for every one position
3:13right and so out of those thousand
3:15people there's probably like two to 300
3:18that could probably do the job equally
3:20well but only one or two people are
3:22actually going to get the job and so if
3:25you think about it interviewing and
3:26Landing the job has actually I would
3:28argue very little to do with whether or
3:30not you can do the job well and it has
3:32much more to do with whether the person
3:34interviewing and making the decision
3:36whether or not to pass people on thinks
3:39that they want you on their team but if
3:42we've established already that it
3:45doesn't have nearly as much to do with
3:46qualifications or hard stats as we think
3:49then what does it actually require to
3:52get someone to think to themselves
3:54afterwards that they want you on their
3:56team all right so I've written a few
3:57things down here and the first is what
4:00do they want well they want someone who
4:01is impressive but not arrogant they want
4:04someone personable but still
4:06professional and essentially they want
4:08someone who won't embarrass them and let
4:09me talk a little bit about each of these
4:11three so impressive but not arrogant
4:13this is a big one because one mistake
4:15that a lot of people do especially if
4:18you're extremely accomplished and you
4:20have a excellent resume maybe you have a
4:22perfect GPA you went to an Ivy League
4:24school and you have some awesome
4:26internship experience a big problem that
4:29people with these typ types of
4:29backgrounds sometimes run into is they
4:33are very impressive but they come across
4:36as arrogant or they come across as a
4:39little bit too full of themselves and
4:41that is a major turnoff for the
4:43interviewer again you have to remember
4:45the Dynamics of being in an interview
4:48your interviewer is coming from a
4:50position of power really because they
4:53have the ability to basically say yes
4:56and move you on in the process or they
4:59can end you right then and there if they
5:02don't like you and so as the candidate
5:03you're kind of coming to them from a
5:05position of less power and so the last
5:09thing you want to do is come across as
5:11someone who is extremely arrogant even
5:13if you have a lot of accomplishments to
5:16back it up this is kind of like social
5:18skills one-on-one but you would be
5:20surprised how many people in an
5:23interview room try to brag about
5:25themselves because they think that they
5:27have to play up their strengths and
5:29really talk a lot about all the things
5:32that they've done because they think
5:33that after rattling down a list of 50
5:35different achievements that they've done
5:37and all these awards that they've gotten
5:39that somehow the person on the other
5:40side will be impressed and the person on
5:44the other end of the table will like
5:46them and want to pass them on now here's
5:48the thing right we've been conditioned
5:49as students when applying to college to
5:52basically inflate our applications and
5:55to play up all of the strengths that we
5:57have and essentially a college
5:59application that a student submits is
6:02like a brag document it basically says
6:04oh I did this I took all of these hard
6:08classes I got this GPA I got these
6:12Awards I participated in 50 different
6:14extracurriculars I was the captain of a
6:16sports team I started this club at my
6:20school blah blah blah I did all these
6:22extracurriculars and the way that
6:23college applications works is the people
6:26that have all of these achievements and
6:28are able to brag about it effectively
6:31and really loudly they often are the
6:33ones that end up getting into top
6:35schools but on the other hand when it
6:37comes to interviewing for a job things
6:39are very different because you have to
6:40remember this is much more of a
6:42person-to-person interaction and then
6:43when somebody interviews you what
6:45they're thinking about is oh would I
6:47want this person sitting next to me
6:49working next to me every single day
6:52would I be able to stand their
6:53personality and so it has a lot more to
6:56do with them liking you as a person than
6:58the achievements that you have I would
7:00say of course you need to have the right
7:03experience but again you want to be
7:05impressive but not arrogant secondly
7:08personable but professional this is
7:10another area where sometimes people go
7:13too far in the other direction and they
7:16think to themselves oh I heard that uh
7:18someone said that I should talk to my
7:20interviewer like they're my best friend
7:21and then they become way too casual and
7:24they start like talking about all these
7:25random things in their personal life
7:27they're like opening up and they totally
7:29forget that this person on the other
7:30table is one probably a stranger who has
7:33never met you so this is their first
7:34time speaking with you and secondly this
7:36person is not just trying to have a
7:38conversation with you they try they're
7:40they're trying to evaluate you and see
7:42how you would react and in a way assess
7:45how you act in front of a client for
7:48example if this is Investment Banking or
7:49Consulting and so the Nuance here is you
7:51need to be personable enough because you
7:53can't be like a robot and you can't come
7:55across as someone who just spent 24
7:57hours a day studying in college and
8:00never got outside never never went to a
8:01party or never even had a conversation
8:03with someone but you also need to
8:05demonstrate that you're professional and
8:07that means that you understand that some
8:09things you just don't bring up in an
8:10interview and some things you just don't
8:12say in as casual of a way that you would
8:15say to say your best friend for example
8:18and lastly someone who won't embarrass
8:20them I know this probably seems obvious
8:23because of course who wants to be the
8:25person that their friend or their mom or
8:28dad is unar embarrassed to admit that
8:31they are related to them or friends with
8:33them right like who wants to be that
8:35person who nobody wants to associate
8:38with no one right unless you're just
8:39like weird for some reason but most
8:42people don't want to be embarrassing and
8:45so you should take that understanding
8:46and put yourself in your interviewer's
8:48shoes if they vouch for you and if they
8:50pass you on in an interview that's
8:51basically them in a way saying that oh
8:55this person has my stamp of approval and
8:57so all the other interviewers after them
8:59them and if you end up getting the job
9:01the people that you work with they're
9:03all going to look at this person and say
9:04hm did you really think that so and so
9:06was the right candidate and it becomes
9:08quite problematic if you're not doing a
9:10good job then they look bad and so at
9:13the end of the day the interviewer is
9:15not just assessing that you have the
9:16qualifications for the job but they're
9:18also assessing are you going to
9:20potentially embarrass me down the line
9:21and this this all feeds back into again
9:24do I actually want this person on my
9:26team right okay so taking a step back
9:29you can see that there's a lot of nuance
9:31involved here because you know you want
9:33to be impressive but not arrogant you
9:34want to be personable but professional
9:36still and you don't want to be someone
9:38that they would be embarrassed to pass
9:40along so then the natural next question
9:42is how do we address each of these
9:44things how do we make sure that we are
9:46impressive but not arrogant how do we
9:48make sure that we're personable but
9:49professional and how do we make sure
9:51that they don't think we're going to
9:52embarrass them well I'll tell you what
9:54we have to do so in order to come across
9:56as impressive but not arrogant this we
9:58can break into pieces being impressive
10:01is more a function of the hard stats
10:03that you have and the experiences that
10:06you've had so far so this is things like
10:08you know GPA Awards and internships
10:12slork experience right these are the
10:14hard stats that most people think of
10:16that go on your resume and not being
10:18arrogant I mean this to some of you
10:20isn't going to be a problem but just to
10:22really lay it out to folks because I'm
10:23assuming zero context here not coming
10:26across as arrogant means that when you
10:28talk about yourself you are humble and
10:31you are still confident but you are not
10:32arrogant confidence and arrogance are
10:34two different things confidence means
10:37being able to put your foot down and to
10:39State the facts and to be comfortable
10:41with who you are arrogance on the other
10:43hand is when you come across as thinking
10:46that you're better than someone because
10:49of your accomplishments but moving to
10:50the second one how do we come across as
10:52personable but still professional well
10:56being personable is more about warmth
10:59conveying warmth right so what does this
11:01mean first of all smile you'd be
11:03surprised how many people go into an
11:06interview and if they think that they
11:08want to be really professional they talk
11:10like this and then they lower their
11:11voice and especially if you're
11:13interviewing for finance or law which
11:16are very old school Industries you kind
11:18of talk like this and it's very like
11:20monotone and you try to act all
11:22professional right you're wearing your
11:23suit I want to work in finance no that's
11:26not how you do it smile smiling is one
11:28of the most Easy universal tools to get
11:31someone else to like you a little bit
11:32more and you should consider it a win if
11:35during your interview you can get your
11:37interviewer to smile as well because if
11:39they smile they feel good and they
11:42associate those good feelings with you
11:44so convey warmth smile be friendly but
11:48at the same time be professional what
11:50does this mean this means again don't
11:51share too much basically now what is too
11:54much well you sort of need to read the
11:56room here if your interviewer is talking
11:58about how oh they've been having such a
12:00hard day you know work has been
12:03absolutely killing them and they're just
12:04glad that the weekend is almost here
12:05then it's probably also okay for you to
12:07share that finals have been wrapping up
12:09and you've been grinding really hard
12:12studying for exams but you are also
12:14really excited to be able to speak with
12:15them and excited for the weekend ahead
12:17as well but on the other hand if for
12:19example the person interviewing you is
12:21very like cold and comes across as not
12:24really wanting to speak about anything
12:27personal they're strictly business then
12:29you should also adjust your tonality and
12:33your language to them and the way that
12:36they're speaking essentially you want to
12:37be kind of like a chameleon and able to
12:41adjust the way that you talk and adjust
12:43your energy level according to the
12:45person that is interviewing you now some
12:47of you might be thinking well but then
12:49that's kind of pretending right cuz what
12:51if I'm not actually like that yes of
12:52course but you probably act differently
12:55towards different people in your life
12:56depending on who they are right like the
12:57way that you talk with your mom M and
12:59the way that you act with her is
13:00probably very different than the way
13:02that you talk with like your friends at
13:04school or outside of work right
13:06similarly the way that you might talk to
13:07like your girlfriend or your boyfriend
13:09would be very different than the way
13:10that you talk to a college professor and
13:13so in the same way it's no different
13:14here you need to adjust your energy and
13:16just your overall demeanor to match the
13:18interviewer because if you don't then
13:20you run the risk of potentially coming
13:22across as not a good fit AKA they just
13:25didn't want you on their team and so
13:27honestly if you just make sure to do all
13:28of the these things right you work
13:30really hard to get your stats and your
13:33work experience to be impressive and you
13:36make sure that you come across as humble
13:39and confident and you also make sure to
13:41convey warmth and smile in the interview
13:43but you adjust your energy to the
13:45interviewer and you don't share too much
13:48unless prompted then this last one sort
13:50of just comes naturally which is that
13:52they won't feel like you're going to
13:54embarrass them and if they don't feel
13:56that you'll embarrass them and in fact
13:57they like you after having a 30-minute
14:00conversation with you then you're in a
14:01very good position because again it
14:03leads back up to this they're going to
14:04want you on their team so if this
14:06sounded more like a lecture on social
14:10dynamics or psychology and persuasion
14:13that's because of all the methods of
14:15evaluating people whether it be tests
14:18exams group projects or interviews
14:20interviews are the most personal way of
14:22assessing a person because seeing
14:24someone in person and seeing how they
14:27sound and speak and think
14:29is very different from say if someone
14:32just submitted an essay and I can read
14:34their words but I don't know what they
14:36are like and because the stakes are so
14:39high for companies that are interviewing
14:42candidates right the cost to acquire a
14:45new full-time employee is extremely high
14:47for most companies because you have to
14:49understand that obviously they're paying
14:50you your salary and whatever
14:52compensation package you have but also
14:54they're probably going negative in the
14:56beginning because your productivity is
14:58zero if if not negative productivity in
15:00the beginning when you're just learning
15:02and getting started at the job and so
15:03the ROI on a new employee honestly it
15:06probably only goes positive like 6
15:09months or a year plus into the job and
15:12so they're taking a big Bet On You by
15:14hiring you which is why the interview is
15:16so important and why it's so high stakes
15:18for the team too because if they hire
15:21someone that they end up not liking or
15:23who's just a bad fit then it's nobody's
15:27fault but theirs because they already
15:29screened you right and so again I'm
15:31going to put a star here at the end of
15:32the day in an interview you have to
15:34demonstrate that you have the qualities
15:36and the skills and the experience
15:37required to do the job well but once you
15:41have demonstrated that to them then it
15:43becomes a lot more about whether or not
15:46the interviewer can think in their head
15:49to themselves afterwards that I want
15:51this person on my team and if the answer
15:54is yes then you're already 90% there I
15:56hope this was helpful let me know if you
15:58have any questions in the comments below
16:00and I'll see you guys in the next one
16:01peace

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