October 10, 2024
The Power of Listening
I talked the other day with a client to get his feedback on a candidate he had recently interviewed.
“He's an outstanding listener," he told me. "Several times he circled back to an earlier topic to make sure he had answered questions completely. Other interviewers commented on this, too. It really stood out.“
It's remarkable that the simple act of carefully listening to questions and then answering them can make a candidate stand out in the crowd. Yet it does.
Some people are poor listeners in all aspects of their lives — pity their spouses! Others are passable listeners under normal circumstances, but in an interview are so preoccupied with selling their qualifications that they twist every question into an opportunity to launch a canned sales pitch.
An interview is a conversation. We all know how frustrating it can be when the person on the other end of the conversation isn't listening.
If you want to nail your next interview, resolve to be a great listener. Listen carefully, and then answer questions directly. You'll immediately put yourself in the top tier of candidates. It's that simple.
