How to Shut Down a Long-Winded Interviewer

How to Shut Down a Long-Winded Interviewer

The interview begins with "tell me a bit about yourself". The answer lasts about 28 minutes. You may be thinking that you really dislike when candidates do this.

But right now, I'm not talking about candidates who want to give you the whole story in response to your opening question. I'm referring to interviewers who can't stop talking about themselves.

Be Prepared to Interview

I was in the job market several times during my career. And as a business owner I am constantly being interviewed by potential clients. The scenario I just described doesn't happen often but when it does, I am reminded of the importance of being prepared to conduct an interview. I realized long ago that interviewers get nervous too and need guidelines to keep them on track.

Important Steps in Preparing to Interview

Once you have the candidates you want to interview, you need to prepare for meeting with them. Some important steps that will be particularly helpful are:

Prepare an Agenda: How much time will you spend on the total interview? How will you divide the time between introductions, resume review, skill questions, behaviour questions and time for the candidate to ask questions? Sit where you can see a clock and keep the meeting on track.
Review the Job Description: Make sure your questions are relative to your most important requirements. You may only have time to ask about six well-worded questions in the time allotted – make them count!
Think About the Soft Skills: What soft skills are needed to be successful in the role? Write down the questions you will ask about them.

There are other things you need to do, but these 3 will take care of your desire to talk through the entire interview.

The Benefits Outweigh the Time it Takes

The first time you do this exercise, you will find it takes several minutes. Or maybe even longer. There are some really good reasons for doing this properly:

You can use the agenda format and some of the questions for all your interviews. Especially the beginning and end scripts – these will seldom change.
Candidates know at the beginning of the interview how long it will last and how many questions they have to answer. Set the expectations up front. It’s often impossible to stay on track, but at least you’ll know if either you or they are talking too much.
If your questions are focused on the job requirements, you reduce your risk of making a bad hiring decision.
Your level of preparedness is in direct proportion to the candidate’s appreciation of you and your interview style.

An interview is a “guided discussion”, rather than an interrogation or a monologue. As a hiring manager, being prepared will eliminate many of your nerves and help you put candidates at ease. Then, you’re both at your best!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Be prepared for your interview with our Top Candidate Job Interview Questions for Hiring Managers.

Babbling Interviewer Disease (CNN Money) - a great article that contains some ideas that might help keep you on track when you encounter an interviewer that talks way too much about themselves.