DON’T TALK YOURSELF OUT OF A JOB

When an interviewer asks you a question, you can give them either the short version or the long version of your answer. If they ask a more open-ended question, I recommend that candidates say something like, “I can give you the condensed answer now, and if we need to explore any part of it further, I’d be happy to go into greater detail.” You should respond this way since it's often tough to anticipate the response each question will need. Depending on the degree of detail you choose to supply, a question like "What was your most difficult job?" may take anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes to answer.

As a result, when replying to an interview question, you must never forget that the interviewer asked it. You should always try to answer only what the interviewer needs to know without wasting time or creating a negative impression by giving a lecture. Why waste time and make a bad first impression by giving someone a sermon when simply saying grace would be sufficient?

Let's assume you were applying for a sales management job, and the interviewer asked, "How much sales experience do you have?"

If you don't use the short version/long method, asking a question like that can get complicated fast. Most people would start rattling off everything in their memory related to their sales experience. Though the information might be useful to the interviewer, your answer could get pretty complicated and long-winded unless it’s concise.

The answer could be, "I've been in sales for nine years with three different instrumentation companies. Is there anything specific you would like me to go over"?

Or, you might simply say, “Let me give you the short version first, and you can tell me where you want to go into more depth. I’ve had nine years of experience in instrumentation product sales with three different companies and held the district, regional, and national sales manager titles. What aspect of my background would you like to concentrate on?”

By employing this approach, you communicate to the interviewer that your ideas are well organized and that you want to understand the question's intended direction before going too far in a direction neither of you wants to go. You can use your interview time to talk about the things that matter most, not whatever comes into mind after you get the okay.