Most government managers rely heavily on interviews when assessing candidate suitability for an employment relationship. A recent Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) study showed that over two-thirds of federal managers reported they use the information gathered during an interview to a “great extent” when making employment selections.
Due to the heavy reliance on interviewing during the candidate assessment process, it is important to spend the time preparing to do it right. Interviewing is not the time to wing it! Most of the information in part 1 of this article is equally applicable to preparing for interviews in the private sector.
Many people are nervous about interviewing while others believe that “if I can just get an interview, I can get the job.” Whichever camp you’re in, the first thing to do, in preparing for an interview, is to think about the worst thing that could happen and then calm yourself and your fears. Whether your concerns are about whether you can answer the questions, that you might start laughing or coughing uncontrollably, or that the interviewer might be rude, identify your fear and plan to address it. Thinking about a potential response to each of your concerns will make you feel better.