Don't be perfect in a job interview

6 March 2017

Here’s a question to ponder:

In a job interview is it your objective to appear as the perfect candidate with all the right answers who will fit seamlessly with the culture of the organisation, being just like everyone else?  Or is it your objective to turn up as authentically and honestly as you can, even if you come across as a little (or even a lot) different to their idea of the ‘perfect’ candidate?

This question causes job applicants much angst. Do I be what they want me to be in order to get the job, or do I just turn up as myself? 

How is it best to play this game?

The strategy many people choose is that of trying to be what will be most pleasing to the interviewer and to try to appear as perfect as they can.  After all, the objective in the job interview is to get the job and conventional wisdom tells us that people are more likely to choose people they like, and the people they like are the ones who speak, act, look and respond like them, saying and doing the ‘perfect’ things in the interview.

And the thing is that the ‘fake it’ strategy often pays off because interviewers are pulled into playing the game too. 

On top of this the circumstances of an interview are unnatural in themselves.  This means interviewers expect and will accept a certain level of ‘weirdness’.  Interviews are ‘weird’, so ‘weird’ behaviour is to be expected. And your bluff and bluster, if you can sustain it long enough, might just get you through - especially if you play the ‘fake it’ game a little better than all the other candidates.

This game though is a race to the bottom and there are two main reasons why it might backfire:

• It doesn’t spark trust
• You can’t sustain it

It Doesn’t Spark Trust

Someone might just not play the game, and will turn up authentically. This changes everything. 

When the game is one of everyone turning up and ‘selling’ themselves in their interview the interviewer plays the game by defending themselves against the ‘sales pitch’, even those pitches that are not done well.  If someone turns up authentically and doesn’t ‘sell’ this changes things for the interviewer.  With this authentic candidate there is less of a need to defend themselves or dig under the hyperbole.  They may even relax with this person and be more open to hearing what they have to say with trust becoming the tone of the interview.  And research even shows that when people (i.e. interviewers) experience a positive emotion such as trust they are actually more likely to see, hear and take in more.  So in an interview, with higher levels of trust, they will see, hear and take in more of the evidence about you that you present in the interview.

In addition, perfection is not trusted.  Interviewers often see it as their role to uncover the weaknesses they expect you are trying to hide.  They expend energy and focus in that search for what is wrong with you.  When you are more authentic and able to present your imperfections the trust they extend to you is increased as they focus their energy on looking for what is good about you.

In a weird twist of human nature, people (e.g. interviewers) rate individuals as smarter if those people are able to articulate their own limitations. As mentioned above, interviewers often see it as their job to find what is wrong with a candidate.  When the candidate openly presents their own areas for development, the job of finding other things wrong with the candidate becomes harder for the interviewer. And when it’s hard to find these other limitations the interviewer decides there aren’t any that are really worth finding and consequently rates the candidate higher.

You Can’t Sustain It

Because humans are actually poor at spotting lies and mistruths there is every chance you can get through the interview presenting yourself as other than what you truly are.  But try doing this all day, every day once you are in the job.  If you have been chosen for the fake characteristics you presented in interview yet the real you starts to turn up this can be a recipe for misery for both you and the employer.

When you turn up and present authentically in the interview the panel then select the real you as someone who will fit with the culture of that particular workplace – a much better proposition.

To lift the level of authenticity you bring to interviews try some of these tips:

• Review your values prior to the interview – this reminds you of you personal self worth and helps take the pressure off (If you are not sure of your values there are plenty of online resources for identifying them or drop me an email and I will send you an exercise)
• Doing small things prior to the interview that put you in a positive mood lifting your ‘feel good’ hormones
• Remind yourself of the growth and development you are excited to experience in this role rather than how ‘perfect’ you need to be
• Intentionally practice being a little more appropriately authentic in other high stakes situations and bit by bit lift the level of confidence you have to show up as you
• Be honest with yourself about your own areas of development

Finally, no job is ever perfect and no candidate is ever perfect.  You actually want there to be growth and development left in a job when you start is.  If you are too perfect for a job you are likely to get bored with it a little too quickly.

As always, wishing you a Flourishing Career.

Katherine