Executive recruiter shares two important tips for job interviews

As an executive recruiter, I emphasize these two important interview tips when coaching candidates.

Be proactive, but don't sell. It is sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to go into an interview and aggressively sell yourself, especially if you are a salesperson with strong persuasive skills.

But what's the point of selling if the opportunity isn't the right job for you?

If you are looking at the dynamic from a long-term perspective, the goal is not to sell the interviewer on hiring you. Instead, it should be to perform a needs analysis with high positive energy to determine whether the job and company are a good fit for your skills and career path.

Conducting the interview this way accomplishes two things: Most important, it raises the odds that you will be happy and successful in your job 18 months from now. It also raises the chances of your getting an offer.

By changing the dynamic from sales to needs analysis, you are helping the interviewers do their job of assessing your fit for the role and organization, and making the interview more productive.

Try not to talk for more than 30 seconds at a time. In 1985, Milo Frank wrote a book, also available as an audiobook, called "How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less." It influenced me personally, because I am prone to going on talking jags.

You might wonder, how is it possible to answer a complex question in 30 seconds or less?

The secret is to answer the specific question succinctly and give the questioner the opportunity to drill down for more information. Sure, there will be occasional questions that demand a 60- or 90-second answer, and rare questions that require 5 minutes.

But to create that desired back-and-forth dynamic, 30 seconds is actually a lot of time to answer a direct question. The added benefit is that this gives discipline to those of us whose minds are racing ahead, anticipating the next logical question and answering it before being asked.