Debriefing after an interview is a good investment

Interviews can be hard to read.

Interviewing is tough work. A candidate is typically facing a complete stranger and has limited time to develop rapport, assess the environment, assimilate the conversation and interpret body language. Reading an interviewer is also a risky endeavor. Typically, only an objective ear can distinguish between what went “really well” and what went “really south”. Unless a candidate is ready to face what their interviewing challenges are and embrace the remedies, it is likely they will continue making the same mistakes (and continue getting the same results). Debriefing sessions can shed light on why interviews go south.

Changing habits or developing new behaviors will take time.

Taking the time to debrief an interview can sometimes lead to surprisingly easy things to change, and other times, it may require learning new behaviors.  A debriefing session will examine your answers to questions and expose how they were most likely heard by the interviewers. It also helps to point out inconsistencies or red flags.  Whatever is ultimately uncovered during a debriefing session, it’s safe to say that you can plan on incorporating new behaviors in the approach. Changing habits or developing new behaviors will take time to adjust to, so it’s important to identify and work on the necessary improvements, long before the next interview.

The following tips outline what to look for throughout the interview and how to approach a debriefing session afterwards. (Keep reading if you’ve had difficulty closing a sale. You can also use this process for debriefing a sales call.)

Capture key information.

Take notes during your interview or immediately after.

Make a note of everyone present. Get complete names and titles, and email addresses if possible. Include what their interest is in relationship to the position you are interviewing for and what or whom they represent. This will be important information in interpreting their responses.

Document what happened. If taking notes throughout the process is distracting, then plan time to summarize and write out key points immediately after the interview concludes. No matter how you capture the information, do it while it’s fresh in your mind. Having a list of answers to typically asked questions ready before the interview can help you in two ways. First, you are ready with a relevant response, and second, you can more easily keep track of what you actually said when asked similar questions.(See “Be objective” down below.)

Be aware of tell-tale body language. Observing and making note of the reactions to your answers or the conversation during an interview are critical. Is the interviewer smiling? Nodding? Frowning? Arms crossed? Leaning back or away from you? Looking past you? Glassy eyed? Yawning? A facial expression indicating disbelief (wide eyes or raised eyebrows) or lack of approval (frown or grimace, or simply turning away) could be signs the interviewer is shutting down. If they appear to be typing, it could be that they are taking notes. This can be a good sign, so pay attention to what was said when they appear to be typing.

Don’t gloss over details.

Watch for the interviewer’s reactions.

Pay attention!  An abrupt change of subject or close to the interview can also be a sign that someone has “heard enough”.  Allowing interruptions or distractions can also be signs the interviewer is no longer interested. Questions from the interviewer can drill into a subject at length because they need clarification, but the same questions can turn into a huge gap if the information you share turns out to contradict the interviewer’s beliefs, knowledge or style. Inconsistencies in the information provided, or a change in the interviewer’s behavior over the course of the interview can also indicate they have changed their opinion of you (could be in a good way or maybe not). Extreme reactions to your comments can also be red flags. Just because you thought this was the end-all job for you going in, make sure you don’t gloss over details that could lead you into trouble later.

Be objective.  Taking note of the exact language used, rather than your interpretation, makes it easier to be objective. An objective ear can hear something you may have missed. Once identified, you’re closer to figuring out a way to change, fix or clarify a point.  As an example, I’ve been able to catch a misstep and help a candidate include a simple correction in the thank you note. Other times, it may be something that’s insurmountable, but you’ll certainly know how to avoid the same trap going forward.

Don’t assume anything.

Be honest. Try to reconstruct the situation accurately. Don’t make it sound like it went better than it did. You won’t be fooling anyone but yourself if you describe a “great interview” but end up without an offer. Too often a candidate pumps up the truth and ends up missing a very key point for why things weren’t going as well as they had hoped. Don’t assume anything.

Get real with yourself and your advisor.

Ask (yourself) the hard questions. It might be tough to accept that you may have made a blunder, but you can’t fix what you don’t address. If you made mistakes, address them. Did you ask enough questions? Did you sound poised and confident or arrogant and overbearing? Did you voice opinions without checking to know if the interviewer held the same view? Did you make any assumptions without clarifying or confirming? Brushing off a misstep as inconsequential sets you up to repeat it. Beware: Retracting a description of what you answered by saying “I really didn’t say that” during a debriefing session is straight out denial. Typically what comes out of your mouth during a debriefing session is pretty much what you said in the interview. Unless you recognize where you used improper language or provided the wrong information, you can’t change it.

A simple mistake can be corrected.

Do damage control. Sometimes a simple mistake can be corrected by following up with clarification in the thank you letter or email you send immediately after the interview. Sharing more information about something you had failed to bring up can make a difference. The key is to know what is important and how to communicate it. Rather than say you “forgot” something, you can say “in addition to what we discussed..”

Plan ahead. Advance preparation for an interview is a must. The best time to prepare for your next interview is immediately after the last one. By determining what likely went wrong and beginning to prepare immediately for the next instance helps you to focus on what you really need to practice. If you haven’t previously scripted answers, this is a good time to start. You’ll be armed with fresh and relevant questions. You’ll also be able to see exactly how better examples or more appropriate words will be more successful.

Debriefing after an interview is a good investment.

Overall, a debriefing session with a professional is a sound investment. The effort spent now will point you to necessary improvements in your preparation and show you what you can do to influence the outcome of your next interview.

For more career advice, check out my webinar on Unbeatable Interviewing Techniques and my blog “How to have a Stress Free Interview “, and follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.