Now we know that Cenedella reads this website…

Hey Mark, I want a job that pays 100k give or take!!!!

Rick

I only wish what you said was true, that “If you’re actually IN an interview, it means that there is something they see in your qualifications, or they wouldn’t be having you in to visit.”

Sorry, in some cases, the people conducting the interview just want to make it seem that they’re interested in you when they really aren’t. The position may already be going to an insider or to some other preferred candidate. They just have to make it look to their bosses and EEOC counterparts that they actively searched for somebody.

This is especially true of the “professional interviewers,” the kind that work in HR departments as gatekeepers. They interview people all day and make themselves look more important to their employers by writing detailed reports about candidates, some of which is fabricated. Bringing you in as a body is to justify their existence.

Of course, in regards to the original subject, you can ask the kinds of questions that help determine how interested they really are in you. They are the kind of question that reveal without saying it that you are not desperate for the position, and that you have to be courted more. If they’re not willing to play along, neither are you.

So… attack it and turn it around. When they question your qualifications, reply “I will concede the point that I don’t have X years in doing Y. But if I could ask – what in my background so intrigued you that you’re investing the time to talk with me?”

That does two things. 1) It makes them think “Gee, I’m spending an hour talking to this person – there IS something that I liked.” AND 2) Gives you a direct shot at, precisely, what that strength is. Which you can then hammer on as a counterbalance to your lack of whatever.

And perhaps you have something in your background that is analagous. For example, for years I tried to get into medical devices, and met with the “you don’t have an FDA background”. But when I countered that I worked in automotive lighting, which IS a safety device and IS regulated by the federal government, I could make the point that I had experience in being regulated, just by a different agency.

I’d likely ask the employer, “How many people do you believe have exactly these skills?” where the key is to be honest and curious in asking. If there is a response like, “Well, I never thought of that,” don’t try to make it seem ridiculous but rather try to point out that an alternative may make more sense and this is just a suggestion to consider changing the requirements a little. If you can make it seem like that is a tall challenge and that the alternative may work out better, that may give you the chance to ask some other questions and see if you’d like this job as just because it may be offered, doesn’t mean you have to take it.