Shop-Talk: Your Key to Better Interviews

It was probably the shop-talk that did it.

You can apply that same approach in an interview.

Interviews can be some of the most awkward conversations.  Even the best and the brightest in the world of business valuation may not be skilled interviewers.  They have a problem called “I need to hire somebody”, and they’d like nothing better than for you to be the one.

You can increase your chances and make their decision easier by nudging the conversation into shop-talk:

• In answering general questions about the kind of engagements you work on, give specific examples.  “Well, just last week I finished a (fill in the blank) engagement for a client.  I really enjoyed it because _____.”  Talk about what you learned.  Talk about the options you faced and the choices you made.  The more specific you can be, the more opportunities you give the interviewer to engage in real dialogue.
• Leverage your answer into a follow-up question back to the interviewer.  If it’s a question about your skills or abilities, you can ask “How important is that here?”  If it’s a question that has you talking about things you like to do, you can ask “Would I get to do that here?”

The more that you engage in shop-talk, the more comfortable the conversation will be and the more the “chemistry” will take over.  This is especially important if you’re on a telephone interview.

Also, the more you focus on shop-talk, the more you will learn about the practical day-to-day aspects of what it’s like to work in that practice.  And that’s information that can help you make a wiser decision about your career.

With a little practice and forethought, you can learn to use shop-talk to generate more productive and more effective interviews.