You talk about people
That you don’t know
You talk about people
Wherever you go
You just talk
Talk too much
Joe Jones sang the song in 1960… unfortunately it still happens today. Here is a conversation I had with the hiring authority this week:
Tony: John, how did it go with my candidate?
John: Well, Tony, the interview lasted 45 minutes… and she talked for 44… her divorce, her ex-husband, her kids… I can see from her résumé and track record at one time she was really good, but the only way she could have said less would be to have talked longer… you really need to coach her to shut up!
What’s so sad about this is the candidate is still really good. Unfortunately she hadn’t practiced interviewing like I thought. She had been tremendously successful in the past for quite a number of years. Unfortunately, she assumed, that just because she’s been out of market for the past five or six years her ability to sell herself well would simply “kick in.”
Here’s the lesson. Interviewing takes practice. Nervously running off at the mouth is not going to get your hired. Ironically, she was one of the best candidates who could’ve been interviewed. She just talked too much… and what she had to say wasn’t relevant to the job. So, practice interviewing.
Joe Jones ends his song appropriately: “You can make me scream”
Don’t talk too much!
