The ABCs of The Interview Intro

Every 8 seconds:

• 1,200 products are purchased on Amazon, (Source)
• 50 IPhones get sold, (Source)
• 40 new Facebook profiles were created. (Source)

It’s also the approximate time it took you to read those statistics, and the amount of time you have to capture an interviewer’s attention.  Yep, their attention span is slightly shorter than the 9 seconds of a goldfish (Source), but better than 2 times that of a gnat’s 3.4 seconds. (Source).  “OMG”, you declare, “I’m hosed”!  Well, not exactly.  A person on the hunt for a job, armed with this knowledge, uses the ABCs of creating the interview intro to not only capture the interviewer’s attention, but to keep it long enough to get past first base and onto the other fascinating parts of the interview such as your SPAR (we’ll leave that for a future article).  The interview intro is your chance to tell the interviewer, “Hey, pay attention”!  Your cue to launch may be when they say something like, “Tell me about yourself”, but even without that, always turn the beginning of the interview around so it starts with your introduction.

What, you ask, are theses ABCs? 

• “A” is your Attributes.  You start by describing yourself using action words.  Limit these to no more than three because, again, you have 8 seconds to capture their attention.
• “B” Bridges to results.  Bridge these attributes to examples of what you have done in the past that exemplify each attribute and quantify the results.
• “C” is the Closure.  Close your introduction by showing how these attributes create value for their company.

Your goal is to inspire the interviewer to engage with you, to make them curious, to make them want to learn more. 

Let’s explore the ABCs a bit more.

• A:  What are you passionate about?  What are you most proud of?  What best describes your work style?  The foundation of these are your attributes.  Use power words to create images in the interviewer’s mind for each.  Make a list and then narrow it down to three.  Why only three?  Because your entire introduction needs to target a 1 to 2-minute timeframe and you won’t be able to appropriately cover more than three.  Also, I tend to believe what Businessman Phil Crosby said, “No one can remember more than 3 points” (Source).  Though I haven’t seen research to support this rule of 3, three does fit perfectly into the overall allowed timeframe.  Don’t worry if your entry sentence goes a little longer than 8 seconds.  If done correctly, you’ll have them shortly after hello; certainly, by attribute #2.  Practice and refine it so it flows naturally. 

          The top five things companies will be listening for are examples of leadership, teamwork,            
        communication, problem solving, and work ethic (Source). With just this basic information, anyone
        can frame up an opening attribute sentence. 
        For a College Graduate, it might read something like:

                                            At Columbia State, I am a problem-solving leader who has worked with teams to
                                            deliver award winning results.
​
          Our College student’s attributes are 1) Able to work in a team 2) Leader 3) Problem solving.  I  
           time this opening sentence at out about 7 seconds.  Perfect!

• B:  Quickly and effortlessly bridge to examples from your past work that embody and exemplify these attributes.  You can have one example that covers all three, or one example for each.  Quantify each example with the outcome or the result.  Quantification with numbers draws attention and adds credibility to the example.  The bulk of your interview intro is spent here. It needs to compel the interviewer to pay attention.  For a cashier, these examples might be the number of customers per hour you serviced or your conversion rate of customers to store credit.  Our fictitious College Grad might tie these to volunteer work, an internship they completed, or a time they worked with a campus organization. 
• C:  Time the closure to also hit that 8 second mark.  This is because you need to ensure the recruiter is re-engaged so they hear the value you bring to them.  To do this, the closure should embody something about the company.  That means that before the interview, you’ve researched the company.  Research their vision, mission, and goal statements. What are their values?  How do others describe the company culture?  You can find this information on the company’s website or through 3rd party sites such as Glassdoor.  Are they described a fast paced, or entrepreneurial?  Look for keywords in the job description and plangently use them in your closure.  Your goal is to tie how your attributes add value to them by showing how they embody the core of the company. 

The objective from the interview is to get an offer.  To get an offer, you must ace the interview.  To ace the interview, you need to prepare, practice, and control it.  You control the interview by using your interview intro to feed the interviewer the talking points you want them to probe.  Don’t slide into a boring, monotonous dialogue that is just a recital of what is already on your resume.  Rather, create, practice, and use your ABCs, Attributes – Bridge – Closure. Creating and delivering the Interview Intro captures the interviewer’s attention, makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates, and is the first step in controlling the interview.

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