Interviews can be both exhilarating and nerve-racking. The exhilaration comes from the possibility of a new role or stepping stone as you build your career, however, interviews are also nerve-racking because it seems to be that just getting an interview is an accomplishment, and when you do, it feels like so much rides on that impression – and you’re right – it does.

As someone who has been on both sides of the interview hundreds of times, I can tell you that interviews are as equally challenging for the interviewer as it is for the interviewee, and what I’m hoping to provide is a small window into the interviewers experience, while highlighting some of the possible outcomes of any interview you might have.

The interviewer (unless they are a professional recruiter) usually has a demanding day job, they receive the select few resumes that the recruiter has chosen for them based on keyword matches, and they realistically have but a few minutes to read the resumes they are given to find the people they want to interview. Resumes don’t always allow you to get to know a person on paper, they only tell part of the story, all the more reason to make your resume stand out. On average, the interviewer may spend anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes on your resume – if that much.

Furthermore, the interviewer has to make an informed decision, based on the limited words of your resume, and the limited impression of your interview whether:

• You can do the job expertly
• You will do the job consistently
• If you will fit socially within the team or organization
• If you are someone the organization wants to make a long-term investment in (remember, they are going to pay for a lot on your behalf: salary, benefits, vacation, the other half of your social security taxes, unemployment taxes, etc.)
• You can ultimately solve the hiring manager’s problem.

The interview is a test. The interviewer is testing you for your ability to do the job, your ability to think critically and make good decisions, your problem solving skills, your willingness to fulfill their expectations, your leadership capacity, whether you will fit on the team or in the organization, and ultimately your ability to make them look good in hiring you.

If the interviewer works in a large organization or the government, they usually have an interview protocol that they have to follow – further disconnecting and dehumanizing the interviewee from the interviewer. Some organizations even have a policy that the interviewer do a minimum number of interviews (like 3) for their position further adding to the interviewer’s burden. Interviews are further complicated by the fact that interviewers must keep it strictly professional and can’t ask sincerely genuine or personal questions, to really get to know the interviewee for fear that a question like that could be perceived as inappropriate and result in a lawsuit for the company or the individual if the interviewee doesn’t get hired and has an “axe to grind.”

So interviews, at best are an antiquated method to determine skill and social fit, worse yet they provide a limited impression of the interviewee. And based on that limited first impression the interviewer has to come up with a sound, reasonable, impartial, and defensible scoring of your candidacy that they can present to their management to justify them spending the money on you.

All that said, it is still the most common method organizations use to get to know a person, and we need to be prepared to nail every interview we do.

(As an aside, any career advisor worth their salt will tell you that when it comes to developing your career, it’s all about who you know. The most powerful hiring tool is a personal referral. I recently got someone an offer based solely on my personal recommendation.)

If you are being interviewed, then you probably have the job already on paper, the organization just wants to make sure you truly live up to your resume.

In any case, my goal for this post was to sensitize you a little about what goes on, on the other side of the interview table, and to share with you the likely outcomes of every interview so that you are a little less worried about the outcome, because there are only five of them that are the most common. And most of the outcomes are in your favor as long as you are prepared and do your absolute best in the interview. The outcomes are as follows:

1. The interview will go well, you will be selected for the position, and you will get everything that you want in terms of salary, benefits, vacation etc. YAY!
2. It will go well, you will be selected for the position, and you will need to negotiate the salary, benefits, vacation, etc. Not a bad place to be.
3. It will go well, but you may not be selected for the position. It happens all too frequently and sometimes it’s not any fault or deficiency of yours. The timing may not be right, the job requisition might get canceled, the organization might go with someone internally or the person they selected met their needs just a little bit more. Perhaps they had more or slightly better skills, or maybe the other person was less expensive, or maybe the person they selected was a personal referral (note: every job or business opportunity I’ve had since 1995 came about because I knew someone or vice versa, it really does work)
4. It doesn’t go well, but by some miracle, you have what it takes and you get selected for the position anyway.
5. It doesn’t go well, and you don’t get selected for the position. Don’t be disheartened, you saw it coming anyway, just move on. Think of it this way, you are one step closer to the right opportunity.

Interviews are never a waste of time because it gives you the opportunity to advertise your skills and capabilities, to get essential interviewing practice, and to make some new connections that you can follow up with later.

If it’s an organization you are truly interested in, continue following them and their openings, and keep applying, there may be an opportunity that is a better match for you. Remember, with every interview, you are one step closer to your ideal opportunity.

Question: What is the best interview advice you have ever received? You can leave a comment by clicking here.