Transcript Interviewing Excellence 1. INTERVIEWING IS AN “ART” WORTH

Interviewing Excellence
1. INTERVIEWING IS AN “ART” WORTH MASTERING! (Think
Christiane Amanpour, Mike Wallace)
2. Don’t overschedule—2 or 3 in depth interviews are a solid day’s
work. (More than that is lunacy and will lead to shallow results.)
3. Save, if possible, the “Big Guy”/Gal until last—that is, until you
know what the hell you’re doing!
4. Find a comfy/“safe”/neutral setting. THIS IS ALL IMPORTANT!
(Worst case: You on the other side of his/her desk.)
5. Start with a little bit (LITTLE) of local small talk. But get some tips
on the interviewee ahead of time; he may be one of the “brusque
ones” who considers any small talk a waste of his Imperial Time.
6. DO YOUR DAMN HOME WORK! (On the interviewee, the subject
matter.)
7. Concoct a … LONG LIST … of questions. (You’ll only use 10% of
it, but that’s okay.)
Interviewing Excellence
8. Prepare a … SHORT LIST … of questions you must get answered.
9. Begin by briefly reviewing your assignment—why you’re here.
10. ALWAYS ASK FOR EXAMPLES! (When she says “Customer
Service is in good shape,” you ask for specifics—hard data, recent
Customer Service successes (and failures). And: PRECISELY WHO
YOU CAN FOLLOW UP WITH TO GET MORE DETAIL.
11. STORIES! STORIES! STORIES! (You are in the “Story Collection”
Business.)
12. Dress well. DON’T OVERDRESS. (Look like they look, more or
less; perhaps a touch more formal—this is a Serious Affair you are
engaging in.)
13. Assume you’ll never get another chance to talk to this person.
14. Be personable, but more or less match the interviewee’s style.
(THIS IS HARD WORK!)
15. THINK … SMALL! “Please walk me in great detail through the
[complaint resolution] process. Here, let’s diagram it.”
Interviewing Excellence
16. For God’s sake, get to the Front Line! (The devil is in the details,
and the details are to be found on the loading dock at 3a.m.) (YES …
3A.M.)
17. Don’t quit until you understand. THE INTERVIEWEE ALWAYS
TALKS IN SHORTHAND—using the jargon of the Corporate Culture.
You’ve got to crack the code. (THIS IS ABOUT THE HARDEST THING
TO DO, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE YOUNG AND UNCERTAIN: Tell
yourself you are here to ask “Dumb” Questions—this is not a job
interview. Again, think Mike Wallace: “So did you in fact murder Mrs.
Smith?”)
18. Ignore generalizations! YOU ARE HERE IN SEARCH OF
SPECIFICS!!!
19. CONTEXT! “Get” the “corporate culture”—e.g. Shell is not
ExxonMobil! Find out (from a set of interviewees) “Core Values” (in
theory and in practice).
Interviewing Excellence
20. Engage the Interviewee! GET HER TO DO SOME OF THE WORK!
E.g., write out her view of the Ten Key Operative Core Values—or
some such.
20A. ENGAGE! ENGAGE! ENGAGE!
21. You must come across as “trustworthy.” YOU ARE A DUMBO
HERE TO LEARN—NOT AN FBI AGENT IN DISGUISE.
22. “Take me through yesterday.” Get past the theoretical crap. Give
me in excruciating detail an average day: YESTERDAY! (One
hour/meeting at a time.)
23. “If you’re comfortable, let’s go over your Calendar for the last
month, so I can understand the flow of things.” (Remember TP’s
Rule #1: YOU = YOUR CALENDAR.)
24. DON’T LET YOUR NOTES AGE!! Immediately after the interview
set aside some time to do a “stream of consciousness” recap. And
to clean up the obscure scrawl on your notes.
Interviewing Excellence
25. Ask the interview if you can get back to her by phone tomorrow to
fill in holes that your tin ear missed. NO MORE THAN TEN MINUTES.
26. LEARNING! Tag along with “great interviewers” in your
organization. (I made three PBS films with a Director who had been
Mike Wallace’s director at 60 Minutes—oh my God, how much I
learned—or, rather, how little I learned: He could drag stuff out of
people that you couldn’t believe. (Secret: “I’m just a dumb old fart
trying to figure out what goes on here. HELP ME. PLEASE.”)
27. “Work on” your Level of Dis-satisfaction: BE MAD AS HELL
WHEN YOU SPENT 1.5 HOURS ON AN INTERVIEW WITHOUT
REVALATIONS!
28. No, you’re not FBI—BUT YOU ARE HERE TO FERRET OUT THE
NON-OBVIOUS. So: Keep Digging! (Think Woodward & Bernstein.)