Career Search Essentials Series: Bookending The Interview

One of the areas where I have been able to make the most impact for my clients is with their interviewing skills.  Communication is one of the biggest challenges for all humans.  Communicating during interviews IS the biggest challenge for most job seekers.  The interview is a place where you need to make a connection and leave an impression.  Bookending can help you do both.

Bookending means that at the front and back of each answer you provide your most impactful and persuasive messages.  The reasons for this are plentiful.  First, you need to capture the listener's attention early.  Second, once you catch the listener's attention you need to give that person time (seconds or less) to process or write down the information.  Third, most people can take limited information in at one time.  If you give the listener the most persuasive information at the front end, and then repeat or summarize it at the end, you have a better chance of them retaining the information.  There are more reasons, but you probably get the gist of it.

This is not meant to imply that the middle portion of your answer is not important.  The answer has to be articulated well throughout, but your biggest impact happens when you bookend with your strongest statements.  Try it.  It works!