Job Interviews and the Power of Silence

Mark Settle, CIO of BMC Software, doesn't mince words when he explains what a hiring manager is ultimately trying to learn about a candidate during a job interview: "Do I want to come in to work and go to meetings with this person every day, and do I think this person can cover my back and get done what I need them to get done to make me look good? I know that sounds Machiavellian," he admits. "But subliminally, that is exactly what is going on[in the interviewer's mind]."

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To get answers to those pointed questions, Settle's approach is oblique. He prefers to establish a dialog with the candidate he's interviewing, rather than ask the stock questions that so many other hiring managers rely on to determine a candidate's fit, such as 'What brings you here today' and 'What's your biggest flaw'. A conversation about the candidate's background or approach to solving a particular problem helps Settle understand the candidate's thought process.

Another technique Settle uses in job interviews is silence. In the 1980s, while working for gasoline company Arco, Settle learned to leverage the power of silence in job interviews. He had seen a training video on how to interview people for jobs and was shocked by how much time interviewers spent talking when the purpose of the interview was to get the job seeker talking. He realized that if he could hold his tongue and not fill breaks in the conversation with his own voice, the job seeker-uncomfortable with the silence-would fill in those pauses with more candid, unrehearsed information about themselves.

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