Don’t Suck at Meetings: 3 Ways to Rock Business Meetings and Job Interviews
Meetings, meetings, meetings. According to the National Statistics Council and Verizon, “37 percent of employee time is spent in meetings. Other data indicate there are 11 million business meetings each and every day.”
Most people hate business meetings and don’t feel they accomplish much. Candidates hate interviews and feel helpless while there. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid them. The key to surviving either is to make them effective as you can. There are horror stories out there about bad interviews and meetings. There is even a website, Don’t Suck @ Meetings, which lets real meeting participants post their worst experiences. Don’t end up on this list or on a career site where someone is posting about what a bad meeting or interview you ran. Whether you are interviewing or having a staff meeting:
1. Prepare. Meetings and interviews must be structured. Agendas or outlines of what you want to accomplish are the best ways to get everyone prepared. Letting a candidate know what to bring and who will be in the interview (with titles) can help them bring the pertinent info. Employees and candidates will feel more confident and engaged with advance information.
2. Avoid Monologues. A meeting/interview is an exchange of ideas or information. Involving everyone helps you to really get to know someone and how they think. When you are preparing, make sure you are leaving time or are asking open-ended questions to encourage a dialogue.
3. Be Upbeat. Everyone has a bad day but you are the face of the company when you are in a meeting or interview. At is your duty to keep the meeting/interview upbeat and interesting. If you are not getting what you want, remember to be encouraging.
Not every meeting or interview will give you want you want. Make sure you really want to have the meeting and what you want to accomplish. Interviewing candidates can be draining and can cause you to take work home to catch up. Just keep your eye on the prize. An employee who will take some of the burden off your shoulders or some new creative thinking that can make the department shine.
Think and prepare before your next meeting/interview. You don’t want to end up on Don’t Suck @ Meetings!
You may also be interested in...
