40 Minutes to Develop Character (Ethos) Before Interviews
Part 1 of EPL Framework
“They won’t remember what you say as much as they’ll remember how you make them feel. So smile, relax, be authentic, and see if you vibe with them.”
— Anthony Gregorio
Ethos in Interviews
Can this candidate be taken seriously for our role?
Ethos in rhetoric is defined as the character of the speaker. This is the most important element in persuasion because prior to processing arguments and information, we have to trust the speaker. Good character must be communicated in the first minutes otherwise interviewees risk losing the attention and trust of interviewers altogether. Therefore, credibility is paramount in an interview setting and must be conveyed throughout the interview, beginning in the way we dress ourselves, make an introduction and answer questions authentically.
A serious candidate is someone who can demonstrate commitment and gravitas for the job opportunity and the way that’s done is through explicit research of core functions and products of a company in their respective contexts. I’ll elaborate.
EPL Framework Tasks
The task for this section is to generate 3 or 4 questions that can demonstrate a baseline knowledge of your role, company and industry. The most basic questions include: “what is their function in the industry” and “how does your role play into the company operations?” The goal by the end of your 40-minute research is to have an understanding, or better yet, an opinion, on core issues that matter to your company as well as an organized story of your background and how you can plug into their needs and team. Take a look at the four ethos-based questions I came up with for my interview:
The silver lining is that the bar for wide-eyed college students is not very high. However this doesn’t allow for cursory browsing of the company website, but still requires a targeted approach in searching and organizing relevant facts. For example, this research could entail learning the oil supply chain if the company is an oil operator or speaking with members in the Asian American affinity group if you connected with somebody via the virtual events. Both examples serve to bolster your legitimacy and dedication (aka ethos) as a candidate because you’ve put in the work to understand the industry or to speak with their employees.
Advice from an Employer
Anthony Gregorio is the Director, Strategy and Product Management of Indigo Carbon
What does it take for candidates to prove to you that they’re serious about the role?
“One of the first things I’ll do in an interview is to ask the candidate to tell me what they already know about my company. Yes, this reveals whether they understand the industry or business, but more importantly their response gives me an indication of their level of interest. No hiring manager wants to sink a lot of time into a candidate that’s likely to decline or use your offer as leverage for another job they want more. As an applicant, if you’re truly passionate about the company make sure that comes through in your interview.”
What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates make that are red flags of trustworthiness?
“The most common red flags I see are related to not having a compelling reason why they are leaving their current role or applying for our job. Even if you’re in a terrible situation and it’s entirely out of your control, avoid speaking negatively about your current or former employer(s). You can acknowledge the challenges but remain poised and professional and don’t place blame or complain. If you don’t navigate this well, the hiring manager may view you as part of the problem.”
How do deliberation conversations usually go at various stages of the interview process?
“At the beginning it’s truly about fit between your skills and the needs of the role. Hiring managers generally put a lot of thought into the job descriptions. If you don’t have the experience or skills they’re asking for, you won’t make it past the recruiting team and that’s a good thing for both you and the employer. Look for jobs that are a good fit!
If you’ve passed initial screening, you are a serious candidate, and you should really go deep with your preparations. Remember that for the hiring manager it’s a big investment of time to ask a panel of colleagues to interview their candidate and will be very selective of who they bring to a panel. Panels will usually divide and conquer on hard skills, but you’ll have to win each of them over on personality and culture fit. They won’t remember what you say as much as they’ll remember how you make them feel, so smile, relax, be authentic, and see if you vibe with them. If you are hired, you’ll have to work with these people every day, so make sure you enjoy them too!”
Personal Example
In addition to researching the questions that I came up with above, I thought of ways I wanted to introduce myself and answer the inevitable questions: “why Company A?” and “why me?” Notice how in the Ethos Section, I’m strictly answering questions that test my credibility, in this case, my experience in public sector, my motivation to join their cause and my career goals (with the company in the picture frame).
Instead of boiling the ocean for a cup of water, I remain focused and structured with my personal narrative and story in relations to the company’s values and mission. The highlighted sentences were statements I wanted to explicitly get across during the interviews and the colored texts are examples I wanted to drive home. Those sentences served as my personal narrative and so long as I try to make those points clear during the interview, I am comfortable wherever the conversation goes. In this way, you can weave in your responses during the start of the interview in a conversational manner while remaining poised, polished and professional!
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Continue to…
- Part 2. 40 Minutes to Develop Emotions (Pathos) Before Interviews
- Part 3: 40 Minutes to Develop Logic (Logos) Before Interviews
Special thanks to my friends, mentors and editors: Rui Lin Lin, Benjamin Palmer, Ivy Li, Darrell Huang, Kaitlin Zhang, Belicia Tan, Joyce Zhang, Anthony Gregorio, Dan O’Neil