Interviewing

Syllabus

Before you start:

Preparation (get as much possible from brochures, web sites, forms etc.)

Note taking (if you don’t take notes the interview is worthless)

Get information on each interviewee so that you may handle better some of the following:

Interview Problems

Manager wants to sit in (cant get honest answers in front of boss)

Pre-set story/answers (interviewee has some agenda)

Hostile to you, won’t answer questions

Verbose (doesn't stop talking and says nothing)

Types of Interviewees:

Persons that started the project, i.e., sponsors and their boss

Executives

Opinion leaders

Idea people

Key doers and performers

Possibly suppliers/ vendors/ new people

Ensure all the functions and levels are covered

PLUS

In-between line managers (interview them for political reason so as not to ignore them.

Dragons (people who may cause trouble)

****************************************************************************************************

Things to remember (works in life also)

· Develop a bad memory as to "who said what"

· “Ask” don’t “Tell”. State commands as questions, e.g., instead of "Do it!" you can say "Do you think we can do it?"

· Use "we" , and "our" instead of "I" or 'my" or “you” e.g., "we think..." instead "I think...." or "our idea is ..." instead of "my idea is ..."

· If someone is abrupt and unfriendly do not take it personally but assume they had a fight with the spouse or not enough sleep.

· If someone corrects you, thank them and keep going.

· Control your ego don’t let it control you.

· Remember: Friends come and go but enemies accumulate!

· Do not try to stop their bad behavior, but give them enough rope to hang them self.

· Think about what you are doing.

· Keep things as simple as possible, but not any simpler.

Acknowledgement: Much of the interviewing techniques I learned from an Oracle course in Database Design.

Syllabus