Who is the interviewer?
In an attempt to overcome the anxiety and apprehension often accompanied to the interviewing process, the interviewee often tries to discover who the interviewer is. By accessing information on the interviewer prior to the interviewer, the applicant may think that they can adapt their behaviour and responses to suit the expectations of the interviewer thereby increasing their chances of success.
The sort of questions that may pre-occupy the interviewee are:
In fact, some consultants advocate this sort of preparation. In Job Test Prep we have discovered that the exact opposite is true. Not only does finding out information on the interviewer not assist but rather it increases the potential anxiety prior to the interview.
When an applicant is pre-occupied with the interviewer's character and their potential preferences he/she actually magnify the interviewer's power in their own mind and turn their image into a powerful and threatening one. When the interviewer's power is perceived as such your ability to answer questions concisely and effectively is compromised. This issue is often a major cause of concern for many applicants.
We recommend you focus your energy and thoughts on answering the questions presented to you in an interview concisely and comprehensively. Voice your skills and added value as a potential employee rather than pre-occupy your self with irrelevant information regarding the interviewer's character and his/her personal preferences and expectations.
On that note, we must add that gaining knowledge and information about the organisation (rather than the interviewer) and its culture is important simply because you may find out that certain types of organisations do not appeal to you. In addition, the interview offers an excellent opportunity for you to ask and find out more about the organisation you are applying for. To be able to ask questions it is most helpful if you have some prior knowledge on the organisation.