How you introduce yourself in an interview matters. You can draw a candidate in, or make the candidate wish he or she was walking over hot coals barefoot.One hiring manager, Sam (not his real name) started his introduction this way:
“Hi, I'm Sam, a founder of this company. I'm a Phd in Computer Science. I work here part-time, because I'm also a professor at local-big-name-university.”
When he practiced his introduction to me, I explained my reaction. It's nice to know he's a founder, but he said it in a way that said, “I'm a founder and you're not.” I'm a little suspicious of PhDs in industry, because I'm not sure they care enough about developing a product and shipping it. Since he works there part-time, I'm wondering why he's interviewing me because if I'm not going to work with him, why is he bothering to interview? And, since he's an academic, is he going to vanish at the end of every semester? Sam was surprised by my reaction. He's revising his introduction. Here's the last revision I heard:
“Hi, I'm Sam, part of senior management. Even though I'm only here part-time, and I make sure to interview everyone, because making sure we have the best people on staff is critically important to our commercial success.”
That introduction explained Sam's position, and that he cares enough about the people he hires to make sure he's interviewing all of them. I particularly liked the “commercial success” part. I suspect Sam will continue to revise his introduction, making sure he continues to draw candidates in, not put them off.If you're a candidate, you may only have to say, “Hi, I'm (your-name-here).” But if you're on an interviewing team, please do think about how you'll introduce yourself. Your introduction is part of that infamous first impression. Make it a good one.