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There is one main goal when interviewing for a potential job: impress the interviewer. In order to do so, many people assume they should agree with the interviewer at every step of the job interview. 

But the opposite is true: agreeing is good, but it’s important to express your honest opinion when you disagree. Agreeing to something you don’t necessarily believe in creates misconceptions and assumptions down the road, if you were to receive the job offer. 

What can you do to be prepared to handle disagreement in a job interview?

Do research ahead of time

Before your job interview, you can do some research to get an idea of how receptive they might be to pushback or disagreement.

One place to start is their company culture: do they emphasize inclusion, open-mindedness and innovation? If so, they may be impressed with a job candidate who isn’t afraid to disagree. If the company’s culture isn’t easy to find on their website, websites like Glassdoor can provide some insight.

You can also look into specific team members on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. What kind of content does the CEO post? How do managers interact on social media? This can give you some insight as well into how they think.

Don’t reply immediately

When you’re in the actual interview, if you encounter a question that gives you pause – do just that. A common interview mistake is rushing to answer a question, but that can also lead you to blurting out the first answer you think of – not your true response.

Take some time to consider the question. If you do want to disagree, now is a time to gently open a door for discussion. Try replying with “I haven’t considered that viewpoint, can I share my perspective with you?” These hands power back to the interviewer to make a decision.

Be respectful, not combative

Many people associate disagreement with something negative when that’s not the case at all. Disagreement can be a very positive and engaging experience for both parties. Just ensure you’re approaching disagreement from a perspective of collaboration, not competition.

Your goal isn’t to demean the interviewer, assert dominance or win some perceived argument. You can disagree respectfully. Use phrases like “That’s an interesting perspective” or “I see this differently” communicate disagreement without coming off as aggressive.

When in doubt, trust your gut

At the end of the day, you have to feel the room and the attitude of the interviewer. If you get a sense that disagreement will not be received well, then it’s entirely appropriate to avoid it altogether. 

If the interviewer asks a question or makes a statement that you would disagree with, take the time to pause, think through your response, and pivot to another subject. For example, you could say “That’s an interesting viewpoint. It makes me think of my experience at X, where I learned to Y.” 

If you do disagree in an interview and it is not well-received, that can be an invaluable learning experience as well. Did you feel uncomfortable? Is a work environment that encourages respectful disagreement important to you? This may be a deciding factor on whether or not you proceed with that company.

Impressing the hiring employee during an interview can make or break your chances of getting the job. Sure, it might be easy to agree all the time and make it sound like you’re a strong candidate. But showing that you can express your own opinions can be seen as a valuable personal trait. So stay prepared for anything, and don’t be afraid to stay true to your opinion during an interview.

Want more job searching tips? Working with an experienced engineering recruiter like Strom Minnesota can help you prepare for any job interview and take the hard work out of finding positions. Don’t waste your time scouring the internet for job postings or waste time applying with multiple individual employers. Strom Minnesota takes all the hard work out of the job search, so you can find a new position faster.

Strom Minnesota is an engineering and technical recruitment agency that specializes in high-skilled job candidates for highly technical positions. We facilitate contract employment, project staffing, temp-to-perm and direct hire opportunities. Industries served include IT, engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing. We are affiliated with Strom Engineering, a national staffing and recruitment agency.

Are you a naturally gifted orator, saying exactly what you intend in each interview, without needing time to think?

…don’t worry, almost nobody is!

Interviewing is an important and difficult skill to master, but a good interview can dictate your career path. Whether you’re interviewing in person, over video or on the phone you can make a great impression on the hiring manager.

Here are our interview tips to help you put your best foot forward when seeking manufacturing jobs.

Related Content: How to Find Manufacturing Jobs Online

1. Prep for the Interview

Before you even begin talking to interviewers, a little preparation is prudent. First, learn about the organizations to which you are interested in working with.

Second, plan your answers to common manufacturing interview questions. This is helpful to be at ease during the conversation, as well as remember all the key points you want to make about your skills, experience and work.

Finally, practice speaking out loud. Even the most casual interviews are still a formal assessment of you and your skills and so practicing what you want to say out loud is valuable to speaking in this setting. If you can, find someone to speak with so it feels closer to an interview.

2. Getting Ready for Each Type of Interview

Phone Interviews

These are usually the first meeting with a potential employer. While not usually an in-depth resume buster, the phone interview is a good assessment of how you may fit into the company culture and if your skills and experience match the position.

Historically, advice for a phone interview was to stick to more high-level responses. However, following COVID-19, the necessity of phone and video interviewing made the phone interview a much more in-depth process than before. So prepare for this interview type as you would a second interview to avoid a surprise question or two.

When taking a phone interview, avoid speakerphone to improve sound quality. Find a quiet room with minimal echo. If you’re using a smartphone, turn off all notifications and call-waiting so you won’t be interrupted during the interview.

Since a phone interview lacks the visual element of other types of interviews, it’s a good idea to record your practice interview with another person and then play it back – this will help you identify if you use too many filler words, pause awkwardly or have other easily-fixable speaking patterns.

Video Interviews

Video interviews have become increasingly common for manufacturing jobs. You should come to a video interview with the same attitude you would an in-person interview. However, there are a few extra steps you should take.

First, test your technology before the interview. Not only does this ensure your technology is in working order, but it can also help you identify any easily-fixable mistakes – such as an off-kilter webcam.

You should also take a moment to clear the space behind you – the more neutral and clutter-free, the better. Find the room with the most natural light possible or use a lamp to ensure the interviewer can see you clearly.

Second Phone Interview or In-Person Interview

The real opportunity to make a great impression is in this meeting, during the second interview or first in-person interview. Expect more in-depth, open ended questions meant to really learn about you and what you know, and what you can do.

Dress for the second interview in upscale casual, even if you will be in an industrial setting for the meeting or it is virtual. If the interview request includes language for a “working interview” that means you should bring necessary safety equipment, like steel toed or non-slip footwear, safety googles, ear and eye protection.

Group Interviews

This interview format can be a candidate group or a panel group.

In a candidate group, everyone is applying for the same job or project. Though this is an uncommon interview format for manufacturing jobs, it is important to stand out from the crowd, show leadership as well as teamwork and an application of your knowledge. It is difficult to not be intimidated by a candidate interview, but group project experience is similar.

A panel interview is a bit more common and means the candidate will be interviewed by a group of people. Most often a third interview, panel interviews are requested to provide more clarity on a candidate’s position and potential fit within an organization.

Making a great impression in an interview is imperative to getting the job offers you want and following the career path you have planned. Research the organizations, plan your answers, and practice speaking out loud.

How you are perceived in the interview process, is a combination of your experience and skills and how your personality will fit into the team. Use your time to talk about your successes and failures, and what you can add to the team.

Want more job searching tips? Strom Minnesota can help you prepare for any job interview and take the hard work out of finding positions. Don’t waste your time scouring the internet for job postings or waste time applying with multiple individual employers. Strom Minnesota takes all the hard work out of the job search, so you can find a new position faster.

Strom Minnesota is an engineering and technical recruitment agency that specializes in high-skilled job candidates for highly technical positions. We facilitate contract employment, project staffing, temp-to-perm and direct hire opportunities. Industries served include IT, engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing. We are affiliated with Strom Engineering, a national staffing and recruitment agency.

Best practices for finding a new job change rapidly. However, the advice about hunting for a job seems to be the same dated suggestions you’ve heard for years. If you are considering exploring new opportunities, learn the latest trends for a successful job hunt and avoid these outdated tips:

A great resume (alone) equals a great job. 

Your resume has to be clear, thorough and concise, but it is only a small part of your overall job search strategy. You need to utilize other job-hunting techniques like networking, using a recruiter, and creating a LinkedIn account – that you actually fill out.

Related Content: How to Write an Effective Resume for Manufacturing Jobs

Skip Networking, it’s too awkward. 

Networking has a bad rep, but it can be much more natural than forced meetings and cold calls. Maintaining a network of people you admire professionally is much easier and more laid-back now with LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Tapping into a job recruiter can also help you build a network more easily.

Don’t even look at a position not in your primary education field.

Experience can be as valuable as education on your resume and hobbies or passions will keep you satisfied in your work. For example, experience in free form welding may be valuable in metal forming work because of the knowledge you gained in the position. If you find a job outside of your primary education field, it doesn’t hurt to apply – if your skills aren’t applicable to the position, an employer won’t reach out, but if you never apply you’ll never have the chance.

Send out as many applications as you can, you’re bound to find something. 

Often considered resume spamming, generic applications or resumes are often moved immediately to the no pile by recruiters or hiring managers. It is better to use your time crafting a personalized message for a position or company you are actually interested in. Take time to reach out to the hiring manager or do some research on their website to better understand not only the role, but the culture and environment you might be working in.

Make sure to end your resume with a call to action. 

Saying you’ll call at a specific day or time reads more like overconfidence or aggression than confidence. Signaling that you will be aggressive in the workplace isn’t a great first impression. Instead, allow companies to reach out to you or follow-up with an unscheduled email or phone call. 

Hard skills are the most important.

It is as important to have a degree or certificate as it is to be able to effectively lead a team or show you care about the work you are doing. Many companies need employees that can demonstrate people skills, not just execute tasks. Your hard skills, the can you do the work or not skills, are typically what get you in the door, but the interview process is often looking for those soft skills that are much harder to uncover in just a resume.

Don’t submit your resume for a job that isn’t posted yet. 

This is where your networking will pay off! If you hear about a great position that will be posted soon, go for it. You may get the opportunity to make a great impression ahead of the line. It’s also not a bad idea to share your resume or interest in working for a specific company even if they have no current openings. Working to maintain that relationship could pay off in the long run.

Fill your resume with the all the latest buzzwords. 

This usually shows you don’t know as much as you say. Phrases like “thinks outside the box” don’t have any direct correlation to work performance. Instead include specifics of your accomplishments that are more meaningful than buzzwords, with not only the what of your work but the results of your involvement. Think of including things like “Increased production by X% by improving Y process”.

Related Content: What NOT to Do on a Job Application

Just take the job with the highest pay. 

Studies consistently show that job satisfaction is more important than wage. While of course pay is important, you shouldn’t undervalue your work either, the company you are working for, the people you will be working with, and the long-term growth potential offered by the role are all very important factors to consider. 

Job recruiters are a dime a dozen. 

Use a recruiter that specializes in your area so you know that they understand not just the industry, but also the parameters and requirements of those positions. Strom Minnesota does just that, focusing on manufacturing, technical and engineering careers. 

Want more job-searching tips? Working with an experienced engineering recruiter like Strom Minnesota can help you prepare for any job interview and take the hard work out of finding positions. Don’t waste your time scouring the internet for job postings or waste time applying with multiple individual employers. Strom Minnesota takes all the hard work out of the job search, so you can find a new position faster.

Strom Minnesota is an engineering and technical recruitment agency that specializes in high-skilled job candidates for highly technical positions. We facilitate contract employment, project staffing, temp-to-perm and direct hire opportunities. Industries served include IT, engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing. We are affiliated with Strom Engineering, a national staffing and recruitment agency.