Influencing the Conversational Ebb and Flow of Your Interview
You have more say in how an interview goes than you think. Here's a simple technique to steer the conversation toward the topics where you actually shine. 🚪
🌏 A MULTIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES
Recently, the idea of conversational doorknobs has risen in popularity. Picture this: multiple metaphorical doorknobs of different shapes, sizes, and styles, all leading to different topics. I like to imagine Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas in front of the different holiday doors. When someone is talking about one topic, it can sometimes prompt a new idea or comment (a doorknob!). It’s up to the other person to pick a doorknob and open a new domain to chat about, steering the conversation in the direction of their choice.
🚪 DOORKNOBS IN INTERVIEWS
Interviewees tend to think that they don’t have much say in how the interview will go. To some extent, that’s true since it’ll generally be facilitated by the interviewer who will bring a set of questions. However, interviewees can sneak in conversational doorknobs within their responses—potentially sparking interest from the interviewer and letting a topic take root that they have expertise in.
🔑 DOORKNOBS IN ACTION
The move is simple: whatever you’re asked, answer it—then tack on a phrase that opens a door to a topic you’d rather talk about. You’re not dodging the question. You’re handing the interviewer a new one to pick up if they want it.
“I led the migration myself, which meant I also ended up mentoring two junior engineers through it—something I’d love to do more of.”
“That role taught me a lot about scrappy resourcefulness, especially the six months I spent essentially running growth marketing solo.”
“Sure, I can walk through the technical side, but the more interesting part to me was how we got buy-in from a skeptical exec team.”
Notice the pattern: answer, then a doorknob—mentoring, growth marketing, stakeholder buy-in—sitting right at the end where it’s easiest for the interviewer to grab.
📣 NOTE: Not every doorknob gets picked up, and that’s fine. You’re planting seeds, not forcing a detour. If they don’t bite, answer the next question straight and try again later.
