How to Use Interviews for Self-Improvement

Introduction: How to Use Interviews for Self-Improvement

How to Be Interesting: (In 10 Simple Steps)

In the past, I conducted many interview which appeared on this blog, and many people enjoyed them. I haven't conducted any interviews for the blog, which is something I have to start doing again. The big issue for me is that I spent a very long time transcribing the interviews and I don't want to do that anymore. Many of the technology options for transcribing are not 100 percent accurate, so I have some decisions to make. Anyway, I learn a lot from the people I interview – practical information that I can apply. But I realize that I have never explained how to use the interviews for self-improvement to get the most from them.

When I interview someone, I hear what they are saying to me, when I transcribe the interviews, I hear what they say a second time, and when I read through the interview to edit it, I hear the interview a third time. I learn an incredible amount of things from  the interviewees.

It's not necessary for you to read each interview three times, unless you want to, but every time you read it, you will see something that you didn't see before. If the interviewee is from an unrelated field, or is very different from you, do not discount what they have to say because everyone has something important to say.

The most important thing to remember is that the interviewees form your network of mentors, they are the voice of experience.  Learn from them, you never have to go it alone. Here are some of the questions I ask when I conduct interviews for this blog.

Have you read?

How to Interview: What I Learned after 20 Years of Interviewing People

How to Use Interviews for Self-Improvement

If you are in human resources, you would be interested in the responses to the following questions:

• How did mentors influence your life?
• What’s one core message you received from your mentors?
• As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?
• How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
• What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
• What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

If you are looking for a new job, you would probably be interested in the responses to the following question:

• Tell me a little bit about yourself.
• What’s a typical day like for you?
• How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
• If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
• What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?
• What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?
• What’s unique about the service that you provide?
• What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?
• Tell me about your big break and who gave you.
• How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
• What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
• What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

If you are interested in the person's character, you would probably be interested in the responses to the following questions:

• How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
• If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
• Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it.
• What lessons did you learn in the process?
• Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?
• What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its re-occurrence?
• What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?
• What are three events that helped to shape your life?
• What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?
• What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
• How do you define success?
• In your opinion what’s the formula for success?
• If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?
• Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
• If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

I am sure that your choices would be different from mine, and there are different responses you would focus on. And if you were looking to be inspired, there are certain responses to questions that you would zero in on. Whenever you read the interviews, make sure that you have a pen handy to take notes.

Final Thoughts: How to Use Interviews for Self-Improvement

If you'd like to see the interviews we have featured so far, go to the home page of this blog The Invisible Mentor, and on the left hand side there is a tab for Categories, click on it and choose interviews.

Part One

• Tell me a little bit about yourself.
• What’s a typical day like for you?
• How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
• If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
• What's the most important business or other discovery you've made in the past year?
• What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?
• What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?
• What’s unique about the service that you provide?
• What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?
• Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it.
• What lessons did you learn in the process?
• Tell me about your big break and who gave you.
• Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?
• What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?
• What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?
• What are three events that helped to shape your life?
• What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?
• How did mentors influence your life?
• What’s one core message you received from your mentors?
• As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Part Two

• How do you integrate your personal and professional life?
• What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?
• What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?
• When you have some down time, how do you spend it?
• What process do you use to generate great ideas?
• What’s your favourite quotation and why?
• How do you define success?
• In your opinion what’s the formula for success?
• What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?
• What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
• If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?
• Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?
• If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.
• What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?
• What excites you about life?
• How do you nurture your soul?
• If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?
• Complete the following, I am happy when…..

UPDATE: First published November 2010

 How to Conduct Interviews by Telephone and in Person (Survey Kit) How to Conduct an Interview (Cognito Guides) How to Conduct In-Person Interviews for Surveys Interviewing for Journalists: How to Research and Conduct Interviews You Can Sell