The Skill of a Damn Good Interview
*Mariah Carey voice* IT'S TIIIIIMEEEEE... to learn how to interview and be interviewed!
Written by Cece Faulkner — Press & Strategic Partnerships Rep at °1824 - Universal Music Group.
Over my four years working in the music industry, I’ve needed interview expertise waaaaay more than I thought I would— both as the interviewer and as the interviewee. Truthfully, it’s a skill that I had no idea I would actually use this much, but now, it’s one that I’m so grateful to have. This is why I think you should have it, too!
Do I need to convince you? Okay, I’ll step up to the plate. Here’s my why:
Understanding the dichotomy of an interview improves conversational skills, your ability to read the room, and eloquence.
This skill serves you in both the journalistic side (interviewing musicians or news reporting) and the professional side (being interviewed for a job).
It shows that you know how to communicate efficiently and quickly while navigating immediate responses.
This isn’t just a skill; it’s communication as a whole.
I’ve never been great at public speaking, and in fact, for most of high school and college, I avoided it like the plague. So, this advice is coming from someone who has learned to conquer that fear in smaller ways. It’s definitely not something that happens overnight, but learning how to interview and be interviewed has absolutely made a difference in my ability to communicate with both small and large groups.
In 2022, I thought it might be fun to create a music blog and try interviewing musicians. I sent a DM to Gordon Raphael on Instagram, the producer behind The Strokes’ first two albums. The twenty minutes before we hopped on that call were probably the most nauseous I’ve ever felt, and the first bit was rough solely because of how nervous I was. But once I got comfortable, it felt more like a conversation than an interview, and I fell in love with that!
As I continued doing it over the years, I learned a lot about what sets you up for success when it comes to hosting an interview, and I found that so much of it overlapped with how I prepared for job interviews. So, here are my personal tips & tricks for nailing an interview of any kind:
Step one: Research the person you’re going to speak to in the interview. What info would be helpful to know ahead of time? Search through LinkedIn, social media, Google, or whatever platforms will help you get a sense of who you’re meeting.
Step two: Put some time into researching. Study the company, the band, whoever it is, and use your findings to inform your questions. For example, when I’m preparing to interview a band, I try my hardest not to reuse the same questions each time, or even ones they’ve been asked repeatedly. I read other interviews they’ve done to ensure I’m not beating a dead horse (because the worst thing an interview can be is boring or stagnant!) Create unique questions that may allow them to approach their story from a new perspective.
Step three: Think about the flow of the interview. If you’re prepping for a job interview and have tons of questions about the company, consider how long your time slot is. If it’s only 15 minutes, realistically, you won’t have time to ask all of them. Whittle it down to which are most important to you and best represents your interest and investment in the potential job. When speaking with a musician, organize the questions in a way that transitions nicely between topics and gives them space to expand.
Step four: Practice out loud! It feels silly, but sometimes asking your questions (to your dog, to the wall, whatever it may be!) helps them feel more comfortable on the tongue when the time comes. The same goes for being interviewed, practice your questions, yes, but also practice your answers. If you know you’re going to be asked about a previous job position, prepare an eloquent blurb about your experience and practice it.
Step five: Show passion about the job/interview and gratitude for their time. Excitement shows how badly you want the job, and gratitude solidifies that. This includes sending a thank you email, message, or letter following your time with them! Gratitude can go MILES in a fast-paced industry like music, and could be the key to a follow-up interview or even staying connected with an artist down the line.
I’ve learned from personal experience that interviews are not something you should go into blindly. As with anything, if you want it bad enough, you have to be willing to put in the hours to make it happen. Job hunting and talking with musicians are on relatively opposite ends of the spectrum, but when you search for the overlap, it’s absolutely there. Learning to find the intersection in a skillset ensures that once you’ve got one part down, the other follows easily. That’s the secret to making the most of your efforts as an interviewer or interviewee :)
Happy job hunting, happy interviewing!
xoxo, Cece <3
love this!!! i've been doing lots of interviews with artists recently and it really is a skill that needs to be practiced and developed :)