• by Beverly Weinstein , November 9, 2009

You've got your pitch down, your best interview clothes on, and you're pretty sure you're the perfect fit for the job. Only problem is, after 45 minutes you haven't had a chance to tell the interviewer why because he/she is still talking.

More than a few candidates have left interviews frustrated. They heard plenty about the job and found out about the interviewer's background, but there was scant time left to tell their own story.

What do you do in that situation?

"It's a little like one of the martial arts," explained Gary Schuman, a noted leadership coach, who has also done interview coaching for senior executives. "You go with the force, rather than against the force." In other words, you work on ways of gently intervening in the conversation without being obnoxious.

Schuman, who has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, suggests looking for opportunities to break the monologue. For example, ask the interviewer a question about something they just said. "It gets you into the conversation and breaks the one-way flow," he said. "If you get them off their story, there's a better chance to move conversation your way."

Keep looking for opportunities to capitalize on what they are talking about and bring it back to something that you've done. Asking questions is another way of showing you're interested, and that you're listening, Schuman added.

The biggest mistake is being too polite and letting the person talk uninterrupted. You have to find some way to present your skills. If not, you may not have a second chance.

One last word of advice: "If the person doesn't let you talk, it may tell you something about how they operate and might just be a cautionary note."

This is part of an ongoing series of how you can meet the interview challenge.