Interview Technique

What the manager is really asking — the Intent Model (avsiktsmodellen)

Imagine you go to the doctor's for a stomach ache. The nurse who sees you asks a series of questions: when it hurts the most, whether you've eaten differently lately, whether you've been sleeping badly. None of the questions are random — you quickly realize the intent is to build a full picture, so she can work out what's wrong and what's needed next. She rarely says it outright, but you can read the intent from the questions even as she's asking them.

A job interview works the same way. The manager always has an intent behind every question, even when it isn't stated outright — and that intent can almost always be worked out in advance, if you know where to look.

An example. A manager posts a job ad because Maria is leaving in a month. She worked in the warehouse with three others on the team — good at her job, and everyone on the team loved football and talked about it a lot at lunch, but she often came in late. The manager now wants to find someone who fits into the group, but who doesn't show up late several times a week. That's why the ad says punctuality is important and that you should have a strong ability to work in a team — the ad is simply an expression of the manager's real need right now.

The manager has read your CV and your covering letter, which say you've worked in a team before and had a nine-month job at ICA with some warehouse duties. You meet the criteria, and have therefore been invited to interview along with nine others the same week. The manager's intent is now clear: find someone who's ideally interested in sports, has a track record of being punctual, and can work well in a team professionally.

The questions in your interview might then look something like this:

• "Tell me a bit about yourself — do you have any hobbies or interests?" (hoping for a sports interest that makes you fit into the group)
• "You've worked in a warehouse before — was that on your own, or as part of a team?" (wants to know if you thrive in a team or prefer working independently)
• "Have there been any difficulties or challenges at a previous job?" (looking for recurring signs that you're difficult to work with, and listening for any mention of lateness or absence)
• "I see you live in Lomma — how are you thinking about commuting to work on weekends, is there public transport?" (wants to know if you have a plan A and a plan B so you won't be late — Maria often blamed the trains, and the manager is tired of that conversation)

The STAR method helps you answer a question about an event in a structured way — but the question about hobbies and interests isn't about an event, so STAR doesn't give you any grip on it. That's where the Intent Model instead gives you a different kind of insight: you can't know exactly what the manager wants to hear, but you can understand why you should be careful about how you answer.

If you don't know why the question is being asked (the manager is looking for someone who naturally fits into the team spirit), the answer might come out like this: "Sports, ugh, no way, never in my life! I'm more into walks and a bit of gym sometimes, but I don't follow football or anything like that at all." The answer is honest, but it paints you into a corner — the manager might read it as meaning you'll struggle to naturally fit into a group where football is a shared topic of conversation, which in turn could affect the team, and that you yourself would enjoy the job less if you got it.

An answer that says the same thing, but without closing the door, could instead look like this: "I don't have a specific interest in sports, but I like talking about most things — you often get influenced by the people you work with. At my last job, a colleague taught me to crochet during breaks, something I'd never been interested in before." Both answers really say that football isn't your thing. The difference is that the second answer gives the impression of someone who adapts to a group, rather than someone who holds themselves outside it.

The lesson, then, isn't to answer "correctly", and definitely not to lie — it's to be aware that even a seemingly innocent question about hobbies has an intent behind it, and to answer honestly without painting yourself into a corner.

You can never know for certain in advance what a manager is looking for, and many interview technique courses try to teach you to answer "correctly" to every conceivable question. You can definitely get better at phrasing your answers — but the most important lesson is often to look for the industry's invisible questions in the ad (see the covering letter page for more examples by industry), and to dare to contact the company beforehand and ask what they're really looking for. That shows interest, and it means you understand the manager's intent better before you're even sitting in the room. The STAR method (below) helps you answer the questions well. The Intent Model helps you understand which questions are coming, before you're even sitting there.

If you'd like to read more about the model, it's available as a pdf to download. It includes exercises and is free to use.

The STAR method in brief

STAR is four parts that make an answer concrete instead of vague, when you're asked to talk about an event: Situation — the short context, Task — what needed to be done or what problem existed, Action — what you yourself did, and Result — what it led to.

Result is the part that gets forgotten most often, but it's often the most important — it shows that what you did actually led somewhere. Try to prepare two or three of your own STAR examples in advance, so you don't have to improvise entirely on the spot.

If you want to practice with more examples, there are good guides to read further, for example Bemannia's guide to the STAR method.

Before the interview — preparation

• Read the ad again, so you really understand the requirements.
• Analyze the ad's invisible questions (see the covering letter page for industry examples) and get to grips with the manager's real needs: what does the role actually look like in practice, what does the company's website say, do you know anyone in the industry who knows how things work there. That's how you start building a picture of the manager's intent — and which questions are likely to come up, just like in the example above.
• Find out what your role will actually involve. If you're wondering about something, write it down — it's great to ask at the interview, and it shows you're interested.
• Plan your trip to the interview and make sure to be there five minutes beforehand. Not earlier, and not later.
• Prepare a couple of STAR examples if you want to approach the interview in a more structured way (see the STAR method above).
• If you have a copy of your CV, feel free to bring it to the interview.
• Prepare your own questions, if there's anything you're wondering about regarding the position (see the section further down).

Dress code and first impressions

Dress one level smarter than you think applies at the workplace. If you're unsure, ask whoever invited you, or look at how the staff appear on the website. Your clothes should be clean and intact — that matters more than being expensive.

• Office jobs: a suit or smarter trousers with a shirt/blouse is usually a safe bet, even if the workplace is more casual day to day.
• Hands-on trades (warehouse, construction, care, restaurants): clean, intact clothes with no wear or visible stains. You don't need a suit to apply for a warehouse job, but avoid sportswear.
• Whatever the industry: turn off your phone or put it on silent before you go in.
• If you're offered something to drink: say yes. The question is genuine, not a politeness the manager would rather skip — if you turn it down straight away, the meeting easily misses out on that relaxed feeling at the start, a bit like when you invite your mother-in-law over and ask if she'd like coffee: if she says no, you sit straight down and start talking, almost like handling a piece of business, instead of chatting loosely for a while first. If you don't want coffee or tea, a glass of water is perfectly fine — it gives you something to hold in your hand and helps against a dry throat.

Body language and feeling at ease in the room

• Handshake. A firm handshake and eye contact when you greet each other sets the tone right away.
• Eye contact during the conversation, without staring. Look at whoever is speaking, and at everyone in the room if there are several people.
• Sit upright, without crossing your arms — it can come across as standoffish even if you're just sitting comfortably.
• Listen all the way through before you answer. Don't interrupt, and it's completely fine to take a short pause to think before answering a difficult question.
• If you feel nervous, prepared STAR examples are the single best thing you can do — then you don't have to make up the answer at the same time as you're speaking.

Questions you should ask yourself

It's expected that you'll have your own questions at the end. Just as the Intent Model above is about showing that you understand what the role requires, your own questions show that you understand what the position actually involves — not just that you're after any job at all. A few to start from:

• "What does a typical day look like in this role?"
• "What's the biggest challenge for the team right now?"
• "What does onboarding look like in the first few weeks?"
• "What happens next in the process, and when can I expect to hear back?"

Avoid asking about salary or holiday first — if it comes up naturally that's a different matter, but don't let that be your first question.

Checklist

• You've read the ad again and understand the requirements.
• You've thought through what intent might lie behind the requirements in the ad, and what the manager actually wants to know.
• You have a couple of STAR examples prepared.
• You're planning to be there five minutes beforehand, not earlier and not later.
• You have a copy of your CV with you, if you'd like.
• Your clothes are clean and one level smarter than everyday wear at the job, and your phone is off or on silent.
• You have at least three of your own questions prepared for the end.

About the Intent Model

The Intent Model is a concept and interview method developed by Christian Winholt, first published here in September 2026.