The recruiter is standing in front of you. Or the recruiter is seated behind the desk. Or the recruiter is at lunch with you. The stuff of nightmares?
First of all, this man or woman is a person who was raised by human parents and will not attack unless you threaten his life. Unlikely in an interview. The key to getting along is to be yourself; and treat her like a real person.
That means small talk with a little kick to start. Here are some ways to do this: Show Empathy: “It must be hard to recruit students all day and answer so many questions.”
Ask for an Opinion: “What do you think of the direction RIM Corporation is taking this year? (You MUST have some information about the company to use this question.)
Show interest in the recruiter’s personal experience: “How long have you been with the company? How did you get involved in…? What brought you to…?”
Actually, we ask these kinds of questions all the time when we are having a social conversation. The business version is just a little more limited in topics.
