E-mail interviews are, for many, something to be avoided at all costs. The answers frequently return with nothing but self-serving crap that nobody wants to read.

How do you avoid getting such responses? Sometimes it’s inevitable no matter what you do, but an interviewer can at least try to pass on some guidelines to keep them from going totally mad when fielding the answers:

1. Communicate what you don’t want. Tell the interviewee not to use phrases like “rightsizing” and other corporate-speak. Tell them to use plain English, not jargon.

2. Ask the right questions. Don’t ask a yes or no question without asking for elaboration in the very next sentence.

3. Tell them what you’re expecting. Remind them that article readers know the difference between corporate shilling and real interview answers and that nobody wants to read the former unless they’ve picked up a corporate brochure.

4. Explain that you are looking for specific examples in their answers, not broad general statements. “We’re committed to quality” is a common answer–remind them that phrase is a “no duh” statement and they need to say HOW.

5. Don’t neglect the follow-up interview. Always send a few follow-up questions to get more information on the questions they invariably answer with corporate speak in spite of your instructions. For some reaons, many e-mail interviewees turn instantly into pinheads and can’t do much more than regurgitate the sales copy. Don’t ask why, there’s no good answer.