Interview Preparation- A Practical Approach

Interview preparation is very important to improve your success.  Yesterday I went to my first interview in years.  It went well and I hope to hear back from them for a second level interview with the Director.  I have been on the hiring side for hundreds of interviews over the years so I used that experience to prepare for the interview.

 

Steps I took for my interview preparation:

  • Research the company you are applying to. Understand what their core values and mission statements are.  Businesses are often looking more for cultural fit than knowledge.  You can teach people new systems and ways of doing things, but you can rarely change how one interacts with their colleagues, customers, peers etc.  Tailor your responses to their questions to show how you demonstrate similar values to the business.
  • Prepare your responses. You have the experience they are looking for, that’s why they called you for an interview in the first place.  Write down four or five stories about your experience that best demonstrates what you will bring to the organization.  Practice how you tell your story.  What is your elevator speech?  Sum up who you are as a person and the value you add in a 30 second summary.  You do not want to be long winded but make sure you hit some key points that can be elaborated on through the rest of the interview.
  • Dress the part. A huge piece of interview preparation is the first impression you make when you show up.  Get a haircut, shave, shine your shoes.  Go the extra mile to impress.  You only have one chance to make a good first impression.
  • Always have a question to ask at the end of the interview. This shows you are engaged in the process and the company you are applying to.  I asked, what is the first task you would like to successful candidate to do in the role?  This will give you better insight to where the business is today and what problems they face that your skill-set can overcome.  What are the next steps in the process?  Also another good closing question.  Every company has different processes for their interviewing.  The more you know about what to expect next, the better you can prepare.

Interview preparation can be unsettling if you do not have a clear strategy.  Follow these simple steps, be personable and bring your A game.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Ike

1 thought on “Interview Preparation- A Practical Approach

  1. Congrats on getting an interview! I just switched careers and will hopefully be starting my new role in a few weeks (paperwork delays!). I remember I was so nervous for the interview.

    I love your tip to prepare responses. I remember writing out all the situations that I wanted to highlight. One tip my interview coach told me was to use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action and Result). This was so helpful to me because my natural response was to explain the situation, task and action, but I never seemed to drive it home with explaining the result or what I learned from that situation. I must have learned enough for my session with him that I nailed the interview (it was 6 hours!) and was offered the job!

    Good luck to you in this next phase of interviews!

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