How to Prepare for an Interview

When you sit down with an interviewer they are trying to ascertain whether you are a good fit for the position they are trying to fill. A skilled interviewer will know what criteria they are looking for and be able, through their questioning, to gather the information that they need to determine if the candidate meets their desired profile. Your job is to anticipate what criteria the interviewer is looking for and position yourself as the best available candidate. To accomplish this you must learn how to prepare for an interview.

Let’s look at the key areas an interviewer will look at and how you can prepare for them:

1. Your professional experience. Or, are you who you say you are? The experience, skills and accomplishments presented on your resume have identified you as a viable candidate for the position. The interviewer will try to validate if the candidate is indeed the person who the resume has profiled. A skilled interviewer will probe with multiple questions, often at different times in the interview, to determine to what extent the candidate meets the criteria they have identified. You need to prepare in a number of ways. First, you must know your resume inside and out. There should be nothing on your resume that you can’t explain in detail and back up with success stories. Also you must be prepared to relate significant experience and accomplishments that are not on your resume. You do this by preparing success stories and anticipating questions that you may receive.
2. Proficiency in a job’s “technical” skills. All jobs have certain skills requirements that are essential for that job to be performed at a high level. So whether you are a software engineer, accountant, salesperson, administrative person, etc, you need to know what “technical” skills are required and prepare to demonstrate that you possess these skills at the highest level possible. The interviewer will ask how to questions in order to gauge your level of expertise. For example, if the use of Microsoft Powerpoint is important for the job you are applying for you may be asked a how to question around its use. How well you answer this will determine the skill level that the interviewer believes you possess. In certain cases, you may want to have a sample of your work that you can show if appropriate during the interview.
3. Creativity in job performance. The hiring manager will attempt to determine the extent a candidate will bring creative and individual skills that will add to the expertise of the team. You don’t want to be perceived as someone who will only bring supportive skills and not be able to contribute new ideas. If you are prepared with success stories that highlight your creative talents you can relate them as the opportunity arises. Just by being prepared for the interview will demonstrate your leadership abilities. Don’t miss this opportunity to shine.
4. Are you a fine person? A hiring manager wants to find someone who is 1) a fine person, and 2) capable of performing the job. The important tip for job interview success is to understand that unless you pass the fine person test your capabilities on job performance will be greatly diminished. Most job applicants understand that they must present their capabilities and skills, but many do no interview preparation on how to present the image of a fine person. Briefly a fine person is someone who; is optimistic, a good communicator, honest, has compassion for others but is not egotistical, and appears healthy, attractive and tasteful in dress. This is about your image, and a poor image can overshadow your real abilities to get the job done.
5. Does the attitude you convey fit in? The interviewer will try to determine your attitude in regards to important issues such as team work, communication style, how you handle stressful situations and interpersonal relationships. They want to know if you will fit in with the team. Your interview preparation should include trying to understand the dynamics of the current team and how you might fit in. This can be learned through talking with existing and former employees, clients and or suppliers.

By being prepared to address these key criteria you will be perceived as head and shoulders above your competition. It is not always the best candidate in terms of capabilities that gets the offer, it is usually the candidate who best presents their overall combination of experience, skills and attitude that wins.

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The current job market is a difficult one with more job applicants than positions available. In times such as these is does take more interviews to get an offer than in times of full employment. But if you have been on a number of interviews and haven’t received a job offer, you must evaluate why this is so. Don’t take the easy way out and blame your lack of success on the economy or other factors. Somebody else received an offer, so why not you? You must evaluate your interview performance objectively in order to make improvements to insure future success. Poor performance in the following four areas are reasons that many candidates don’t measure up against the competition. A tip for job interview success is to improve in these areas and greatly enhance you job offer conversion ratio.

1. You are not relating your accomplishments to the company’s needs. This is critical, the hiring company wants to know how you will be able to contribute to their bottom line. The best way to demonstrate this is for you to relate success stories that highlight specific results that you have achieved. These success stories should have been prepared in advance and then used at the appropriate time during the interview. See How to Prepare for an Interview for more information.
2. You do not demonstrate any knowledge of the company. Many candidates do no research into the organization they are interviewing with. If you have prepared for the interview then you can ask questions that indicate your enthusiasm for the job and the company. You will leave a positive impression by doing your homework and you will stand out from the competition.
3. There is a disconnect between what you say and your resume. A red flag goes up when a candidate cannot adequately answer questions about their resume. You need to know your resume inside and out. You should have success stories planned to provide evidence to the accomplishments cited on your resume. By doing proper interview preparation you can anticipate questions and have a great response ready. Surprisingly, many candidates get tripped up by questions on their own resumes.
4. The image you convey does not match with that of the ideal candidate. Image is projected in many ways. Make sure you are projecting one that fits with the position and company you are interviewing with. You should not dress down, your attire should match that of the hiring manager at a minimum. If the position requires business casual dress but the supervisor wears a tie, then your interview attire should include a tie. Neatness matters, your shoes should be polished and your hair properly groomed. Your manners and way of speaking affect your image.

If you learn how to prepare for an interview you will excel in the above areas. Proper preparation will position you ahead of the competition and provide you with more job offers to choose from. So conduct an honest evaluation of your interview performance and make the necessary adjustments to stand out from the crowd.

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In our previous post we discussed that learning how to prepare for an interview is not about applying a magic formula that works every time. The goal in preparing well for an interview is to give yourself a competitive advantage and increase the number of job offers resulting from successful interviews. There are eight steps to successful interview preparation. Today let’s look at steps 5-8.

Step 5 – Create Your Success Stories. Once you have created a portfolio of success stories you will decide which ones to use for each person you are interviewing. Those selected should match you to the needs of the position you are interviewing for. A success story should have the following format; describe a situation or opportunity, explain what you did, and then talk about the specific results achieved. Explaining the results achieved is what is important. Most people describe responsibilities or skills but don’t relate them to results.

Step 6 – Prepare Questions to Ask. Based on your research formulate 15 -20 questions that you can ask during the interview. Asking thoughtful questions will set you apart from the competition. By asking questions you can also influence the flow of the interview. Ask questions that will then open the door for you to tell an appropriate success story. You are showcasing your intellect, interest in the job and level of preparedness with this step.

Step 7 – Practice Your Interviewing Skills. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that because you’ve been on many interviews you don’t need to practice. You may have been on many interviews but if you don’t know how to prepare for an interview you have just been reinforcing bad habits. A key step is to practice your interviewing skills. For the best results, work with a partner who can provide feedback to you. But even practicing by yourself has great benefits. Say your success stories and prepared answers out loud. Get them down pat so that in the interview you are answering without hesitation. You will project a confidence that will make a strong impression.

Step 8 – Prepare to Make a Great First Impression. Dress the part, exude confidence and treat the interviewer with courtesy and a smile. By doing a complete interview preparation your confidence will shine through. You will be able to interact without hesitation clearly establishing yourself as a desirable candidate.

Implement these steps along with the steps learned in Part A to increase your interview success rate. Learning how to prepare for an interview is a competitive weapon in today’s tight job market.

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Learning how to prepare for an interview is not about applying a magic formula that will result in a job offer every time. Preparing for an interview is following a series of proven steps that if implemented well will provide a competitive advantage over other job candidates. The reason that these techniques work is that most people put in minimal preparation and are in react mode during the interview. Those that take the time to prepare will clearly stand out above the rest. Master the following eight steps and you will be well on your way to improving your interview success rate.

Once you have gotten an interview (no easy task) its time to prepare. Today let’s look at the first four steps.

Step 1 – Research the Company. Find out about the company and position you are interested in. Learn about the company’s culture, its products and services. How well are they doing financially and who is the competition. Don’t just visit the company’s website, search for articles and news items about the company. Visit a financial site to get relevant data. Talk with people who work there, former employees or with customers. This is the foundation for the doing the other steps effectively and it is often totally ignored or done haphazardly.

Step 2 – Know the Interview Logistics. This is knowing the who, what, when and where of the interview. Learning who you will be interviewing is the most important. Many times you will interview with multiple people during one visit. In order to prepare effectively you need to know their title, role in the company and role in the hiring process. Ask what the format of the interview will be. Is it a group interview or a series of one on one interviews. The when and where might seem obvious, but many companies have multiple locations or multiple buildings in a campus location. Not knowing exactly where to be at the stated time could cause you to be late. You don’t want tardiness to be your first impression.

Step 3 – Analyze Your Resume. Your resume will be the basis that the interviewer will use to formulate questions to ask you. You need to be able to answer in detail any questions about the information that is on your resume. Also review your resume for questions that may come up, i.e. gaps in your employment history, a short job stint or a job change that may appear to be a demotion. You should be able to provide answers to these types of questions without hesitation. Uncertainty will raise red flags in the interviewers mind.

Step 4 – Prepare Answers to Common Questions. Most hiring managers have received no training on how to get the most out of an interview. They are also very busy with their jobs and put little effort in preparing for an interview. Because of this they tend to ask a series of common interview questions, such as “tell me about yourself?” Preparing creative answers to these stock questions will differentiate you from other candidates. A good reference resource to help formulate your own answers is The Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers.

Remember, it’s not usually the most qualified candidate who gets the offer, it is the one who has interviewed the best. So thorough interview preparation can set you apart from the competition and land you the job offer you want.

In the next post we will review the remaining four steps necessary in how to prepare for an interview.

Technorati Tags: How to Prepare for an Interview, Interview Questions and Answers, job interview, Job Interview Questions to Ask, Tips for Job Interview Success

Technorati Tags: good job interview questions to ask, How to Prepare for an Interview, Job Interview Questions to Ask, questions to ask at a job interview, sample job interview questions to ask