15 Practical Tips for Your Next Interview!

Congratulations! You’ve landed an interview and made it to one of the most important parts of the job seeking process.  Getting the interview is the big first step, and is a good sign because it means you are on the level of talent the hiring managers are looking for and have made it past the initial screening process.  However from here on out, it’ll be on your shoulders to sell yourself and meet their needs as the best potential candidate for the position.  In this segment continuing in our career development series, we’ll be diving into some practical interview tips and highlight some various strategies

      I’ve always enjoyed hearing and reading articles about these innovative strategies for hiring, for instance hearing about the hiring manager asking off the wall psychological questions or testing candidates with an urgent situation in the interview to see how they’d react. While those are fun stories and interesting visionary tactics the reality is most interviews have a pretty straight forward process and many employers have standardized questions that have been developed and will follow a script.  As a manager that is passionate about working with my own staff on career development, providing feedback on approaching an interview was a good discussion topic and something I had experience in both in interviewing candidates and going on many interviews myself.  In fact, all throughout our lives we attend many interviews/auditions/tryouts and through those experiences we grow and learn from each time, and in some cases we actually learn more from not getting the job.  These tips that are listed are practical concepts approached through both sides of the experience so enjoy them for what their worth and go for it! You got this!

1.      The Basics- For most interviews these basic concepts are pretty straight forward and will be the first tests at any interview. Common sense items like showing up on time, dressing the part, ironing your clothes, shaking everyone’s hand while looking at their eyes, bringing a printed copy of your resume and the job description, brushing your teeth, carrying a pen, silencing your phone, bringing some examples of sample work, and not overdoing the cologne/perfume should be standard for most candidates.  Red flags will start going off quickly with the hiring manager when the basics cannot even be met and your reliability will be questioned right off the bat.  Don’t even give them the opportunity to question your professionalism by starting off with the basics and showing them you are at the level!

2.      Fill their need- Every hiring manager has a specific goal or purpose for the position they are recruiting for.  In fact, the job description posting lays out everything they are requesting for the position, so you basically have the answers to the test ahead of time. Now that you already know what they want, it’s your job to go sell yourself. Read the job description thoroughly and understand how you fit into each of the hiring points and where your expertise can fit in.  Exploit your potential by filling their needs with your knowledge, skills, and passion to develop yourself for this role.  If you are lacking specific skills, be honest and highlight your desire or plan to acquire them and also how you are currently developing yourself to do so.  If the hiring managers trust you can fill their need, then you have a good chance to get the position.  It’s as simple as that.

3.      Provide real world examples-/tell stories where people can imagine- There is nothing better than when being asked a question in an interview to respond with a real-world example showing that you have been through the process and are on the level.  When communicating your example, it’s good to elaborate and make the listener feel like they were standing in the room with you as it was happening.  The reason: It’s proven that stories provide a more personal connection that makes the person telling the story more trustworthy. In fact there’s a whole “Hidden Brain” podcast supporting this theory about how election candidates used stories to connect to the voters and how the ones that were able to convey their story well, also performed well in the elections.  When I think of some of my most successful interviews I can remember I did this well and utilized this concept heavily.

4.      No Negativity- At all costs stay away from being negative in any way during an interview.  I’ll mention this again, negativity is a big “NO, NO”, and if the hiring managers or interview panel see your being negative about former companies, bosses, or others then they will assume you will do the same about them.   Nothing brings up the red flags like complaining, bad mouthing, or blaming others for your failures and it also shows that the hiring manager cannot trust you right off the bat.  If you were fired or laid off, explain the situation in an honest way but limit any negativity, focusing on what you learned from the experience and what you’re doing to move forward. 

5.      Ask for the job- I saw this on one of those life-hack shows on Netflix and I’ve got to say it is pretty genius.  At the end of the interview when they ask you if you have any questions for them, this is your opportunity to go for it especially if you’re feeling pretty good about the way the interview is going.   You can ask something like, “I’m really feeling good about this opportunity, so do you feel I would be a good fit and could offer me the position?”  Another question you can ask is “Is there any reason why you feel I wouldn’t be a strong candidate for this role?”  The reason as highlighted in the episode is to get any doubts they might have on the table so you can quickly address them, and also it shows you have confidence in your abilities.  I’ve actually done this in real interviews and it is pretty amazing and when you have one chance and are feeling good, you’ve got nothing to lose.  

6.      Limit the Name dropping- Just to let you know, it’s not always about the big names, who you’ve worked for, or where you’ve been; it’s really comes down to whether all of the hiring managers trust you can do the job. It’s OK to namedrop when asked or if relevant like when you know someone at the company, but names are not going to get you hired; only you can do that by selling yourself and building trust.  For example, one time there was a candidate interviewing that mentioned they had worked for almost every major tech company under the sun and all throughout the interview were bombarding the panel with constant name dropping.  Afterwards during the candidate feedback discussion with all of the hiring managers and directors, all everyone could wonder was that if the candidate was so good and had worked for all of these great companies, then why weren’t they still there or had an opportunity to be permanently hired by one of them?? Mic drop!

7.      Be yourself-  One of the things that made me determine if the role was a good fit was if they could accept me for being myself.  This might sound somewhat off if you’re just wanting to get your foot in the door of the company, but realize that you are going to be spending a lot of time in this role and environment and not only are they interviewing you, but you are also interviewing them as well.   The easiest way to determine if it’s a good fit is by being “yourself” during the interview and letting the chips fall where they may on how they feel about you.  This might sound like a risk as we are trained to try and fit the mold of the perfect candidate but in the end most of us would rather be in a department or environment that believes in us and lets us be ourselves, instead in a controlling micro-management place that lacks freedom to function as yourself. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean to act unprofessional, but more don’t be afraid to show your colors, ideas, and thought process.  If they don’t like you for whom you are, then it wasn’t meant to be to begin with, so at least if you act yourself in the interview then both you and them are not wasting time with different expectations and end up in a regretful situation.  For example I was on an interview one time and during the interview it became obvious that our expectations didn’t match and it wasn’t going to work out.  Luckily, because I was true to myself in the interview and did not put on a facade to try and get the job I was able to identify this up front and didn’t think more about the role and ended found a much better fit overall for my expectations. Remember your skills are valuable and it has to be a good for you as well, so don’t settle for less than what you expect.

8.      Practice your interview- Once you know when your interview will take place definitely set aside some time to practice answering some sample interview questions.  There’s a bunch of great apps you can download that have various sample questions that will help you get into the right mindset and also think about your strategy on how you would answer the questions.  Utilize your smartphone or digital camera and record yourself answering the questions and see where improvements can be made.  If you have a good friend do a real-walk through with some sample questions.  This repetition will assist is making you more comfortable and it will show in the actual interview since you’ve understood these questions and have well thought out answers and descriptions.  One key point is to practice speaking clearly and precise, and stay away from constantly saying, “You Know”, “Uuuuummmm” and “Like” which tend to stand out and will take away from what your actually saying.  

9.      Highlight your strengths; be honest about your weaknesses- When speaking about yourself and examples of your experiences, it’s very effective to focus on your strengths and what your good at by providing concrete illustrations and samples of the caliber of work you’ve done and how you developed yourself.  In fact print out some copies of examples of work you’ve done and showcase that wonderful project you were a part of, to cement the experiences you have. There is also psychology behind the word placement on how you say things as mentioned in the book Thinking Fast and Slow, by Nobel winner Daniel Khanemen.  The concept is that you have much better odds of giving a positive reflection if you highlight your strengths first, before mentioning your weaknesses.  The explanation is what we all know as, “First impressions” so highlighting your weaknesses first makes people focus and zero in on them, and when the hiring managers are paying attention, a negative first impression probably won’t sit well overall.  If they pursue information on a specific topic or example that you truly do not know be honest, (That’s another test, honesty) and highlight what you’re doing to learn and develop yourself so that you will eventually know it.  For example if someone doesn’t know Microsoft Access but the position has a preferred qualification for having it, the candidate should be looking at online training courses to understand the basics ahead of time and have a plan to get there whether on their own, or have the willingness to be trained through the company.  Just to clarify, requirements for a position are usually listed for a reason and if a candidate makes a claim in an interview they’d better be able to back it up, as I’ve seen candidates fired literally a week after they were hired when it became evident that they had exaggerated their skills and were not qualified.  

10.  Stay on target- The interview is one place where you get to talk a lot about most of our favorite subject which is yourself.  Time is money, so make the most of it by so focusing most your time you to highlight your strengths and skills, your thought process, your goals, and the results of your experiences so you can maximize the potential to build up trust.  Swaying the conversation away to outside topics like weather and vacations, not only limits the time you get to talk about yourself, but could potentially give them the impression you’re hiding something or are not being honest.  You can however go off topic if you see a direct connection like say you notice a sports item on their desk and it’s something you know and feel passionate about. If you feel it might add to them building your trust it OK to make a couple of quick comments, but be brief and focus on what they need to hear that will allow you to build trust.  

11.  Body Posture/Smiling/Eye contact-  How you portray and present yourself to others can be a confidence assessment to the hiring managers and this allows others to have confidence and believe in you.  Smiling and providing solid eye contact with all hiring managers allows for them to see your confidence and respect as an individual. During the interview when you’re speaking you should be looking at each of the hiring panel’s eyes when speaking and rotating to each of them throughout the answer.  Another simple area that can be used to your advantage is your body posture/language.  In the Psychologist Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk regarding body posture, she highlights how body position alone can make a significant impression during the interview and as someone that’s tried her concept in real interviews, and I’ve found it really does help. This is also true for your body language where you should sit straight up and alert with an open posture, instead of laid back or slumped over giving more of a closed appearance.  I think the key is to show them that they can have confidence in you no matter what the situation and that you know what you’re talking about or know how to figure it out and get to a solution.  

12.  Get there 5 to 10 minutes early- Getting there early allows you to evaluate the company environment and if possible strike up a conversation with the person in the front office.  Not only will this make you feel more comfortable and loose for your interview, but you can also assess an environment of a department by the feedback and attitude of their staff level employees.  If the opportunity presents itself, carefully watch the communication between the manager and staff for it’s a telltale sign of the workplace environment and culture of the department.  In fact multiple times I’ve interviewed at companies and after seeing how the manager interacted with the front office staff, I began to have serious doubts and was the one ending up having red flags.   Sometimes it’s a blessing not to get the job if the environment is hostile and you can save yourself a lot of headache down the road just by observing these subtle cues.

13.  Ask questions- Try and research and ask questions that show you understand the position and the level of work you are to be doing as it definitely shows the hiring managers you’re prepared and that is a plus! For instance, you can ask them for an example of a project they are working on and how they see the candidate fitting in, or if you’re feeling good at this point in the interview, this is where you can ask for the position and put it all on the table. For questions regarding salary, time off, and schedule expectations, unless they are significant determining factors, these will be addressed during the negotiation if an offer comes your way and that’s the time you can leverage your value and bring up those concerns.  The hiring manager wants to see your genuine interest in the role and that you’re not just looking for a paycheck. 

14.  Don’t bet the farm-  As much as I want to preach that it’s easy to succeed, sometimes there can be outside factors that can make it quite difficult depending on the situation. In fact the reality is that in these cases all you can do is give it your best and let the chips fall where they may, as scary as that sounds.  To be clear, there can be many unforeseen politics behind open positions and who ends up getting the job as these might have nothing to do with the caliber of the candidate or the qualifications they bring. For instance, you might be subject of a political situation when the interviews have already been scheduled with 2 candidates and suddenly the VP sends a candidate (Whose father is their good golf buddy) as a recommendation to the hiring manager and the VP just happens to directly oversee that department. Your best chance in these situations is to give it your all, and make it difficult for them to deny you getting the job because of any political agenda.  In fact at all times once you finish your interview, unless you walk out of there feeling like you have the job, already be thinking ahead and move onto the next opportunity and continue the process.   Always have a plan B and plan C option ready to go and keep moving until something is finalized.  Remember unless you’re presented with an offer everything is hypothetical with all options still being on the table.

15.  Follow-Up Quickly- Follow up with all parties you met with within 1 day of the interview acknowledging your desire and thanking them for their time. Not only is it standard for professionalism but shows the hiring team you are serious about this role and are committed. Usually if they are interested they will respond quickly and will want to move forward and in my experience this happens usually within the first 3 days (Not always, but usually).  If they don’t respond within 3 days, it’s OK to send another follow-up note asking about the job and if they’ve made a decision.  The key here is that the longer it takes for them to respond, your likeliness of getting the job gets lower and lower and while on occasion there are other factors lengthening the decision process, their response time is usually a pretty good indicator.  But that’s OK since you didn’t put all of your eggs in one basket and already had a plan B right?  If you don’t hear back from them move on, and keep going forward for there is someone out there that does see your potential and that’s whom you really want to work for.

16.  Go all out! – PS. Here’s an extra one. You’ve got one shot, so give it your all and go for it!  Dress the part, show confidence in your abilities, and present the best of yourself as you’ve got nothing to lose. If you don’t get hired that’s OK, because you were the best of yourself so enjoy and learn from the experience and continue to progress until you get there!  I’ve done this a couple times in my interviews where I went in and used it as my stage to let them know I was going to be a strong candidate. In fact one time I went all out made such a memorable interview for them that I ended up being called for another position that was even a better fit, so go all out and give it your best shot as you might get exactly what you want. 

So there you have it some practical tips for interviews that you can utilize and prepare yourself the next time you go in for an interview.  There’s never a guarantee on anything in life, but you can position yourself to have an edge and if it came down between you and another candidate, you want that edge on your side! Go for it, live it, and be the best you can be! I hope you enjoyed reading these tips as I did writing them!  You got this and I truly wish you the best on your journey!  

Peace,

Andre DeVito

Andre DeVito holds an MBA, and has years over 20 years of organizational experience as a staff employee, manager, and consultant in healthcare, retail, the military, and in the freight industry. He currently is a Data Visualization Manager in the Healthcare field, a Producer and Co-host of the show “Podcast by the Bay”, and also loves to write articles, play music, be a parent, and hosts a monthly think-tank to discuss big ideas and concepts. If you have any questions or would like to converse please contact him through LinkedIn, through his email at highwaysoul@yahoo.com or connect with him directly through one of the sites below.

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