How to Nail Your Interview

Interviewing is hard. It’s intimidating, scary, and nerve-racking, but it doesn’t have to be.

I once had a mentor tell me that he loved interviewing because he felt it was a fun chance to talk about himself and get to know new people. At the time, I wholeheartedly disagreed, so I decided I would start thinking about it his way, and perhaps overnight, interviewing would become an exciting experience. I visualized myself chatting away with recruiters bonding over shared hobbies and all of my great accomplishments. I imagined myself relaxed and collected. I even practiced answering questions in the mirror. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work for me. As much as I wanted interviewing to be “fun,” I was still anxious and awkward and fumbling my half-rehearsed sentences, especially during the “tell me about yourself” phase of the interview. After botching a few phone interviews during the fall semester of my senior year at Vanderbilt, I knew I had to try something else. I went to the campus Career Center with low expectations, and as it turned out, I got some of the best interviewing tips I had never heard. So in the interest of saving you the trouble I went through, and I’d like to pass along a few of those bits of wisdom.

Interviewing is a Two-Way Street

First off, it helps to think of the interview as a two-way street. The recruiter, hiring manager, and everyone else you meet at the interview are not just interviewing you. In a sense, you’re interviewing them as well. Use your conversations to determine not just if you fit with them but if they fit with you. Look around, ask questions, and evaluate if the company fits your idea of what makes a great work environment. When you think of the interview as a conversation, you become more powerful and less vulnerable because you’re part of the decision-making process.  

Make It a Conversation

Second, make it a conversation. Instead of talking at people, talk with them. Sell yourself in such a way that the interviewer feels included in the conversation. The best way I’ve found to do this is to answer each question with a story, rather than a rehearsed response. For example, if the interviewer asks you what your greatest strength is, don’t just spit out a word or a sentence, respond with a concise story that illustrates that strength. In my interviews, I always spoke about my ability to identify a need within an organization and act on it, but my response didn’t start there. I would start out painting a picture of the chaos that was the Vanderbilt Relay for Life committee describing long, unproductive meetings and missed deadlines due to poor internal communication. Once the interviewer seemed engaged in the story, I would then go on to describe how I identified the need for more teamwork, and took action to plan bonding activities during and outside of our usual Sunday meetings. The moral of this particular story was that increased team bonding led to increased success. During my term as co-president, the organization raised the most fundraising dollars to date, which demonstrates the effectiveness of these changes we made. The whole story took less than two minutes but was far more memorable than a generic “I’m a strong leader,” or other common responses. That is just one example, but the point is, at the end of your short story, the interviewer should believe your strength, not just be able to repeat back the cookie-cutter response you gave him or her.

So the main components to this story concept are: 1) provide some background, 2) describe the challenge(s) faced, 3) explain the action(s) taken and 4) define the end result. Be sure that you always tie it back to you and your strength so that the purpose of the story is not lost, and be sure to keep it concise. If utilized properly, this strategy will make you feel more comfortable while simultaneously making you more memorable to the interviewer. You already know the story, so even though you’ll rehearse it a few times, you don’t have to memorize it, you can just tell it naturally. If you can illustrate your experience and keep him or her engaged, s/he will be more likely to remember you and your story.

Share a Personal Hobby or Interest

Third, when interviewing, share something memorable that’s not related to work. Many times in interviews I’ve been asked what I like to do in my free time, but even if the interviewer doesn’t ask this question outright, it can be beneficial to share something personal. Chatting about what you’re interested in outside the office can make you more memorable and more importantly, it can give you confidence because you have chosen the topic, and you know what you’re talking about. For example, any time I’m asked what I like to do outside the office I always talk about historical fiction books or running because I care a lot about both, and they’re also interests that many people can relate to. Whenever I mention I love historical fiction, people naturally ask what my favorite book is or what book I’ve read most recently (Once We Were Brothers and respectively), both easy answers for me because I’m always reading something new. When you give yourself an opportunity to talk about something you’re well-versed in, you show of your intelligence and your passion, in a more casual format.

This is a tactic that I’ve used to create a comfortable space for myself within the interview, and it has proven to be valuable in that regard, so be sure you to answer this question honestly and not just with something you think the interviewer wants to hear. Don’t say you enjoy teaching yourself to code in your spare time unless it’s true. If it’s not true you’ll end up hitting a dead end quickly or worse, fail to answer follow up questions from someone who really does love coding in their spare time. The best advice I’ve heard for answering this type of question is to use the opportunity to showcase your true passion and eloquence when speaking about something that really interests you. If you do your research ahead of time and find out that you and the interviewer have something in common, even better. Share that piece of yourself and maybe you two will jump into a great conversation, bonding over a hobby that has nothing to do the position they’re hiring for.

Although this is not all you need to succeed, these are a few keys to help you stay calm and prepare for your interviews. It’s all about creating a human connection because demonstrating you’re a culture fit can be just as important (if not more so) than showing that you have the technical skills to get the job done.