Interview Cheat Sheet

In the next few weeks, I’m about to conduct a round of interviews, so in the spirit of transparency and open-book tests, I thought I’d put the main questions I typically ask here. For the folks I’m meeting with, “Howdy! I’m looking forward to meeting you.” If you’re stalking me on LinkedIn before we talk, you’re on the right path to interview success, so congratulations. For everyone else, this could be pretty useful, as there’s A LOT of generic nonsense on the internets posing as interview advice, and this is the real deal, even if just for an audience of one. 

So first off, it’s important to tailor the interview to who you’re talking to. When you’re meeting with the “hiring manager” it’s usually totally OK to end a sentence with a preposition, like I just did. What’s important is to demonstrate to them that they’d be lucky to have you on their team. Every interview up until now has been about getting to this minute; you’ve passed the screen rounds with recruiters or HR; now the challenge is to show them that you would be a FANTASTIC addition to their team. This is your chance to really be you, but the best version of you at the office. 

Everybody has a different method, but I usually come back to asking three simple questions. These cut through a lot of the noise to get to the point of this call, or face-to-face meeting:  

I. Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume 

OK, true talk here: There is a good chance the person interviewing you last looked at your resume two weeks ago, or worse yet, has not yet EVER looked at your resume. What? I KNOW! How unfair; you spent so much time obsessing over every word in the document. It might not be right, but it is true. So this question has two purposes: 

1) Your interviewer meets you for the first time -or- you refresh their memory. So give them the highlights, but focus on what’s pertinent to the job they’re looking to fill. Remember, you’re talking about YOU, but your focus needs to be on THEM. They have a job to fill, and you are the perfect fit. Otherwise, why are you wasting each other’s time? 

2) This is a test of how well you’ve refined your elevator pitch. You should have a 30-, 60-, 120-second version of this, and use the right one at the right time. You might even ask your interviewer which one they want. Back in B-school, the first time I was asked this question in practice, I monologued for seven minutes without taking a breath before I was stopped to be let down easy. [Thanks for your kindness, Sally!] Can you make your point quickly? This is a great time to show that skill off. 

II. Why should we hire you? 

That sounds gruff, and maybe it is, but it’s really the only thing that the company wants to know. So plan in advance to answer it in the best way. It’s not just rattling off your qualifications; it’s showing that you will push the team forward. For almost every job, you can’t miss if you do two things: 

1) Meet the bar (if you don’t, there will be others that do) 

2) Stand out (don’t be boring; be awesome - the best dang you at the office) 

You can do this! You wouldn’t have passed the screen rounds if you’re weren’t a probable fit. So show them that you’re the best possible option and you’re all set. 

III. Why would you want to work for us? 

The first part of the interview has been all about you, but now you’ve proved that you’re awesome and the company would be lucky to have you. Why the heck would you want to work for them and not anyone else? Don’t overlook this piece. Every single time I’ve picked the “more qualified” candidate over the “more passionate” candidate I’ve regretted it. Don’t underestimate the power of showing that you’re more interested in working for this company than anywhere else in the world. If you can’t even fake your way through this answer, cancel the interview – you’ll be happier elsewhere. 

And that’s it. If you can handle those three questions, you can rock any interview. If you can’t get through those points, probably you’re not the right fit for the job – either it’s not right for you or you don’t really want it anyway. 

Best of luck to you in your search. There are so many great companies and so many great candidates, so when you really focus on the right fit between the two, it’ll all work out.