Nailing That first Interview! - Interview Prep Guide

Interviewing is a skill; something that can be learned, crafted and perfected with the right focus. In my years of experience I have been both the interviewee and interviewer and I've found that people don't always get passed over for positions because of their lack of experience or skill set, but their lack of ability to properly articulate their experience and skill set and really sell themselves to a hiring manager.

Interviewing is just like a game, performance, battle (whichever reference hits home for you) and the key is always preparation. Below you will find I have outlined how to research, prep for questions, get passed the phone screen and nail the interview!

 

Do Your Research(Pre-interview)

Research the company:

1. Mission Statement – Not many companies ask you to recite it anymore but it’s still good to know.
2. Company Growth- Where are they going, up? Down? Do you even want to work here?
3. Main company initiatives- So you can speak intelligently about the company
4. Role – What it entails, helps preempt questions they will ask. If it says in the job description they want X,Y and Z skills, you should have examples of how you are X,Y and Z ready

Research the Interviewer:

1. Find them on LinkedIn – If they have it
2. Google their name
3. What role do they have? What was their career path?
4. Would you report to them?
5. Find out everything possible before you talk to them
6. Find out what made them successful, or ask them if you get a chance.

Get Prepared

Be prepared for questions that may be asked, here are some most common interview questions and guideline on how to answer them:

Questions taken from Forbes Magazine “Top Questions asked in Interviews”

What are your strengths?  

Standard question, reply with honest strengths, be able to list 3 solid ones and Explain them – be detailed as to why they are strengths give examples anyone can say they “work hard” you need to explain why

What are your weaknesses? 

Only list one, and it has to also be a positive, like paying too much attention to detail, or always wanting everything to come out perfect, be creative think of one that works for you. Be prepared to give example!

Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]? 

Why do you want to work for them? This is where your research comes into play. Be detailed with your answer.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 

This is a trick question, the answer is always something along the lines of “Working for you” – you need to show you have a plan, are ambitious and sure of what you want. You want to describe a role you could be doing there

Why do you want to leave your current company? 

Regardless of the true reason, always make it a forward moving statement (i.e. “I want to work somewhere that I can grow both personally and professionally and I don’t see that as an option at _____” NOT “I’m not being paid enough” or “my job is boring”)

What can you offer us that someone else can not? 

This is your opportunity to set yourself apart, where your technical knowledge, work ethic, dedication, loyalty, whatever you consider your biggest asset to the company would be for your role. They only care about what you can do for them, put yourself in their shoes. Don’t make it generic.

Are you a leader or a follower? 

Trick question. The answer is always “Leader” however you want to choose either “Lead by example” or “Vocal Leader” or both. If you are someone is more of a follower choose “Lead by example” and say something along the lines of “I would say I’m a leader because I like to lead by example, if I’m told to do something or know something needs to be done I just do it and when people see that they follow suit”

Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of. 

This is where story telling comes in handy, if its being valedictorian of college tell them about how hard you worked to get there. Don’t just say whatever it is your proud of, tell them why. Think dramatic movie plot, try to be honest though, also don’t drone on. Short and sweet is best, but not too short. Also don’t get too personal

Tell me about a time you made a mistake. 

I personally have never had this asked or asked this, but tell them a real mistake you have made, BUT then them how you fixed it. DO NOT TELL THEM A MISTAKE YOU DIDN’T FIX!

What is your dream job? 

Keep it field related, almost want to describe a role that you could possibly do at that company one day without actually saying it would be at that company – makes it sound more genuine.

What would you look to accomplish in the first 30 days/60 days/90 days on the job? 

You want to get up and running as fast as possible, you want to have a solid understanding of your duties within the first month, and hopefully be able to work without instruction by day 90, you also want to mesh well with your team. Good way to preempt this is to find out what would be expected of a new hire within 30 days and try to surpass that

Describe yourself. 

Similar to explaining your best qualities except it’s a little more personal and less business however you do want to list qualities that will be attractive to a manager in that type of environment

Tell me how you handled a difficult situation. 

If you have one that you handled well, tell them all about it, make sure it has a positive ending

What are your salary requirements? 

The best answer is an honest one. Provide a range that makes sense for the role, to show that you've done your homework. A possible example: 'Based on my experience, a position like this would pay between $X and $Y per year. Is that figure in line with your budget?' The key is, don't duck - answer honestly, but remember, everything is negotiable

Give a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project. 

Standard question, just reference a time you did something not in your job description. They basically want to know you’re a team player.

What was your biggest failure? 

A time you set a goal and didn’t make it, how you handled it and bounced back, what you learned from it.

Who’s your mentor? 

Who is someone you look up to? Give reasons as to why (don’t pick a celebrity)

Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. 

Dangerous question, maybe emphasize open and honest communication with your manager.

How do you handle pressure? 

They already kind of know based on how comfortable you are at the interview, so don’t lie if you are sitting there in a pool of sweat, be honest, tell them you’re nervous if you are.

What is the name of our CEO?   

Know this from your research

What are your career goals?  

Tell them your goals, it can’t hurt to say something along the lines of, to grow with a respectable company and move up within its ranks. If you don’t have goals yet, make them before the interview.

What gets you up in the morning? 

Keep it positive, don’t say coffee

What were your bosses’ strengths/weaknesses? 

DO NOT EVER TALK POORLY ABOUT YOUR BOSS OR YOUR OLD JOB. They will instantly think, holy crap, is this what this person would say about me? Talk about the good things.

What are your co-worker pet peeves?   

Not following through, following up promptly. Or whatever you think, keep it simple, make sure no negative conclusions can be drawn from it.

Discuss your resume

Go through your resume from bottom to top – be detailed, if something should be highlighted, highlight it yourself don’t wait for them to ask you questions about it. Cover details of each job, why you left, how you got the next position and repeat.

The Phone Screen

1. By now you should be more than prepared to answer any question they throw your way. Now you just need to answer the questions with confidence, come off as ambitious, yet humble. Answer all of their questions in depth. Speak clearly, if you’re taking the call from your cell, be sure you’re somewhere with great service and quiet.
2. Find out if this is just a phone screener (HR, Recruiter) or someone who you will ultimately report to. Find out if they are even located in the same office. If you are confident this person is just a screener or recruiter, fire off as many questions as you want.  
3. Test them by asking them a very specific question about the job, I usually ask in depth compensation questions for front office type roles, but for tech maybe ask something subjective to your manager’s discretion, like “as an automation engineer will my manager require me to ….” Whatever you think a recruiter wouldn’t know. Like I said they like questions and will be more impressed with you. You want to get them to say “You can ask that question in the interview”. Ask salary ranges, whatever you probably wouldn’t ask in an interview, get as much information as you can to be prepared for the interview.
4. Make a point to remember the screeners name, call them by it once or twice, and as its wrapping up ask “Thank you for considering me John, I am really interested in working for XYZ company, What’s the next step, what do you need from me?” This is probably the most important part of the screening if it went well.
5. Find out what you need to wear, and bring to the interview, how many copies of your resume, and ask them, “John what advice would you give to someone in my shoes to prepare for the interview” This is great information, and is also flattering because it shows you value their opinion, so if they are on the fence, this should help. Also don’t be afraid to ask what they thought of you during the screening, this will give you a chance to address any objections they may have. “A question like, based on what we have talked about, do you feel I would be a good fit” If they have an objection, it will come out here. If you don’t ask, you will never know, and may never get a chance to address the issue.

The Interview

1. If you have done everything so far, this should be the easy part. You will be more than prepared to answer the questions. Bring 3 copies of your resume on resume paper. Dress nice, be friendly, smile at everyone in the office, have a bottle of water. Shake their hand                                      * Body language for interview will be covered in section 6
2. Once you get to the end and they ask “Do you have any questions for me” Answer is always YES! Have 5-6 questions written down before the interview, and if they get answered during the interview don’t ask them again.
3. The final questions are going to be:

“Based on our conversation, do you have any glaring concerns about my candidacy for this position?” If they say no move on to the next question, if they say yes, address the concern to the best of your ability, it's possible you cant but at least you will know why you didn’t get hired

“All things being equal John, do you think I would make a good addition to your team?” If they had no concerns, or you addressed them properly, they should say yes, if they say NO, you have another chance to address the concerns. Hopefully they will have said yes twice by now, regardless, move on to the final question.**If you don’t know what the next step in the process, this is where you ask.

“If all goes well here, what would the next step in the process be?” also find out 'when' if you can.

The Follow-Up

1. Send an e-mail to your interviewer within 2 hours thanking them for their time, and reaffirming your interest in the job. Keep it short and sweet. 
2. If going through a recruiter (internal or agency) get as much feedback as you can on what they thought of you, positive and negative so if there is a next step you can highlight strengths and try and fix what they saw as weaknesses.

Your communication and Body language

Having strong communication skills is one of the most valuable skills anyone can have. Communication is 7% what you say, 35% how you say it and 58% what you look like while you are saying it. All 3 must match up or people will question you. Fact of the matter is your body language is a huge factor when interviewing for a job, interviewers subconsciously make decisions about people just by how they present themselves. It has shown that the average Recruiter/Interview makes the following 11 assumptions about someone within 4 minutes of meeting them and experienced Recruiters and Interviewers make these decisions within 4 seconds.

*Taken from the book “Body language for Business by: Max Eggert"

1. Economic Level – how much money they come from
2. Education Level – Academic level / intelligence
3. How honest and/or credible they are
4. How much they can be trusted
5. Their level of sophistication
6. Gender, their sexual orientation, desirability
7. Level of success
8. Political background – how likely to vote
9. Value orientation – share the same values / principles
10. Ethnic origin
11. Social desirability – would you like them as a friend

Do’s:

• Wear a well fitting suit. Dark colored. Preferably black, white or light blue colored shirt.
• Strong hand shake! Nothing is more of a turn off to a hiring manager than a weak hand shake. Practice if you need to, a limp wrist hand shake where they only grab your fingers could end your interview (in their mind) before it even starts.
• Eye contact – be sure to make consistent eye contact during the interview, don’t stare but when they are speaking or while you are speaking be sure you are looking them in the eye. If you need to look away, do it while taking notes of what they say. Yes you should have a nice notebook
• Posture – sit up straight, don’t lean back in your chair and don’t lean forward unless they are showing you something on paper or a PowerPoint or something along those lines.

Don’ts:

• Flailing – I am a hand talker, a lot of us are, however you must keep it under control during the interview. Talking with your hands is actually a good way to help display your passion on a point but don’t over do it. You don’t want the manager thinking “ Are they going to knock over my plant?” vs listening to what you say.

• Cross arms – Never cross your arms during an interview. Granted you may be doing that because you’re cold or that’s comfortable for you but it is perceived as being defensive or uncomfortable. Keep them by your side on in your lap

• Nodding – yes this is a good thing if the manager just explained something, but nodding and agreeing every 5 seconds makes you come across as a “Yes man” and no one likes a “Yes Man”

• Fidget – be aware of much you are moving around, don’t be touching your face or playing with your pen etc.Use these tips while you’re working as well! – you are always interviewing, even when you are employed, you’re interviewing for a higher level position or you are interviewing to keep your job. In todays market which in some industries could be scarce with layoffs companies are looking to keep their best and only the best talent, how you carry and conduct yourself everyday will reflect how long you stay and where you go in the company.

Alright you're good! You've got the tools to land that first job! Be sure to use these tips while you’re working as well! You are always interviewing, even when you are employed, you’re interviewing for a higher level position or you are interviewing to keep your job. How you carry and conduct yourself everyday will reflect how long you stay and where you go in the company.

Any Questions? Want coaching? please reach out! b.brunell@sthree.com