Follow these critical steps to properly prepare for a job interview
Dear Sam: Will you please provide some general information to orient me to the job-interview process? I have not interviewed in 23 years, so I feel a little lost as to what to expect. — Edward
Dear Edward: Absolutely! And do not feel bad — I work with clients every single week who have not needed to conduct a job search in quite some time and now find themselves in uncharted territory. Many candidates invest time revamping their resume (not to mention hundreds of dollars on that perfect interview wardrobe) but neglect to invest time preparing for the interview. Let’s review some of the basics.
Research your prospective employer.
Before the interview, take some time to review the company’s website, reading the “about us” page and, if available, press releases, financial statements and strategic plans. If the company does not have a website, try searching for references to the company online to glean any details about the organization. Also, check professional-networking websites and review profiles for current and past employees. This can provide insight about how long employees stay at the company, as well as if there appears to be a lot of recent transition. Armed with this information, review your own background and determine how certain skills, experiences and achievements will translate well, based on your prospective employer’s current situation.
Prepare responses for those tough-to-answer questions.
Are there certain questions you have had difficulty answering in the past? If so, script strong responses, and practice answering those questions before the interview. A request my clients often say is the most difficult for them is “Tell me about yourself.”
When prospective employers ask you to tell them about yourself, they are not asking for you to tell them you are married, have two children, a dog and like skiing. What they are really asking is, “What in your background positions you to excel in this role?” If you have developed a qualifications summary for your resume, you have already taken great strides in your ability to answer this question succinctly.
To prepare for this question, review your background, and identify your core value messages. These messages should reflect the skills you offer and the benefits of those skills to the prospective employer.
Think about times you have gone above and beyond, addressed a challenge and driven strong results, or when your specific strengths added value to your employer. Remember, you don’t just want to tell an employer what you can do; you want to show them what you can do. Present value messages that include a combination of your actions/skills and the results/benefit of each. Here are a couple of examples:
DON’T say, “I have great organization skills.”
DO say, “I have repeatedly increased department productivity by streamlining processes, reducing redundancies and improving workflow.”
DON’T say, “I manage people well.” DO say, “I have a proven record of building, training and motivating top-performing teams that have surpassed aggressive performance goals.”
By presenting the result or benefit of your action or skill, you provide the hiring manager with key insight into how your skills and experiences can transfer into their organization, leaving a stronger impression of you as a candidate.
Be ready to present your qualifications in different interview formats.
When scheduling a job interview, asking about the format of your interview will help you prepare. Interviews come in many shapes and sizes, including one-on-one, group, panel and technical. While you won’t be able to anticipate every question, knowing whether you will face a group of six on a panel versus an informal interview with the hiring manager will help you mentally prepare to handle the situation.
Interviewing can be a stressful experience, but being prepared, practicing responses and knowing how your strengths and experiences relate to your prospective employer’s needs can reduce your anxiety and improve the success of your search.
— Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and the owner of Nolan Branding, a full-service resumewriting firm. Email resume or job-search questions to dearsam@nolanbranding.com. To find out more about Nolan and her services, visit www.nolanbranding.com, or call 614-570-3442.