Interviewing

Interviewing is a skill — the more you work at it the better you will become. Keep these things in mind.
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Before your Interview:

  • Research and identify

    The prospective employer’s:

    • Industry or service type
    • Financial health (even if it is a nonprofit – some are more secure than others)
    • Reputation
    • Business model (customers/sales/services/industry)
    • Newsworthy events in which the employer is engaged

    The industry or type of service the employer is in:

    • Trends impacting the industry
    • Newsworthy events in which the employer is engaged

    The job field:

    • Job title and department
    • Anticipated duties
    • Skills needed to succeed in the job
    • Career path for the position
    • Trends in similar career fields

    You — reflect on:

    • Your chief skills and how you developed and use them.
    • Your characteristics and how you developed and use them.
    • Your areas for improvement (weaknesses) and what you are doing to mitigate these areas.
    • What you have learned about yourself while developing necessary skills.

  • Consider your conflict resolution skills

    • A personal experience with conflict.
    • Your role in how the conflict developed.
    • Your role in the resolution of the conflict.
    • What you learned about yourself, resolving conflicts and the world of work from the experience.

  • Focus on your teamwork and leadership skills

    • Your personal experience as a team member and as a leader.
    • Where you were effective as a contributor and as a leader.
    • What you learned about yourself from the experiences that will be helpful in the role for which you are interviewing.

  • Clarify your critical-thinking/problem-solving skills

    • Be prepared to describe an experience wherein you used your critical-thinking or problem-solving skills.
    • Be able to describe what went well and what you would do differently during that experience.
    • Note what you learned about yourself in relationship to the position for which you are interviewing.

  • Identify you decision-making skills

    Identify a major decision in your life

    • What did you consider in making that decision?
    • Is that typical of how you make decisions?
    • If so, what does that say about you and how you will approach the role for which you are interviewing?
    • If not, how do you typically make such decisions and how do you anticipate that impacting you in the role you seek?

  • Develop an agenda

    Develop an agenda of what you hope to accomplish during the interview and the three-to-five essential points you want to get across to an employer. Write these points out and bring them with you to the interview.

  • Develop questions to ask during the interview

    51 Great Questions to Ask in an Interview

    • Avoid questions that focus on what the employer will do for you during your initial interviews, e.g., salary and benefits (those are appropriate in the final interview stage).
    • Write a minimum of five questions but be prepared to ask two or three (avoids all the questions you were going to ask being answered during the interview).
    • Start with areas you were unable to discover during your research.
    • Ask about the interview process timeline.
    • Ask at least one perspective question, e.g., ‘What do you see as the greatest challenge facing this position within the first year?’ or something similar that will help you evaluate if the job is a good fit.
    • If you identified something negative about the organization, be sure to ask them to speak about it from the organization’s perspective (ask neutrally – in a nonjudgmental tone). A good response from the employer can be very assuring as you consider whether you wish to work for them.
  • Plan your trip to the interview site

    What will you wear?

    • Dress conservatively but professionally: Dress pants/skirt, jacket; neutral top, dress shoes with socks/hose; minimal accessories — jewelry/ties/belts.
    • If you would wear the outfit for a social night out, it may not be appropriate.
    • Bring a leather or leather-like folio or folder containing:
      • Extra resumes
      • Your list of questions
      • Your agenda
      • A reference list

    How will you travel?

    • Plan to arrive 15 minutes early
    • Pad your arrival time by at least 15 minutes accounting for traffic patterns and clearing building security, etc.
    • If possible, do a dry run to the location.
  • Practice typical interview questions

    Interview question categories:

  • What employers seek in candidates

    • A professional looking resume with skills and experiences that relate to the position
    • Ability to relate your background to the position
    • Clear sense of how the position fits into your goals
    • Your leadership potential
    • Your ability to work in teams and to collaborate
    • Strong oral and written communications skills
    • An understanding of the technical/field-specific knowledge required of the position
    • Professionalism as demonstrated by appearance and timeliness
    • Interest in the position
      • An understanding of the position and employer
      • Enthusiasm about the role

Behavioral Interviewing

Behavioral Interviewing is the most common type of interview format employers adopt. It is based on the theory that past performance is the best predictor of future performance. Rather than asking you how you think you will handle different situations, employers will ask you to describe experiences you have that are similar to those that you will encounter or that demonstrate the skills you will need. You know the employer is using a Behavioral format if questions start with, “Describe a time when…” or “Give me an example of…”

Employers adopt a STAR approach to considering behavioral questions. They look for candidates to do the following:

  • Situation — relay a situation they experienced that is descriptive of the question.
  • Task — identify the task that was required of them to manage the situation.
  • Action — discuss the action they actually took to resolve the situation.
  • Result — discuss the outcome of the situation, but also what the candidate learned about themselves, as a professional, from the situation.

If that is uncomfortable, try this three-part approach

  1. Briefly outline the situation that speaks to the question.
  2. Outline the skills, knowledge or qualities you possess that allowed you to resolve the situation, explaining how they enabled you to resolve it.
  3. Finish with how those skills, knowledge or qualities will be useful for you in response to the role for which you are interviewing.

For example, even if asked “Tell me a little bit about yourself?” you can adopt this approach, by doing something like:

“One thing that you should know about me is that I am extremely hard working. As you can see from my resume, I have been able to maintain a 3.6 GPA while working full time and continuing to progress in my current role as I was recently promoted. Additionally, I maintain a commitment to a strong work/life balance that allows me to reenergize regularly by engaging with family and friends. What I’ve learned from balancing these competing demands, is that you have to be flexible and focused. I was reviewing your annual report and noticed that you recently underwent a significant reorganization. Moving forward with this reorganization I anticipate you will need hard working individuals that are flexible, yet focused. These are the characteristics that have been getting me through my degree program without disrupting my professional or personal lives, and I am confident that they will enable me to succeed in the X role.”

After your Interview

  • Immediately after leaving the interview, take a few moments and write notes about:
    • what you learned about the employer
    • what went well
    • what you could improve
  • Email a thank you note to all who interviewed you (if not possible, then just to the interview coordinator)
    • Note should be no more than a few sentences
    • Focus on:
      • something you want to remind them of
      • something you want to clarify
      • something that did not come up that affirms your candidacy

The Ultimate Guide to Acing a Video Interview