How do I best prepare for a job interview?
April 14, 2013 4:16 PM Subscribe
I have an interview for a new job later this week. It is the same job that I have now, just with new people and in a larger company. It also pays a ton. I am very nervous and am slightly psyched out. I'm not good at tooting my own horn. How do I get "in the zone" for a job interview?
Non-traditional tips welcome. Anything from specific questions to practice to... well anything really. I'm shooting for feeling like a "competent business lady..." When it comes to the actual grit of the job, I've read the job description, and it matches my past work well. This is more just to feel super-prepared.
Non-traditional tips welcome. Anything from specific questions to practice to... well anything really. I'm shooting for feeling like a "competent business lady..." When it comes to the actual grit of the job, I've read the job description, and it matches my past work well. This is more just to feel super-prepared.
Congrats!!
If you are not good at tooting your own horn, then I suggest writing down your qualities that make you good for your job. Think from the employers point of view. What do they want and why should they hire you over any other person. Understanding your attributes will help you insert them into the interview when certain questions are asked. Also make sure to have a good answer to the main questions especially "tell me about yourself." If you know yourself and know the attributes that make you great at your job, then it should be easy to describe your values, the attributes that you have, and how you relate to the job.
Preparing is always good. I like to look up the company, look up on linkedin the person/people I am interviewing with.
Make sure you have questions to ask. I usually try to think why should I want this job and figure out what I need to know to sell myself on the job (even though I know I want it).
One good questions that is good, "Is there any reason why you do not think that I am the best person for this position?" This question allows you to figure out any setbacks for you and clarify it right away.
Good Luck.
posted by Jaelma24 at 4:30 PM on April 14, 2013 [4 favorites]
If you are not good at tooting your own horn, then I suggest writing down your qualities that make you good for your job. Think from the employers point of view. What do they want and why should they hire you over any other person. Understanding your attributes will help you insert them into the interview when certain questions are asked. Also make sure to have a good answer to the main questions especially "tell me about yourself." If you know yourself and know the attributes that make you great at your job, then it should be easy to describe your values, the attributes that you have, and how you relate to the job.
Preparing is always good. I like to look up the company, look up on linkedin the person/people I am interviewing with.
Make sure you have questions to ask. I usually try to think why should I want this job and figure out what I need to know to sell myself on the job (even though I know I want it).
One good questions that is good, "Is there any reason why you do not think that I am the best person for this position?" This question allows you to figure out any setbacks for you and clarify it right away.
Good Luck.
posted by Jaelma24 at 4:30 PM on April 14, 2013 [4 favorites]
I am like you and get quite nervous. In terms of getting in the zone, I've found the best thing to do is recreate the interview as closely as possible beforehand a few times. Get a trusted friend (probably one who's done some interviews before) to be the Interviewer, and playact a likely scenario. Ask them to critique you after. The more you can say the stuff out loud, the more it will start to flow naturally in an interview. You'll also notice some of your weak points and can polish those.
Another good piece of advice I got is remember your bullet points. What the reasons you would be a good fit and your key skills, what is your interest in the company, what are the things you would implement if you had the job. Once you have those main things, you can arrange them to fit a lot of different questions.
Agree with the other recs on knowing everything you can about the company and your interviewers, and having specific questions that show you do your homework. Other than that, focus on positive rapport with the interviewer(s). That is another big thing that can sometimes be missed -- they're looking at indicators of your personality as well and how you might fit in with their team that way. Best of luck!
posted by iadacanavon at 4:54 PM on April 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
Another good piece of advice I got is remember your bullet points. What the reasons you would be a good fit and your key skills, what is your interest in the company, what are the things you would implement if you had the job. Once you have those main things, you can arrange them to fit a lot of different questions.
Agree with the other recs on knowing everything you can about the company and your interviewers, and having specific questions that show you do your homework. Other than that, focus on positive rapport with the interviewer(s). That is another big thing that can sometimes be missed -- they're looking at indicators of your personality as well and how you might fit in with their team that way. Best of luck!
posted by iadacanavon at 4:54 PM on April 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
Come prepared to describe one of your most significant accomplishments, how you overcame/handled a challenge or difficulty and have at least three questions you'd like to ask. Treat the interview as a conversation, not an interrogation. Listen actively and not like you're just waiting for the other person to stop talking so you can talk. If you treat it like a conversation, you can be more natural. Some silence is OK, say let me think me about that for a moment before responding. Practice for "tell me about yourself" question, keep it focused on your profession and don't include personal information.
posted by shoesietart at 5:05 PM on April 14, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by shoesietart at 5:05 PM on April 14, 2013 [3 favorites]
Just remember: you can do his job. In fact, you already do this job, every day. This isn't a "can I get this job" interview; this is a "let's find out if I like these people, because this larger company can afford to pay me properly for the work I'm already doing" interview.
posted by davejay at 5:19 PM on April 14, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by davejay at 5:19 PM on April 14, 2013 [3 favorites]
If it's been a while since you've last interviewed, you might want to have someone videotape you in a mock interview and play it back for you.
Seconding LinkedIn to get to know your interviewer. Also helps to make them less intimidating, IMHO, if you know what they look like before you show up. Almost feels as if you've met them before.
posted by andariel at 8:19 PM on April 14, 2013
Seconding LinkedIn to get to know your interviewer. Also helps to make them less intimidating, IMHO, if you know what they look like before you show up. Almost feels as if you've met them before.
posted by andariel at 8:19 PM on April 14, 2013
Before interviews I always read all the interview posts on Ask a Manager. I also research the hell out of the company and my interviewers.
posted by radioamy at 8:43 PM on April 14, 2013
posted by radioamy at 8:43 PM on April 14, 2013
You could try what this TED talk suggests and power pose before you go in. I've tried it and at the very least it makes me smile.
posted by biscuits at 9:21 PM on April 14, 2013
posted by biscuits at 9:21 PM on April 14, 2013
Sounds like you have all the normal interview advice under your belt, so here are my nontraditional tips:
Have you worked with incompetent people before? Of course you have. Think of 3 of them now. Some of them might even be in jobs above yours. Isn't that annoying? News flash: they interviewed and got those jobs. So it can't be that hard.
You have an advantage over those 3 people. You are competent. Hooray!
Think about what must have convinced hiring managers to take those people on. Was it confidence? Are they good at puffing up their achievements? Are they good at mimicking and making other people feel comfortable with them? Use their techniques.
With those techniques backed up by your actual skill and ability to do the job for real, you are unstoppable.
Other confidence tips:
Before you get dressed, do 3 push-ups. You are a strong mofo.
Also, wear a matching underwear set. You have your shit together, yes you do.
posted by rmless at 6:54 AM on April 15, 2013
Have you worked with incompetent people before? Of course you have. Think of 3 of them now. Some of them might even be in jobs above yours. Isn't that annoying? News flash: they interviewed and got those jobs. So it can't be that hard.
You have an advantage over those 3 people. You are competent. Hooray!
Think about what must have convinced hiring managers to take those people on. Was it confidence? Are they good at puffing up their achievements? Are they good at mimicking and making other people feel comfortable with them? Use their techniques.
With those techniques backed up by your actual skill and ability to do the job for real, you are unstoppable.
Other confidence tips:
Before you get dressed, do 3 push-ups. You are a strong mofo.
Also, wear a matching underwear set. You have your shit together, yes you do.
posted by rmless at 6:54 AM on April 15, 2013
I've been interviewing people to become my co-workers recently, which is kind of a weird experience. But from that, I've seen a number of different personalities and interview techniques.
If you can, learn about the people who will be interviewing you, or at least if you'll be interviewed by HR, your potential future boss(es), or potential future colleagues. That way, you can start to tailor your thoughts on what questions might come up.
I agree you should have a few questions to ask before you go there. If you're drawing a blank, ask about the company's dress code and personal time policies, management styles or education opportunities. If possible, tie personal experiences into one of these follow-up questions. "At my prior job, we had in-house training on [this thing], which I found to be helpful because [this other thing]." If you know the company, you could ask about a product, process, or service they provide, showing that you're interested in the workings of the company.
Know where you're going, including the route to the interview location and a back-up route, should something come up. Arrive early. If you think that will be hard because of how you deal with nervous situations, spend some time in your car or by yourself before the interview, and just smile a lot. Swing your arms around and move about to try and relieve some of that nervous tension before you enter the building. Once in the building, you can now sit there and breathe calmly, to wind down from the earlier activities, and to focus yourself.
Look the interviewers in the eyes, and smile.
If you find yourself getting carried away when answering questions in a practice interview with a friend, you can bring paper and a pen or pencil to jot down ideas while in the interview. Respond to the questions as directly as possible, and don't feel bad if you ask to have the question repeated part-way through your response. If you jotted down some notes, you could avoid this, but it shows you want to make sure you've adequately answered their questions. One recent interviewee started out each response with a one-word personal rating of their abilities related to the question. The interviewer came off a bit cocky because of that, so I'd suggest toning it down by being a bit more descriptive. For instance, instead of saying: "Excellent" in response to "How would you qualify your knowledge of [process]?" you could say "I am quite skilled in this area, due to my years of experience from my prior job," etc etc. You are still starting off with the direct answer, but it is more conversational than fill-in-the-blank.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:04 AM on April 15, 2013
If you can, learn about the people who will be interviewing you, or at least if you'll be interviewed by HR, your potential future boss(es), or potential future colleagues. That way, you can start to tailor your thoughts on what questions might come up.
I agree you should have a few questions to ask before you go there. If you're drawing a blank, ask about the company's dress code and personal time policies, management styles or education opportunities. If possible, tie personal experiences into one of these follow-up questions. "At my prior job, we had in-house training on [this thing], which I found to be helpful because [this other thing]." If you know the company, you could ask about a product, process, or service they provide, showing that you're interested in the workings of the company.
Know where you're going, including the route to the interview location and a back-up route, should something come up. Arrive early. If you think that will be hard because of how you deal with nervous situations, spend some time in your car or by yourself before the interview, and just smile a lot. Swing your arms around and move about to try and relieve some of that nervous tension before you enter the building. Once in the building, you can now sit there and breathe calmly, to wind down from the earlier activities, and to focus yourself.
Look the interviewers in the eyes, and smile.
If you find yourself getting carried away when answering questions in a practice interview with a friend, you can bring paper and a pen or pencil to jot down ideas while in the interview. Respond to the questions as directly as possible, and don't feel bad if you ask to have the question repeated part-way through your response. If you jotted down some notes, you could avoid this, but it shows you want to make sure you've adequately answered their questions. One recent interviewee started out each response with a one-word personal rating of their abilities related to the question. The interviewer came off a bit cocky because of that, so I'd suggest toning it down by being a bit more descriptive. For instance, instead of saying: "Excellent" in response to "How would you qualify your knowledge of [process]?" you could say "I am quite skilled in this area, due to my years of experience from my prior job," etc etc. You are still starting off with the direct answer, but it is more conversational than fill-in-the-blank.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:04 AM on April 15, 2013
As you head to the interview, recite like a mantra: "I don't need your job. What's more, I'm not sure I want to work for your company."
This worked like a charm for me when I was marketing myself as a freelancer.
posted by DrGail at 12:06 PM on April 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
This worked like a charm for me when I was marketing myself as a freelancer.
posted by DrGail at 12:06 PM on April 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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Research the crap out of the company, so you can come loaded with lots of questions. If it helps your serenity, pretend you've already been offered the job, and you're actually going to interview them to see if you want to work there.
posted by colin_l at 4:23 PM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]