Keys to a Successful Interview – Every Time
If you are like most people, the interview is a source of anxiety. A necessary evil that if completed successfully, could land you that corner office. And, if not, can be one of the most awkward experiences of your professional career. Why does the interview process have such a bad rep?
It stems from our perception of a lack of control – after all, how are you to know what questions you will be asked, what the organization is looking for, and what personality your interviewer will have? You could get lucky and have easy questions and an interviewer who is a good fit with your personality, or, on the other hand, you may be asked difficult questions from an interviewer that seems to be incapable of cracking a smile. In psychology, we call this perspective holding an external locus of control, or the feeling that the environment has full impact on how a situation will play out, while you, more or less, the unsuspecting victim, are solely along for the ride and must adapt and respond to whatever is thrown your way.
Instead of worrying over what side of the coin your interview experience will land, the savvy career girl should instead look forward to the interview. Why? Because out of all the other methods of selection you may come across when trying to land you dream job (cognitive ability or IQ test, job knowledge test, personality exam, assessment of prior work experience) the interview is one of the only ones that you can learn to do well, easily. Think about it – IQ tests, personality tests, and previous experience cannot really be changed. You are only even going to be as smart as your intelligence level; personality traits are relatively stable across your life span, and if the hiring manager is concerned with your collage GPA, there is not much you can do about it. But, when it comes to interviewing, every single person regardless of previous accomplishments, lack of previous accomplishments, personality, or intelligence level can learn to interview well. All you need to do is to incorporate a few simple things. Below are the 3 interviewing keys to help you learn to ace the interview and put you one step closer to your dream job.
SELF-ASSESSMENT. The first step toward a successful interview is to spend some time researching you. Goal: gain a clear understanding of what you want out of a job, what are you good at doing (and not so good at doing). Most readers at this point are probably thinking: ‘This is a freebie! Of course, I know myself! I have lived with myself for XX number of years…check!’ But, honestly, it is not this simple. Concentrate on three areas (see the post ‘The Importance of Self-Assessment’ for more detailed information):
Work Values – What underlying criteria do you use to guide the decisions you make about your career?
Work-Related Skills – What are you good at (naturally or learned) that can be an asset to an organization? What areas are you weak in and what can you do to strengthen these?
Work Interests - What specific activities, tasks, or projects do you truly enjoy performing at work?
RESEARCH THE ORGANIZATION. Inevitably, at some point in your career, you will be asked “So…tell me what you know about our organization.” In order to prevent answering “ummm, well… stumble, stumble…” you need to have a good understanding of what this organization does. After all, you are applying to work there – shouldn’t you know what they do? To get started in your organizational research, search for the answers to these questions (you may even want to record the answers and bring them into the interview with you):
What type of organization? And, what is its primary function?
Who are the key people in the company (historically and now)?
How large is the company? Where is it located (one central location, offices all over the U.S., or across the globe)? How is the company organized (departments, divisions, teams)?
What is the organization’s mission statement, goals, and history?
What products and/or services are offered?
Who are the leading competitors?
What is the position you are interviewing for and how does it fit into the organization?
Has the organization been in the news lately? If so, what happened?
PREPARE FOR THE ACTUAL INTERVIEW. I don’t care if you think you are ‘good on your feet’ or if you have already had 3 interviews this week, you still need to practice before going into every single interview. Goal: boost your confidence by knowing that you are fully prepared to answer any question they may throw at you. Practice answering common interview questions such as “Tell me about yourself”, “Describe a time when you worked in a team setting”, “Describe a time when you had to think creatively to solve a pressing organizational problem”. See career advice at Monster for a good list of practice interview questions. As you go through, write down which questions you stumbled through and readdress these questions. When you finish, go through again – Were you quicker this time? Did the answers come more naturally? Garb a friend or family member to act as the interviewer. If no one is available, record yourself answering the questions. If you are having a hard time getting started or would like a structured method for answering, see the post ‘Good Ways to Respond to Tricky Questions at Your Next Interview’.
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