How to interview like a Pro!
Research the company
Know as much as you can about the company with you are going to interview. Start with the website of the company itself, read and understand the mission statement, memorize the names of the senior leadership if possible, check out the press kit, any Brochures and marketing materials. If there are words or acronyms used that you do not understand research and learn them online. If there are any recent announcements pay attention to them so you can bring them up in your interview. You should feel familiar and comfortable with the material on the website.
Once you have exhausted the companies website use freely available websites such as www.Google.com , www.thevault.com , www.hoovers.com. You want to look for information on company financials, recent announcements on strategy, management changes. See if there is information on recent acquisitions. Again you are trying to gather information so that the person or people who are interviewing you feels like you are part of the team already, they do not have to explain a lot of context to you and this will make them feel more relaxed and think of you in a more positive light.
Other sources of information include www.Morningstar.com , finance.google.com , if you have a brokerage account you would also have access to company information for publicly traded companies via the data they provide.
In the case of privately held companies the information available will be much more limited, but you can use your network of contacts, if you do not have a network of contacts please begin now to create such a network - read my article on the topic if you needs some help on how to do this. Use www.linkedin.com to see if someone you know or someone they know works at the company with which you will be interviewing. Reach out and try to speak with someone at the company get a feel for the culture, the mood, the things that they are proud of, the things that they are not so proud of. The things to talk about and the things not to talk about.
Research the person you will interview with. By this I mean read the things they wish you to read about them. Read their www.Linkedin.com profile, see if they have published anything in the trade rags, if they won any awards - read the positive stuff you feel they would be happy to hear about - do not look up their divorce papers or the fact that they got busted for drug possession in college. You want this person to like you.
Once you have exhausted the companies website use freely available websites such as www.Google.com , www.thevault.com , www.hoovers.com. You want to look for information on company financials, recent announcements on strategy, management changes. See if there is information on recent acquisitions. Again you are trying to gather information so that the person or people who are interviewing you feels like you are part of the team already, they do not have to explain a lot of context to you and this will make them feel more relaxed and think of you in a more positive light.
Other sources of information include www.Morningstar.com , finance.google.com , if you have a brokerage account you would also have access to company information for publicly traded companies via the data they provide.
In the case of privately held companies the information available will be much more limited, but you can use your network of contacts, if you do not have a network of contacts please begin now to create such a network - read my article on the topic if you needs some help on how to do this. Use www.linkedin.com to see if someone you know or someone they know works at the company with which you will be interviewing. Reach out and try to speak with someone at the company get a feel for the culture, the mood, the things that they are proud of, the things that they are not so proud of. The things to talk about and the things not to talk about.
Research the person you will interview with. By this I mean read the things they wish you to read about them. Read their www.Linkedin.com profile, see if they have published anything in the trade rags, if they won any awards - read the positive stuff you feel they would be happy to hear about - do not look up their divorce papers or the fact that they got busted for drug possession in college. You want this person to like you.
Presentation
I am not going to spend too much time on personal grooming - you are an adult and if you do not know how to look presentable you probably should not be working someplace anyways, who knows you might show up where I work. So if you are not clean and well groomed learn to do it and do not just do it for the interview.
Always dress a bit better than what is expected. If they wear jeans and t-shirts go business casual, if they are business casual, wear a suit, if they wear suits, make sure your suit is up to mark. You can always casual up when you are dressed up, for example you can remove a tie, unbutton a shirt, take off a jacket, it is very difficult if not impossible to dress-up in a pinch. However you do want to try and fit in - people like people who are like them, there is simply no way around this, so if you show up in a somber black suit to a startup where everyone else is in shorts, this is probably not going to be a fun interview.
Whatever you decide to wear, make sure that the clothes are clean, not torn and pressed where appropriate. You are trying to make a good impression here; you are trying to tell these people you made an effort to present yourself in a positive light for them.
Couple of things for men: If your suit does not fit you - spend the money and get a new one. . If your suit is old - looks old in style or wear - buy a new one! If you cannot afford a new suit - borrow one or rent one - but seriously you can get a decent suit on sale for $200 from many places. Do not wear a shirt that is too tight around the neck and for goodness sakes get someone with taste to pick out a decent tie for you and do not wear shinny $20 ties that you bought off a guy at the corner and NO clip-on ties - this is never a good idea. If you do not know how to tie a tie-knot look it up online.
The use of cosmetics and perfumes should be appropriate for the workplace - now there are many different work places and many different jobs one could be applying to - I will speak to what I know - in a corporate environment - less is more, you want to present yourself as a professional, not a "gigolo" or a "hoochie momma" - a conservative approach is probably best.
Prepare everything (at least) the night before - you do not want to be figuring out what you will be wearing on the morning of the day of.
Always dress a bit better than what is expected. If they wear jeans and t-shirts go business casual, if they are business casual, wear a suit, if they wear suits, make sure your suit is up to mark. You can always casual up when you are dressed up, for example you can remove a tie, unbutton a shirt, take off a jacket, it is very difficult if not impossible to dress-up in a pinch. However you do want to try and fit in - people like people who are like them, there is simply no way around this, so if you show up in a somber black suit to a startup where everyone else is in shorts, this is probably not going to be a fun interview.
Whatever you decide to wear, make sure that the clothes are clean, not torn and pressed where appropriate. You are trying to make a good impression here; you are trying to tell these people you made an effort to present yourself in a positive light for them.
Couple of things for men: If your suit does not fit you - spend the money and get a new one. . If your suit is old - looks old in style or wear - buy a new one! If you cannot afford a new suit - borrow one or rent one - but seriously you can get a decent suit on sale for $200 from many places. Do not wear a shirt that is too tight around the neck and for goodness sakes get someone with taste to pick out a decent tie for you and do not wear shinny $20 ties that you bought off a guy at the corner and NO clip-on ties - this is never a good idea. If you do not know how to tie a tie-knot look it up online.
The use of cosmetics and perfumes should be appropriate for the workplace - now there are many different work places and many different jobs one could be applying to - I will speak to what I know - in a corporate environment - less is more, you want to present yourself as a professional, not a "gigolo" or a "hoochie momma" - a conservative approach is probably best.
Prepare everything (at least) the night before - you do not want to be figuring out what you will be wearing on the morning of the day of.
What to take with you
You want a folder of some sort to contain the different papers you will take with you. You want to take a couple of copies of your resume printed on good paper. At least a couple more than the number of people you are supposed to meet. If the resume is multiple pages make sure that the pages are neatly stapled or clipped. If you have a business card take some of these with you, take a note pad and pen to take notes during the interview, take an extra pen in case the other one fails.
Getting there
Figure out how to get there and if you are unfamiliar with the area give yourself plenty of time. Even if you are familiar with the area plan on arriving at the very least 30 minutes before your appointment. There are so many things that can go wrong, traffic, a missed train or bus, an accident, you forget something, so many things - best plan to arrive an hour early, hang out at a Starbucks around the corner time for a quick bathroom/freshen up and enter the building 15mts before your interview time. You want to enter the building 15 minutes prior to your interview so that there is time to get a building pass or get through other security procedures that might be in place.
First Impressions
Greet everyone with a smile and a firm handshake, if you suffer from clammy hands well try to wipe them just before you do the meet and greet. The handshake is an important component of the meet and greet - it should not be too tight but it should not be very loose - this applies to both men and women. Look into the persons eyes, smile a genuine smile and pay attention to their name and repeat the name in a sentence maybe a "pleased to meet you Ms XYZ". If they give you a business card accept it if possible with both hands and read it and if possible place it in front of you for the duration of the interview and then remember to take it with you when you leave.
During the interview
Your primary goal is to get an offer. The way you are going to get to this is by convincing the people you are speaking with that you are the person that they are looking for and they have no idea how they managed all this time without you.
There is no reason for you to be stressed or nervous, the people who are interviewing you are people too, ie: they had childhoods they have families, brothers and sisters, they do a lot of the same things as you do. They are human - irrespective of what club they belong to or what title they have or what firm they work for - they are all human and fundamentally we are not that different from each other. So Relax.
You want to try and relate to these people, and more importantly you want them to relate to you - look around the office, see if you see something you have in common. Try to make this interview a conversation and not a question and answer session, do not just answer their questions, ask questions back. The more conversational the interview is the less confrontational it is and the easier and comfortable it will all feel and the smoother it will all flow.
What questions can you ask - well almost anything really, except how much will you pay me, how many vacation days will I get, how soon can I take a sick day? Compensation is a conversation for AFTER you have been offered a job - if someone asks you how much would you like to make you can give them the usual vague answer that you would like to make a competitive salary for the role. If they push you for an answer you can based on your circumstances provide an answer. Something in line with - I made X dollars at my previous position, I am an excellent worker and I expect to make in the range of Y - Z. This range depends on the job market, whether you want the job more than they want you etc. And X can be either within the range you provide or below or above the range you provide. This is about negotiation - a whole other article. So do not talk about compensation or benefits at this stage - wait for the we would like to hire you first.
Everyone likes to talk and few people really have anyone that is willing to listen to them, so if the interviewer talks about something that they seem to really want to talk about - ask them about it let them talk about it - as long as it is something positive and something that makes them happy - so talking about a recent death in the family is probably not a topic you wish. Remember the interviewer will associate you with how they felt.
There is no reason for you to be stressed or nervous, the people who are interviewing you are people too, ie: they had childhoods they have families, brothers and sisters, they do a lot of the same things as you do. They are human - irrespective of what club they belong to or what title they have or what firm they work for - they are all human and fundamentally we are not that different from each other. So Relax.
You want to try and relate to these people, and more importantly you want them to relate to you - look around the office, see if you see something you have in common. Try to make this interview a conversation and not a question and answer session, do not just answer their questions, ask questions back. The more conversational the interview is the less confrontational it is and the easier and comfortable it will all feel and the smoother it will all flow.
What questions can you ask - well almost anything really, except how much will you pay me, how many vacation days will I get, how soon can I take a sick day? Compensation is a conversation for AFTER you have been offered a job - if someone asks you how much would you like to make you can give them the usual vague answer that you would like to make a competitive salary for the role. If they push you for an answer you can based on your circumstances provide an answer. Something in line with - I made X dollars at my previous position, I am an excellent worker and I expect to make in the range of Y - Z. This range depends on the job market, whether you want the job more than they want you etc. And X can be either within the range you provide or below or above the range you provide. This is about negotiation - a whole other article. So do not talk about compensation or benefits at this stage - wait for the we would like to hire you first.
Everyone likes to talk and few people really have anyone that is willing to listen to them, so if the interviewer talks about something that they seem to really want to talk about - ask them about it let them talk about it - as long as it is something positive and something that makes them happy - so talking about a recent death in the family is probably not a topic you wish. Remember the interviewer will associate you with how they felt.
What will they ask me?
Remember the interviewer is trying to find someone that will fit in to the work place with them and will also get work done. I believe the fit in bit is as important if not more important - they are looking for someone they can work with, someone they would like to be around.After the usual small talk the interviewer will begin to ask you questions, starting with something broad maybe like "tell me something about yourself" or "tell me more about your last job" this is the ease in phase. This phase will be followed up by more specific questions about your background, maybe questions like "why are you leaving (or why did you leave) your current job", the focus will be on your resume and what is on there. You want to try and move on past the resume you want the person across from you to speak to you and get to know you, not the resume.
Interviewers are also coached to give you a situation and ask you how you will handle such a situation, they are encouraged to keep you talking as much as possible - the idea is you might contradict yourself, reveal something about yourself that would in their mind disqualify you, then again you could reveal something that makes you a better fit - so be yourself. Typical situations involve, "tell me about a conflict situation and how you handled it", "tell me about a situation where you had to work in a group", "tell me about a situation where you had to lead". So run through some situations that you think might come up in the job you are interviewing for and have some stories ready to go. Practice telling the story to a friend. For example if you are interviewing for a customer service job then imagine how you might handle an irate customer - refine the story and practice saying it.
If you are going to write things down, state this at the beginning of the interview and ask the interviewer if this is ok with them. Make notes in a consistent manner do not wait for some particular trigger to start writing furiously.
All good things...
As the interview wraps up the interviewer will probably ask you if you have any questions for them, if you have not been firing them questions all this time - this is an absolute must do - you should have a question to ask them that shows them that you know your stuff - so this is not necessarily a question to get you more informed it is to show you off. If you have a business card and you didn't get an opportunity to share it, then do so now. Then ask them by when you think you will hear back and from whom, and thank the person for their time and try not to trip and fall as you leave as the consummate professional that you are.
After the interview
After you leave the office where you interview try to get to someplace and debrief your self, what did you do well, what questions did they ask that you did not feel you did your best on, what acronyms or topics were discussed that you were not as proficient as you could have been. What skills did you have that people were excited about, what skills did they ask about that you were not as conversant in?
After you get home remember to send either a thank you email or a thank you note via snail mail depending on the company you met with to the individual that you met with. If a recruiter was instrumental in helping you then remember to call and thank them.
After you get home remember to send either a thank you email or a thank you note via snail mail depending on the company you met with to the individual that you met with. If a recruiter was instrumental in helping you then remember to call and thank them.
Finally
The more prepared you are the less nervous you will be the less nervous you are the smoother things will go and the better you will present. The job is yours! Go get it.
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