Nail The Interview!
By Stuart Calvert
With the increased competition in the job market today, it’s more difficult than ever to get noticed and stand out from the crowd of other qualified candidates. As a result, the opportunities to make your case in a face-to-face interview setting will be fewer - meaning it’s critical to make the most of every interview opportunity you get. In order to do so, it’s important to ensure your interview skills are sharp and that you walk into every interview armed and ready.
Don’t Get Thrown Out Before the Party Even Starts
We often coach candidates on the importance of being well dressed for an interview, properly groomed, punctual, and polite to everyone they meet. Many people however are quick to dismiss this advice because they believe leading companies don’t hire people just because they’re on time or look nice – and they’re right, they don’t. But they will NOT hire someone for these very same reasons.
Companies pay attention to these things because if they hire you, you become not only an employee, but also a representative and ambassador of their company. Think of these things as pre-requisites that merely gain you consideration. They shouldn’t be your focus by any means, but if you forget about them then you could be eliminated from contention before you even answer a single question.
Prepare, Prepare and then Prepare More
Thorough preparation can be one of the single biggest factors to impact interview performance. Proper preparation can make the difference between fumbling and stumbling during an interview and ‘wowing’ your interviewer by having a great answer for everything they ask.
It’s not unlike athletes who train themselves for peak game performance. The time invested in training and preparing is much greater than the actual time spent performing, but they do it because the preparation makes everything that much easier when the time comes to perform at that high level.
To properly prepare, ensure you’re up-to-date on the company itself, the direction they’re headed and any recent accomplishments or news. Find out what the company’s mission statement and values are so you can try and align your answers with them. With fit playing an increasingly important role in hiring decisions, try and find out what you can about the company’s culture. Most importantly, make sure you’re familiar with your own resume! It’s incredible how many candidates have trouble speaking about their own resumes – something that doesn’t exactly instill confidence in an interviewer.
Finally, go through answers for potential questions you think you may be asked. Read through resume books or research resume questions online and think of how you’d like to answer them. There’s no better feeling than having the answers to the interviewer’s questions flow smoothly and knowing exactly what you want to say when they ask them.
Honesty - The Best Approach
Many people feel compelled to lie or stretch the truth regarding some aspects of their education, skill set, or employment history in order to appear more favourable in the eyes of the interviewer. While it may seem tempting, the truth is it will more than likely come back to bite you and cause more harm than good in the end. Companies thoroughly research the facts on candidates, and the widespread availability of information on the Internet has only made this easier.
If you’ve ever been fired or don’t have every skill or piece of experience a company is looking for, then it’s fine to just say so. It’s usually not about if you’ve ever been fired or what you’re lacking – it’s about what you’ve learned from those experiences, and more importantly what you are now doing to improve.
Don’t Just Answer, Ask Questions!
One of the biggest opportunities to differentiate yourself from the other candidates comes when you have the chance to ask the interviewer questions. It allows you to go beyond the facts on your resume and demonstrate how you think, analyze and approach business problems.
Questions that inquire about the company and its goals show that your focus is on them and better understanding their business issues - not just yourself. Again, always keep in mind they’re constantly assessing you by trying to determine the level of performance and results they can expect. Questions about progression, professional development, and anything that alludes to going above and beyond are always good as well.
Resist the temptation to ask self-serving questions at all costs. Inquiring about how long lunch is or how many sick days you get will communicate to them that you’re only interested in what you can get out of the job. ‘A-Players’ are high achievers that are primarily concerned with achieving great results. Keep your questions geared towards attaining results.
Be Sure to Follow-Up
It’s important to note that the interview shouldn’t end once you’ve shaken hands and walked out the door. After an interview, follow up with a ‘thank you’ email communicating that you’re appreciative of the time they spent with you and how much you enjoyed meeting them and hearing about the role.
By doing this, you make it clear that you’re genuinely excited about the role. As well it differentiates you from other candidates and puts your name on their radar again. If you’re really looking to stand out you can send a written note or card, however be cautious of over-doing it and coming on too strong. Always be professional.
More Tips to Help You Stand Out
Your goal for an interview should be to show that you’re the best fit for the opportunity, and part of doing that is standing out and differentiating yourself from the other candidates. The following tips will help you position yourself as the ideal candidate:
- Don’t be shy – an interview is the one situation where it’s okay to talk about your accomplishments and achievements. Don’t be modest – speak confidently about what you’ve done in your career.
- Be sociable and personable – don’t be afraid to engage in small talk before or after the interview to show off a bit of your personality. Often times hiring decisions can come down to gut feel and how ‘likeable’ a person is, particularly if your skills are similar to other candidates. Search the company website for your interviewer’s bio to see if you have any shared interests to discuss.
- Bring extra copies of your resume with you in case an extra person joins you or the interviewer doesn’t have one. Attention to detail like this speaks volumes.
Confirm Yourself As The Ideal Candidate At Every Step
While an interview is an opportunity for a company to learn more about you, remember that ultimately they’re trying to determine which candidate will provide them with the most value. Knowing this, show how you add value and what you would bring to the role every chance you get. Answer questions so that the benefit to the interviewer is obvious and clearly laid out.
In the end they’re not as interested in what you have done as they are of what you can do in the future – more specifically, for them. Present yourself as the ideal solution to their problem and you’ll greatly increase your level of success in interviews.
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As Partner, Stuart Calvert works in partnership with some of the brightest minds in the consumer packaged goods industry.
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