12/09/15 11:11
Congrats! You've written and sent a
killer resume, and now you've been invited to an interview. What can you do to make sure you nail it?
“Chance favors the prepared mind.” -- Louis Pasteur.
If you just waltz into an interview cold, you'll be at a significant disadvantage. The interviewers know everything about you (you just sent them your resume), but you'll know nothing about them.
That's just how it was for everyone 10 years ago, but there’s no reason for flying blind anymore.
Read the
company's website again. Recruiters sometimes give you the interviewers' names, but you can at least figure out who the hiring manager is from the job posting or website of smaller companies.
Google each of the interviewers to see their background. You can usually find a lot of info on LinkedIn. Check the profiles of all the people who work with the hiring manager at the company. This helps you get an idea of the kinds of questions they will ask.
For example, if you are applying for a technical position, they may throw in one or more non-technical interviewers, such as business or marketing managers. If you see this on your interview loop, it's a strong clue to prepare for some marketing or sales-related questions.
Also Google for “<Company Name> interview tips”. There's usually a lot written for larger companies.
Study up on your own resume.
Prepare to go into detail on every item on it. Remember all those highlights you wrote? The interview is where you will be asked to recount them in depth.
Practice talking about each job you have had, particularly your responsibilities, impact, and growth over that time. Prepare a short story in your head for each one. A good structure to use is:
“When I started at <the job>, the situation was _____, and the main challenges were _____. I had to _____ in order to overcome them, and the result was _____.”
Double check the address, and parking info if you're driving. Plan to get there
10-15 minutes ahead of time. Being late is obviously a no-no, and so is getting there too early. It might be awkward to hang around the lobby of a small company. It’s better to go grab a drink at the closest cafe if you're too early.
Speaking of
coffee, make sure you pace yourself. You do not want to be hyper for the first interview, then crash by the second or third one.
Clear your schedule. If this is the “full interview", expect it to take 4-5 hours, including lunch. It's not unusual for interviews to take longer due to last-minute scheduling conflicts, so make sure you can stay longer if necessary.
Be nice to the receptionist. Introduce yourself and tell them you are meeting with so-and-so for an interview. Checking-in might take a few minutes. Remember, the game is on from the moment you walk in the door. You need to be in professional-mode even when sitting in the waiting room.
Bring extra copies of your resume. It's usually a good idea to carry a thin folder with them, a notebook, and a pen. Don't bring a big bag or anything else you don't need.
Different companies have different styles of interviews, but the most common one is a series of 1-on-1 interviews where you'll meet with 3-5 people throughout the day.
This can mean 3-5 hours of non-stop questioning, so it's important to know what to expect, and to mentally prepare yourself.
You want to be alert and engaged during your interviews. Try to be enthusiastic, but not overly-excited. I realize this is easier said than done. It's perfectly normal to be a bit nervous if this is your first interview in a while. One trick is to think of it as a series of
stimulating conversations, where you get to discuss topics of professional interest.
Remember that each interviewer is a
person. Make sure to talk to them as people, not talk at them like it's an interrogation. People remember how you made them
feel long after they've forgotten what you actually said.
Each interviewer is typically looking to test you on a
different angle. They will also have differing levels of experience interviewing. It's common practice for companies to include some more junior employees in interview loops to let them practice.
More junior interviewers typically go earlier, and focus on the
technical aspects of the job. Do you have the right experience? Can you do specific things?
As the interview progresses, you may be asked
higher-level questions. Do you understand the impact of your work on your previous companies? Where do you see your industry heading?
Some interviewers may also be focused on
behavioral questions. How well do you get along with other people? How do you deal with conflict? Can you handle tough situations? Do you keep your cool under pressure?
That last one is worth keeping in mind. Interviews are meant to be tough, like a test. But remember, you don't need to get everything right. At some point during the day, you may be faced with what seems like an impossible question, where you are out of your depth.
If that happens,
keep your cool. The interviewer may just be testing how you deal with tough questions. The worst thing you can do is to crack and melt down.
Each interviewer may start with some pleasantries and general questions. Keep your responses to these friendly and short. You don't want to ramble on and eat up your interview time.
Wait for the interviewer's cue. They have an idea in their head of how a good interview should go, and they are the one driving the interview. Pay attention to their
body language to see if they are expecting a long or short answer.
Interviewers may start with a few short,
rapid fire questions, like they are checking off items on a list of requirements. Do you know this? Have you done that? What do you know about X? Give a short answer first, then see if they are waiting for you to elaborate. You can always ask “would you like more details?”
The interviewer will generally have 1-2 longer
in-depth “case-study" questions. These generally don't have one fixed answer, but are meant to see how you would deal with real-world problems at the job.
For many professional-level jobs, the interviewer may ask you to work out the problem on paper, or on a whiteboard. If you have access to one at your local school or library, it's a good idea to
practice working on a whiteboard ahead of time. Literally practice thinking on your feet.
Listen carefully to each question. Ask for clarifications if necessary. Do not just dive into giving an answer until you understand the question fully. That's a common mistake of nervous candidates. For longer questions, a great trick is to write down the main points of the question on a notepad or the whiteboard.
It's a mistake to be completely glued on working through the answer, because you can easily end up at a very different place from where the interviewer had in mind.
As you answer each point,
turn to look at your interviewer to see their reaction. If they have a confused look on their face, it's a good idea to pause and ask if they want any clarifications before going on.
Even if they are unconsciously nodding in their chair, it's a good idea to
regularly ask if they “would like more detail here?” Their responses can give you clues as to what they are looking for.
After you answer all the questions, it's customary for the interviewer to ask you if you have any questions for them.
Be careful here!
More often than not, they are just being polite, and are not expecting any in-depth questions. This is an opportunity for you to show
interest in the company and job, NOT to show how smart you are.
Here are examples of good questions to ask:
- So how long have you been working here?
- How do you like working here?
- What's this team like?
- How would you describe the company culture?
You might save more specific questions for the hiring manager:
- What's a typical day like on this job?
- What would you say are the most important things about this job?
- What does this team's organization look like?
- What are the typical weekly, monthly, annual routines like at this job?
Be respectful of the interviewer's time. They have their day job to do as well. Be sure to end on a positive note, and thank them for the interview.
Under no circumstances ask about the salary or how well you did!
First, unless the hiring manager is the owner of the company, he or she will need to check back with the other interviewers and HR before an offer can be made. They typically
won't know how you did on the overall interview, and unless it's on the job description they almost certainly won’t know what your salary should be.
Asking how well you did can also come across as a sign of desperation. Maybe you aren’t that confident about your chances, and maybe the interviewer missed something?
More importantly, remember that the interview process is a negotiation. Probably the biggest negotiation of your life. Until you get an offer in writing, you are at a big disadvantage. They are in full control. Your only objective at this point is to get the written offer.
If you start asking about salary and benefits beforehand, you are sending the message that you might be
too demanding, which reduces your chances of getting an offer against other candidates.
Now, I'm not at all saying you shouldn't demand more. In fact, I strongly believe everyone should, but the time to do that is
after you get the offer, which I talk about
here.
Most companies will get back to you within 2-3 days (maybe longer if it's over the weekend). If you don't hear back after 2-3 days, send a
short note to the recruiter thanking them for the interview and saying you continue to be “very interested in the position, and looking forward to following up."
Do not contact the individual interviewers directly. Remember, they just work there and probably don't even know what’s happening in the process.
If you still don't hear back after a week, send a similar note to the hiring manager.
By the way, the most important thing you should be doing while waiting is to
keep on interviewing with other companies. If you want to
negotiate a higher salary, the very best thing you can do for yourself is to get multiple offers.
The only way to get
multiple offers at the same time is to apply to
multiple companies at the same time. You ideally want to set up back-to-back interviews 3-4 days in a row.
This is so important, I need to repeat it again:
Do not stop applying and interviewing until you get a written offer you want!
Verbal promises aren't worth much. Don't “wait to see" what your favorite company comes back with. They may end up disappointing you. Sometimes, your second or third favorite company may turn out to be better than you figured, and even give you a higher offer.
There are a lot of factors that are out of your control when you apply for a job. Companies go through cycles, and it's impossible to predict how individual hiring managers will feel on a particular day. Getting a job also depends a great deal on who else is applying for it.
Interviewing is a ultimately a
numbers game.
At a minimum, expect to apply for 10-15 jobs, and go for 4-5 interviews to get a job that you want.
Man, that sounds like a lot of work!
Not really. If you are writing one resume, it doesn't take much more time to write 10, with the
right tools. We're talking an extra 30-45 minutes here.
A few minutes to potentially get thousands of dollars more and a much better job?
It's the deal of a lifetime. Don't pass it up!
I hope you've found these tips helpful. Please
drop me a line to let me know what you think, or if you'd like to share other tips that might help others.
Oh, after you've gotten an offer, make sure to check out
this guide on how you can get them to
raise it. Spoiler: You might easily get an extra 5-10% raise with just one email.
Good Luck!
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