How to Prepare for an Interview

How to Prepare for an Interview The interview is scheduled!   You are ecstatic, as well you should be!   But now what?   How will you prepare for an interview?   Now that the interview is scheduled, you can really begin preparing and practicing! Youve already done some preliminary research on the company, but now its time to dig deep. The more you know about the company, its competitors and the overall market, the smarter youll appear. Too often people fail to do thorough research and find themselves in a role or company that isnt what they expected. 10 most important steps  to prepare for an interview 1. Get a copy of the most current and/or in-depth job description Heres why you need to ask someone in the company for the job description. What theyve posted online may not be the full description or even the most recent version of the job requirements. It isnt unusual for a  company to have a different version of the job description for use internally.  It may be more descriptive. Theres nothing wrong with asking the person scheduling the interview if they can send you the full job description. You may even reach out to someone you know inside the company and ask what they can find on the internal job posting site. 2. Prepare a STAR story for each of the job requirements. Go through each requirement listed in the job posting and develop an answer for how you meet that specific requirement. A  STAR story is a concise and thorough way of mapping out what you did and what the outcome was.  Read more here. If you dont have the exact skills the company is asking for, chances are you have done something similar. Develop that story! 3. Prepare answers to the most common interview questions and practice out loud Here is a list of the most popular questions to these questions. It is so important to practice each answer out loud. It sounds different when you speak your answer. Consider video recording yourself to evaluate your answer. Keep refining it until you own it. It shouldnt sound rehearsed. It should sound natural! This takes practice! 4. Craft your opening statement or the answer to tell me about yourself You can pretty much count on this question being asked, so prepare the best 1-minute response. The trick is to answer the question as if you were being asked, why should we hire you. Remember, you only have one minute to summarize the MOST IMPORTANT qualifications.  Heres a template: Tell me about yourself 5. Research the company Use the company website to see what the say about themselves. You may even notice on their career page they have interviews with employees and information on what it is like to work there. But dont stop here. Google the company and see what news is being mentioned. Sleuth the company (and interviewers) on LinkedIn. Check out anonymous employee reviews on  Glassdoor . If you cant find the company listed anywhere, then visit your local library and speak to a reference librarian! Before the interview, you should reach out to your network and ask what people know about the company. Do this BEFORE you accept an offer. The information you obtain will help you assess the company. Be prepared to answer all of these questions:   What do you know about us? What do we do? Who are our competitors? Why do you want to work here? 6. Know something about the people who will be interviewing you! Thank goodness for LinkedIn. Go ahead and see where your interviewers used to work, what organizations and groups they belong to and even check out the recommendations others have written about them. You may want to search for them on Facebook and Google too. 7. Prepare smart questions you will ask! In order to thoroughly understand the job and company, youll want to ask questions! There is a lot you want to know besides just the pay and benefits. Ask questions to learn what will be expected of you, how the team functions and more. Do not wait until the end of the interview to ask your questions. The best interview will be a conversation so plan to ask your questions throughout the interview.  Get more ideas here 8. Know what the format of the interview will be If you havent been told what the format of the interview will be, it is your right to ask. You want to be prepared and knowing the format will help you feel more comfortable. Will you be meeting one-on-one, as a panel, via phone, Skype or online video, and how long is the scheduled to last. 9. Bring copies of your resume for each person you will be interviewing with, just in case Dont assume everyone will have a copy of your resume. The copy they have may be an ugly text version, so bring the nicely formatted resume. Printing it on nice quality paper isnt required, however, it does seem more professional. And if you really want to WOW the interviewers, consider bringing an infographic resume to supplement your traditional text resume. 10. Know exact dates If you havent completed an application yet, be sure you have the exact dates and information to complete the application. No, you cant say see attached resume. You need to fully and accurately complete the job application. It is a legal document, so do not lie, exaggerate or embellish. Want to download this checklist? Ive created an easy one-page resource for you  The 10 Step Job Interview Prep Checklist. These are some extra points to remember as you head into your interview! Always, always ask what the next steps in the process are and when you can follow up before you leave the interview. Send a Thank You letter that will knock their socks off! You can learn how here. There is only one question you need to walk away from the interview knowing the answer to Do I want this job? Want more interviewing help? Get your copy of “Do I Want This Job”