The very notion of a job interview brings to mind the image of someone dressed in their most professional attire, standing in a neutral colored office. Lots of grays and washed out, cornflower blue or beige maybe? Shaking hands confidently with another well-dressed person. In your mind, you imagine those two bastions of success and ambition will go into a room and one will grill the other on his accomplishments thus far and work habits while receiving predetermined, well-stated answers.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” one suit will ask to another. The answer will be something generic, involving the words leadership, achievement, and growth. This will go back and forth for a few minutes until the suited person who is likely sitting on the left in all of our minds for some reason says, that he likes the “gumption” of the person on the right and declares that they are hired.
I don’t know about you, but until I began actually going to job interviews, this or some stock variation of this is what I imagined. This is no doubt due to movies, television, and misinterpreted stories we all inevitably experience. In reality, job interviews can be fantastic, confidence building, employment starters that start an important chapter in our lives. They can also be awkward, intimidating, and nerve-wracking theaters of shame in a worse case scenario. Yes, there is a worst case scenario and it usually starts with the interviewer or the interviewee being nervous and ill-prepared. Here are a few tips on how to ace your next interview.
You may be asking “Well smart guy, why don’t you tell us what you think we should do to have better interviews, and what makes you so darn knowledgeable?” and to that I say, “Please, relax, you seem so angry. I’m only trying to help as someone who has been on both sides of the desk and can hopefully provide some useful pointers. Besides we’re all friends here.”
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Be prepared.
That’s right! Scar from The Lion King is once again an excellent role model. This starts with knowing about the interview itself. Is it a panel interview with multiple interviewers from different departments interviewing a single candidate? Is it one on one? Or possibly a group interview? If you are unsure, always ask so that you can prepare. Set your alarm, set out the clothes you will wear (remember to always wear your most professional clothes, A tie or a blazer or both is always a good touch…and no jeans!), and plan transportation after confirming the interview. Remember to print a copy of your resume for each person that you will be interviewing with. These days it is common to have more than one interviewer and remembering to bring a resume to everyone shows that you are prepared and thoughtful. It wasn’t always, but in modern it can be an expectation. The biggest tip I can give you is to have questions prepared before you get to the interview and research the company online.
- If you work in an industry that requires a sample of your work or a portfolio. It goes without saying that you should be certain to present the data or copy in a professional physical container. No stacks of dog-eared paper for you! You’re a grown up now!
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The attitude.
Being confident is awesome and being a cavalier tool with poor social skills is lame. Go into your interview with the frame of mind that you are there to see if the job is a fit for you and that you are a fit for the job, not that you have to go into the interview to impress someone who is impressed will reward you with a job. You deserve to be hired based on your own merit so bravado is unnecessary. Use language that displays your confidence but does not sound like. A phrase like, “In my experience, it’s best to…” is better to preface statements than “when I am working here.” It’s ok to be nervous. Actually it’s best to be a bit nervous because it means you are pushing yourself! This is important when looking you are looking for the next bigger and better step. Manage the stress by getting a good night’s sleep and taking it easy on the caffeine right before the interview. Breakfast helps too!
Tips based on my personal pet peeves.
- For a phone interview, be sure to find a quiet place and use a phone that is charging as you talk or a landline. Remember to wake up and get dressed as you would for an in-person interview. It will help you get in the right frame of mind to knock it out of the park. Always ask for clarification if you are unable to parse what the interviewer is saying.
- If you don’t get the job always ask for feedback. There may be an adjustment you can make for the next one.
- Don’t let your personal opinions about the person you are talking to tailor your behavior or responses. You can only control your behavior. Treating someone like they are unfit to interview you or so far above you that you are frightened will make you come off as not someone they will want to work with or far too timid for their workplace. In both situations, your skills will be downplayed or overshadowed by your behavior in the conversation. Don’t be yourself, just be a professional version of yourself according to what that means to you.
- Retrieve documents quickly. Often positions will require assessments or additional applications as a requirement for employment. If you apply online don’t make a big stink about having to fill out a paper application when you go in for the interview, there’s a reason for the process and hindering it hinders you. If you are going through an agency, send that updated resume as soon as it is requested, complete that right to represent request as soon as possible, and for Pete’s sake, finish that typing test sooner rather than never. Recruiters work on a deadline so if you take forever to get the documents they need to be allowed to submit for consideration for the job, you’re running the risk of having someone else hired before you or the recruiter not being able to submit you because the deadline has passed.
The biggest tip I can give is to treat people well and remember to be friendly and personable in general. It just makes everything better!
-Johnathan Hasty, Research Recruiter
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