Looking for a new role? Your chances of landing a job are good, despite what you’re hearing about big company layoffs.
To improve your chances, our recruiting team has pulled together tips on how to prepare for a job interview:
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Learn all you can about the company and its products. A great place to start is the company website. Do more than click around on the home page. Spend time reviewing the products or services, checking out the leadership team, and diving into the latest company news. The more time you spend on the site, the more you can begin to imagine what it would be like to work for the company.
- Does the company mesh with your values and interests?
- Is there diversity in their leadership team?
- Do they have any statements about social responsibility?
- How is their stock doing, or are they a venture-backed start-up?
- Are their product lines or services innovative?
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Use the recruiter to gain insights. If you are working with a recruiter, ask them to help you understand the culture of the company, how they approach interviewing, and any other details that will help you prepare for your interview. Ask questions that help you get a feel for the work environment:
- Does the company manage by influence or hierarchy?
- Are there a lot of compliance, regulatory or data requirements that drive operations?
- Is the feel entrepreneurial or more like an enterprise with many moving parts?
The answers to these questions not only help you prepare for the interview, they also help you determine your level of comfort and interest in the company as well.
- Check on the company’s dress code. Many interviews—especially those conducted by video—are business casual today. If that’s the case, you don’t want to wear a business suit or tie. A nice polo shirt may work. Plan to arrive on time for virtual interviews, make sure that the area where you will be doing the interview is quiet and free of distractions.
- Use LinkedIn. Ask for the names of the people who will be part of your interview and take the time to research them on LinkedIn, making note of their title, job responsibilities and any other interesting aspects of their profile.
- Dig into the job description. Spend time with the job description, bullet pointing the requirements and responsibilities in a list. Write down next to each bullet point where you’ve done what is described in the bullet point. This way you are making examples that are in line with the specific requirements in the job description. Examples are what the interviewer will want to speak with you about. They will form the core of the conversation that you have during your interview.
If you don’t have much work experience, think of ways you used the skills as an intern or as part of a school project. The more time you spend with the job description and developing your examples, the better prepared you will be to have an engaging conversation about the position with the person conducting the interview.
Know the Metrics that Drive the Work You Do
Finally, metrics are typically a part of any business role – be fluent in the metrics that drive the work that you do and be prepared to share them in an honest, practical, thoughtful way.
You will know that you’re done with the job description when you have created specific examples for each bullet point in the description and you have crafted questions that share your strengths – remember that each bullet point and question should map to a need identified in the job description.
You should also notice that your anxiety is a little lower because you’ve taken some control over the process – this should also result in a more conversational style in the interview, because you won’t be a passive listener waiting to be told about the job – you’ll be an educated candidate who is learning and sharing and coming to your own conclusions about the company as well.
The note should be thoughtful, but brief. Sending a thank-you puts you in front of the hiring manager again—in a positive way. In your note, do more than thank the hiring manager for their time. Convey your excitement about the position and ask about any follow-up questions. The thank you notes I remember are the ones that refer back to a unique comment made or situation that occurred during the interview. “I am intrigued by the [specific challenge] you mentioned. I think my skills could have an impact. I really enjoyed the conversation and look forward to speaking with you again soon.”
