More Interview Tips

Last week I passed on five tips to succeed in interviews. Here are five more.

Tip 6 – Remember this is a two way process
We get so tied up in the pressure of the situation that we sometimes forget that the people across the table are human beings as well, not some sort of robot. They are on our side (tip 1), but they also like to feel good about themselves and their company. Without overdoing it, look for opportunities to empathise with the interviewers. It is a good idea to ask them about their own careers, as that helps them to feel valued. Even more importantly, remember that you are making a selection here as well, in that you don’t have to accept any offer they make. Bear this in mind – keep asking yourself whether this is a placed you would be happy, and find out all you can about the environment there. If the interview process does not acknowledge this, for example by an absence of information or of seeking what you are looking for, that in itself is a negative message – about the arrogance of company, and how you might be treated once you got there. A well run interview process should feel partly like an exercise in selling their company to you.

Tip 7 – Prepare smartly
Before an interview, re-read your own application and CV carefully, as well as the job description you are applying for. Dip into the company website and try to use their language, for example in quoting their mission statement or key values. Look at the headlines in a serious newspaper in the days leading up to an interview, as it will not look good to appear ignorant of current affairs. Also Google the company name in case they have recently made an announcement you can quote or been in the news. One important thing is to think through examples you might use if asked about common situations (tip 4). You can try to mug up more than this, but be careful not to crowd your mind with more technical stuff than you can handle without losing your spontaneity or composure. Much better for most people is to find someone to give you an interview as a dry run for the real thing, especially if it is a long time since your last interview experience.

Tip 8 – Focus on now
Really listen to the questions. This is not a political interview, where the job of the politician seems to be to say what they prepared whatever question is asked. That approach does not work in job interviews. Listen to what they ask, and do your best to answer it. Of course, you want to demonstrate your strengths, but you will score nothing for showing off when you are being asked something completely different. Also, don’t worry too much about the questions that have already passed, as that will stop you listening well to the next question. At the very end, you might be able to bring up something to improve your answer to one question, but generally it is more important to maintain focus in the present. Also, avoid the temptation to keep score as you are going. If you feel it is going well, you could become complacent, and if you feel it is going badly, you will overcompensate or tend to give up. Your own judgement is unlikely to be very sound anyway – leave the judging to them, as that is their job not yours.

Tip 9 – Have a question ready
It is traditional at the end of interviews that you will be asked if you have any questions. You can use this time to have a second go at one of their questions (see tip 8). What is most important though is that you ask something, as silence or a mumbled “no, nothing now” comes across as being unprepared or even uninterested. One good question is to ask the interviewers about their own careers (tip 6). You can also ask something about the job itself, for example what a typical week might consist of. You can ask what happens next, for example when you can expect feedback, but they should tell you that anyway. Don’t ask about terms and conditions here. Often the interviewer won’t know, and you may leave an impression that money is all you are motivated by (of course, money is important, but it is a sort of unwritten code not to raise the subject at an interview). In any case, have a couple of questions ready to ask.

Tip 10 – Remember how random this process is
This last tip is to stop you getting depressed when you get multiple rejections after interviews. There are many reasons for rejections, and most of them lie outside your immediate control. A frightening proportion of advertised jobs are not genuinely open, but rather have an earmarked candidate already pencilled in (many companies have a procedure forcing them to advertise). Sometimes the rules change mid process, for example budget cuts might mean no one is appointed in the end. Even in an open contest, there will often be some criterion which takes high importance which is unknown to you (often, even to them, at least until they complete interview rounds). Interviewers are human, and they may just be in a bad mood when it is your turn. They are also biased, whether they know it or not. Finally, you might just be up against fantastic competition. The least likely reason for a rejection is that you screwed up the interview. So don’t lose heart, put it down to experience – valuable experience indeed – and keep applying. Your day will come.
By the way, the reverse is true as well. Just because you succeed in an interview does not make you that wonderful. You might just have got lucky.

Hopefully, these tips can improve your attitude to interviews, and might just make your day of success come around a little sooner. Good luck. Next week, I’ll look at this from the other side of the table, and offer some tips for interviewers.