7 practical steps so you can ace your next interview!
Feeling nervous before an interview? Worried you’re not fully prepared for the conversation? Struggling to connect with your interviewer?
If any of these sounds like you, the practical tips below will help you prepare. As always, I keep it simple, to the point and practical.
P.S. Some points may seem obvious, but they’re often overlooked and they do make a big difference.
Before we begin
It’s normal to feel nervous or anxious before an interview. It’s also normal and perfectly acceptable to make mistakes. While these tips below won’t eliminate those emotions or the possibility of making mistakes, they will help you better prepare.
What I’ve found is that thorough preparation helps with boosting confidence and energy levels both before and throughout the interview itself. While the interview itself is not under your control, your preparation is, and it’s your responsibility to get ready.
1. Research the company
Why? This helps you speak the same language and show genuine interest.
I know, this sounds very generic, but most people don’t take it seriously. Think about how much you research before buying a laptop. You’re checking and reviewing all kinds of details so it fits your budget, your bag, your technical needs and so on. Why?
Because you want the best fit.
Similarly, you should research a company when you’re preparing for an interview. If you ever felt you didn’t speak the same language with your interviewer, this bridges that gap. Luckily, you now have all kinds of tools you can use to make that research faster and better. Here goes:
Check out their website and their socials. See how they post, what they post and what they believe in.
Understand their business. What kind of service or products do they sell and what industry they are in?
Use ChatGPT or any other AI tool to your preference to publicly search for news about the company.
Find their previous yearly report and summarize key themes and elements or at least scroll through it.
By the end of this exercise, you should at least know: their mission and vision, their industry, products or services they sell, how they did last year and how they brand themselves.
2. Ask recruitment for tips
Why? They are interested to fill that position. If you made it past the first discussion, they may have tips for you to pass the next interviews.
You’ve been contacted on LinkedIn for a position. Some company liked your profile and is interested in finding out if you would be a fit for an open position. You had the conversation and at the end of it, the HR contact or external recruitment consultant asks you: “Do you have any questions for me?”
This is where way more people than you’d expect will say “No”. This is where you’re missing out.
Your recruitment contact can be your partner in this process and remember: they genuinely care about filling that position. Instead, ask:
Can you share what’s the most interesting thing about this position, beyond just the JD?
Why is this position important for your company? What are you looking for in the ideal candidate?
Could you tell me something about the next interviewers? What about the interview format?
What specific skill or expertise matters most for this position? What is missing in the team?
You may be surprised about the openness of the recruitment colleague. They may also be surprised about you asking for their help. They will only share what they are comfortable and allowed to share, but they will share something nonetheless and they will value your initiative and curiosity.
3. Know who you’re talking with
Why? Recruitment is about people talking with people. It may seem daunting being on the other side of the interview, but know that they’ve also been interviewed at some point to be there.
You’ve made it past the HR discussion. Now you’ve just received an invite for a technical or behavioral interview. You’re happy this is moving forward and you’re waiting for the interview to happen. This is where people miss out on one thing.
You’re going to talk with a person.
That person may very well be your boss or senior colleague if you get hired. It’s not only important to prepare for the interview, but it’s crucial for you to know what team you’re getting into. Consider:
Checking their LinkedIn profile to see their past experience and their current position in the company.
Reading their posts or comments, as well as any recent activity or achievements they’ve shared.
Looking for shared connections and similarities, this may help with building rapport.
Pro tip: Make sure your profile visibility option is set to private in LinkedIn settings. You don’t want them to think you’re stalking them, especially if you’re checking their profile more than once.
This helps with speaking the same language, building rapport and making the conversation human. Interviews are not only about technical skills, but also about conversational and soft skills.
4. Read your CV
Why? This ensures you are better prepared for questions and avoids awkward surprises.
You’ve worked on your CV for a few days and finally had a good version that you felt confident to share. But that was a few months ago and now you just share it every time an opportunity comes around. You find yourself in the 2nd interview and the manager asks about a skill or project you mentioned in your CV.
You’re frozen. You completely forgot about that one thing and now you’re stuck.
This sometimes happens in interviews, and it doesn’t mean you cannot recover from it and still get the job. To maximize your chances though, it’s better to:
Make sure that the CV you share is up to date. Tailor it for that role and trim unnecessary elements.
Read your CV thoroughly before the interview and make sure you have stories or examples ready.
Use ChatGPT or other AI tools to brainstorm questions that may arise from the CV itself.
Think like an interviewer and based on the role you applied for, challenge the CV yourself.
Your CV is something that sits within your control. It’s your responsibility to make sure that whatever version you send puts you in the best position both before and throughout the interview itself.
5. Prepare good questions
Why? This shows you are prepared, you did your homework and you are genuinely interested in the role.
You’re in the interview. After the manager talks about the company and asks you all kinds of questions, there are 10 minutes left to spare and they ask you: “So, do you have any questions for us?”. You say “No, I don’t have any questions, everything seems clear.”
This is a missed opportunity. You don’t get to learn more about what matters and they leave the interview with the impression that you were not that interested after all.
I also want to add that you should have “good” questions. The quality of your questions truly depends on how well you incorporated the previous steps that we talked about. Considering that you did your research about the company and the interviewers, think of asking:
What are you expecting of me in the first 30 days or 90 days? What are the metrics for success?
Why is this role so important for you and the company and what can you share with me beyond the JD?
How was your experience working in your role and what lessons can you share with me?
What can you share with me about the team culture, collaboration and what makes them tick?
The questions above are generic, but consider drafting some questions based on the JD, your research about the company (brand, vision, yearly results, pain points, needs, etc.), the interviewer’s past experience and current role in the company, etc.
Pro tip: Avoid generic questions about salary, schedule, dress code, team events, how a day looks like, etc.
Remember one thing: the worst thing you can do is to have no questions. If you strive for a very good interview performance however, it’s good to have the right questions with you, that shows them you really did your research and homework before the interview.
6. Be present
Why? Being truly present in the interview keeps you focused, aware and balanced.
You’re in the middle of the interview. The hiring manager talks about a specific project that they are working on right now. Meanwhile, you’re in your head, thinking about the next question that you should ask or thinking if you did well responding to their last question.
This is where you’re missing out.
The person on the other side of the table is sharing something with you. Your attention and presence are crucial for you to not only understand what, but how they are sharing with you. Non-verbal and para-verbal cues will be completely invisible to you if you are stuck in your head. Try:
Eliminating any distractions (phone, web browser, smartwatch, etc.) that could break the flow.
To fully pay attention to the person in front of you, especially throughout an in-person interview.
Maintaining eye contact and using subtle verbal cues and nodding to show you’re listening.
To not interrupt them while they are talking, unless you have a good reason to do so.
Even though some of the above points bring benefits even in our day to day lives, it’s important to focus during the interviews to actively listen throughout the conversation. You will notice that you have better statements, questions and observations simply because you were fully present and aware.
7. Make it a conversation
Why? The best interviews feel like a nice conversation with a colleague or friend.
I know, this sounds fluffy. Interviews are supposed to be very serious things and it has nothing to do with how I talk with my friends.
This is where we have a barrier that really stops us from being natural and relaxed in interviews.
This is also where some interviewers are not great at creating a good space to really make it seem like a conversation. Sometimes, unexperienced interviewers will throw an avalanche of questions at you and you will be stuck in just providing responses, instead of feeling that you are having a conversation. However, there are some things you can try that could break that cycle:
When presenting yourself, keep it human and relatable. Don’t list out all your work, projects and skills.
After responding to a question, ask: “I’m curious, how is this relevant or important for this role?”
Respectfully break their flow: “You mentioned <something> could you please share a bit more”?
Make an observation. “You talked about <this>. In my experience, I’ve noticed <that>.”
In some edge cases, the interview format doesn’t really allow you to make it a conversation. But where it does, if you feel the interviewer is not doing it, feel free to challenge them. Interviews are two-sided, they exist also for you to get to know and learn more about the people and company you would work with.
As long as you do it respectfully and the questions or observations you introduce make sense, you will notice how the interview shifts to a friendly conversation, tension will be relieved and the entire discussion will feel and be a lot more natural.
Closing
This was written because I feel that both interviewers and interviewees can do better. In my previous experience as a hiring manager, managing recruitment and interviewing dozens of candidates across multiple geographies, I noticed some themes and shared pain points. Your CV and technical skills get you in the interview, but only good preparation and interview performance will get you through the door.
I hope this helps you, and I hope that when you prepare for the next interview, you will remember some of these steps and land your dream job.
If you could relate to the content and need some support landing your next opportunity, reach out to me! We can have a free discovery session to get to know each other and see if I can help.
