What To Do After The Interview
After your job interview, its in your best interest to ensure that your interviewer remembers you by following up and thanking them for the opportunity.
Follow up
Be sure to get the contact information of your interviewer at the end of the interview and follow up with a brief message expressing your interest and gratitude for the interview opportunity in following days.
Say thank you in a personal way
Saying thank you in a meaningful way makes a huge impression, especially on busy interviewers.
Ways To Get Ready For An Interview
Whether the interview is in person or via Zoom, knock their socks off by knowing as much as you can about the job, the organization, the competition, the location, and the industry.
Your interview preparation includes researching the organization and, if possible and without stalking them, researching the people, too.
The Internet provides a wealth of information for job seekers. These are 10 places where you can start your research.
If you have time, keep looking. The more you know, the better off you will be. Not only will you be in knock-their-socks-off mode for the interview, your research could help you determine that the employer might not be a good place for you to work.
Throughout this preparation process, keep notes on questions that are raised. At the end of your research, you should have a good idea of what to say when they ask, Do you have any questions for us?
Analyze The Job And Match Your Skills
Read carefully through the job posting and identify the required skills, attributes, and work experience. Use the keywords in the text to help you. Then make a comprehensive list of all the qualities required by the employer.
Using your resume, think about your strengths and how they match those wanted by the company. Think of specific, tangible examples when you have demonstrated skills and abilities and prepare yourself to talk about them. Make sure you use STAR format when preparing these examples.
The interviewer will ask you to give examples of when you have shown certain qualities. This preparation technique of using your resume to prepare for a job interview will help you to answer job-specific interview questions.
Also Check: What Is The Good Question To Ask In Interviews
Follow Up With A Thank You Note
Follow up a job interview with a thank-you note or email reiterating your interest in the job.
Consider your thank-you letter as a follow-up “sales” letter. Restate why you want the job, what your qualifications are, how you might make significant contributions, and so on.
This thank-you letter is also the perfect opportunity to discuss anything of importance that your interviewer neglected to ask or that you neglected to answer as thoroughly, or as well, as you would have liked. Good luck!
Why Is It Important To Prepare For An Interview
Interviewing is a skill, making practice essential in becoming a better interviewee. Interview practice involves learning how to answer questions related to your role and studying them. For example, you might pair with a friend and allow them to ask you a series of questions. Doing this assesses how well you answer each question in the moment and how well you approach questions that are unfamiliar to you. Practicing is also a time to work on your posture, appearance and non-verbal communication such as how you use your hands in conversation.
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Know Your Own Story Well So You Can Insert Examples Into The Questions
When you know your story inside and out, its much easier to apply examples to just about any interview question. So, spend the most time before the interview not rehearsing questions, but reflecting on your career chronology to date. Think about what youre most proud of, what you struggled with, what you learned from the struggles, where you developed management skills, how you got to be so good at problem solving, and so on. When youre confident with the specifics of your story, youll have a much easier time drawing from your experiences and articulating your worth, no matter what youre asked.
Tell Me About A Conflict You Faced At Work And How You Dealt With It
This question is important to ace because it helps an interviewer understand how you deal with conflict. It also helps test how well you think on your feetso if you prepare ahead of time with a specific example, youll avoid the awkward moment of silence while you try to think of an example.
Once you have an example in mind, simply explain what happened, how you resolved the issue in a professional manner, and try to end the story with a happy note about how you reached a resolution or compromise with your co-worker.
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Why Preparing For A Job Interview Is Worth It
Though its easy to fantasize about pulling off a stellar job interview without doing so much as looking up the company website, nine times out of ten this is never the case. There are obvious reasons why you should take the time to prepare for a job interview like: you want to have the best chances of landing the job.
Thats great. But often the benefits of preparing for an interview arent as obvious. Its not unusual for employers to hire someone who they like or feel comfortable with. Whats interesting is that being liked and entering an interview with an aura of comforting confidence isnt relayed by how many facts you memorized about the company, but how at ease and prepared you come off.
If everything about you reads prepared youll be the more memorable candidateeven if you dont meet all the requirements and qualifications of the job opening. Preparedness garners confidence. And confidence garners likability and rapport. Spend the proper amount of time preparing for the job interview and watch how you naturally up the ante in both areas as your chances of landing the gig goes up.
Considerations For Remote Interviews
Interviews conducted remotely, whether theyre via phone or video, have their own set of additional considerations:
- Thoroughly prepare your materials. Youll probably be able to access more information during a remote interview than you would if it was in-person. Print out anything you think may be helpful, or bring it up on a computer screen. Use caution though youll want to refer to the materials naturally and not delay your answers too much while you search for the right document.
- Test your technology. The interview cant happen if your technology isnt cooperating. If the interview is over the phone, confirm youll be somewhere with strong reception or access to a land line. Also, for mobile phones, make sure theyre fully charged or plugged in to a reliable charger. For interviews conducted over the internet, test your audio and video equipment and the software youll be using to connect with the interviewer. Finally, if you arent the best with technology, find someone who can help you test your equipment or even better be with you during the interview to help troubleshoot.
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Youll Get The Information You Need To Know If The Job Is Right For You
Instead of rattling off a list of generalized questions job hunters are supposed to ask, be mindful of what you would really like to know before accepting a position. Its OK to ask the tough questions.
- What are common issues that crop up?
- How do your teams function? What does collaboration look like here?
- How do your teams handle conflict?
- What constitutes success in this job?
- What are the unwritten rules about working here?
- Whats the day-to-day life like here?
Youll Learn About Your Competitors
Consultants always try to learn how they stack up against the competition, so be sure to ask about other candidates in the running.
- Where are you in the hiring process? How many other candidates are there?
- How do you see me compared to other candidates?
- What kind of person are you leaning toward hiring?
- Can you see any reason why you wouldnt want to have someone like me on board?
- What kind of person would be your ideal candidate?
As powerful as consultative interviewing is, it doesnt mean youll be asking all the questions, and it doesnt mean every interview will be smooth sailing. Thats why weve put together some interviewing tactics for you to deploy along with your consultant mindset.
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Explain A Database To Your Eight
Google commonly asks this question, and its core purpose is to see if you can simplify a complex idea and eliminate all technical jargon. This skill is especially important when in client-facing roles. The key here is to keep your answer short and sweet. A database is a machine that remembers a lot of information about a lot of things. Boom. Nailed it.
Find Out The Type Of Interview You Will Be Going On:
There are several common types of interviews such as one on one, group, and behavioral. You shouldnt assume you will get a certain one. Dont be afraid to ask your recruiter what kind of interview will have if you dont know the interview will be more beneficial to both parties if you are prepared.
READ MORE: 6 Interview Types You Must Know as a Candidate
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How To Prepare For An Interview: The Ultimate Guide
As someone who writes about work and interviewing, I hear regularly from people who say the quality of their job interviews and their success rate soared after they changed the way they were preparing for them. In fact, Im convinced that the best thing you can do ahead of a job interview is to prepare for it about twice as much as you think you might need to.
Heres your ultimate guide on how to prepare for an interview so that youll walk in confident and be able to give thoughtful, compelling answers to your interviewers questions.
How Would You Describe Yourself
With this question, your interviewer wants to learn how your qualities and characteristics align with the skills they believe are required to succeed in the role. To answer this question, pick one to a few personal characteristics and elaborate on them with examples.
For example, if you are ambitious and driven you can say:I am an ambitious and driven individual. I thrive in a goal-oriented environment where I can constantly challenge myself personally and professionally. I am always looking for an opportunity to do better and grow. These characteristics have helped me achieve success in my career. For example, I was promoted three times in less than two years in my last position.
Read more: Interview Question: How Would You Describe Yourself?
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The Day Before The Interview
Although you should have the bulk of your preparation done by now that doesnt mean theres nothing to organise the day before.
Here are a few things to do:
- Pick your outfit and try it on
- Find a map of the location
- Do a trial run to check the journey time
- Put important information into a folder
- Read and review the research youve done
Sorting out all of the above in advance will mean less stress on the day of the interview.
Youll be sure your outfit fits, youll know exactly where youre going, and with all of your important documents to hand the interviewer will be able to see youre prepared.
Even if you dont end up needing examples of your work they could turn out to be a great way to demonstrate a point or answer a question.
Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years
This can seem like a heavy question during an interview, especially when you havent prepared for it ahead of time. Keep in mind that youre in an interview settingso you dont need to go into all the details about what your personal life goals are for the next five years. Focus on your career goals and be realistic.
If you plan to work at this company for five years, make sure you understand who would be working above you and what potential career growth there is. The hiring manager asks this question to find out if you set realistic goals, if you are ambitious, and to confirm that the position you are interviewing for aligns with these goals and growth.
If this position isnt exactly a job with a lot of future opportunities, you can simply answer this by noting that you are not certain what your future is going to look like, but that you believe this position is going to help you navigate yourself in the right direction.
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Get Yourself Into The Right State Of Mind
If you get nervous before interviews, it can help to remember that the employer almost certainly thinks youre qualified, or at least that youre very likely to be qualified! They wouldnt be interviewing you if they hadnt already determined that youre at least plausible for the job.
It can also help to remember that no one gives a perfect interview. The other candidates interviewing for the job arent giving flawless interviews, and you dont need to strive for that either. Your goal is just to give a good interview that shows why youd excel at the job and what youd be like to work with day to day.
It can even help to approach the interview as if you were a consultant. If you were a consultant meeting with a prospective client, youd explain your expertise, learn about the work that needs to be done, and talk about how youd tackle it and youd be talking as a potential business partner, not as a nervous job candidate waiting for the interviewer to pass judgment on you. The more you can think of an interview like that as a collaborative business meeting where you and your interviewer are both trying to figure out if it makes sense to work together the better your interview will probably go .
And if you really get nervous in interviews, try pretending that you already know youre not going to get the job . Sometimes lowering the stakes can lower your nerves and help you give a better interview.
Prepare Answers To Commonly Asked Questions
Its impossible to know exactly what questions will be asked. But you can still prepare responses to commonly asked interview questions. Write out your responses with key points you want to communicate to keep your answers concise and easy to follow. Include some concrete examples that highlight your talents.
Incorporating stories into your answers is also great for demonstrating your strengths. For example, rather than saying you are very organized, you could share how you helped your student group organize an event and what the outcome was. To do this, try forming your responses with the START method:
- Situation: Provide an overview of the situation , being specific and succinct.
- Task: Explain the task or goal you worked on as it relates to the skill they asked about.
- Action: Describe your actions and the steps you took.
- Result: Describe the outcome, if possible. This is your time to take credit for your work or show what you learned.
- Tie it back: Summarize how the story demonstrates your strengths and relates to the job that youre interviewing for.
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Interview Preparation Step #: Memorizing The 7 Core Interview Questions
One of the easiest ways to become a better interviewer is to prepare yourself for the obvious questions.
After going on 50+ interviews at dozens of different companies, I began to realize something pretty much every employer asked a variation of the same questions. I knew that if I could memorize concise answers to a set of core questions, I could walk into pretty much any interview and succeed without much additional interview preparation.
It may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many people spread their brains thin by trying to cram in answers to every single question they might ever be asked. Instead, start by mastering and memorizing your answers to the 7 core questions you’re likely to see in any interview:
The easiest way to start is by writing down your answers to each question in a Google Doc. Get all of your thoughts down on paper and don’t worry about length or wording just yet.
Once you have your answers down, begin rehearsing them whenever you have a free second in the shower, during your commute, at the gym and iterate as you go. Focus on one answer at a time.
Study Your Resume And Know Everything About It:
Any work experience or skills you have listed on your resume are fair game to talk about during the interview. Your resume is all the interviewer has to go by in order to get to know you. They may pick things out from it and ask you to elaborate. Even though you may have a previous job listed that was many years ago, the interviewer may ask you to explain what you did at that job and you are responsible for providing an answer. This is one step you absolutely wont want to skip on how to prepare for a job interview.
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