Preparing for an interview requires more effort than just Googling a list of common interview questions (though, yes, you should 100% be ready for those). In today’s job market, recruiters are flooded with resumes and applications within hours of a post going live, so if you manage to land a meeting, it’s worth putting in the time to ensure you ace it.
Every company has a different process for interviewing potential candidates—and to some degree, that process is unpredictable. For instance, even if you find a ton of sample interview questions for that specific organization, there’s no guarantee you’ll be asked the exact same ones. The goal of interview prep is to learn and practice as much as possible so you can feel confident and ready for anything (even questions you don’t have an answer to, which we’ll discuss how to handle later on).
To help you prepare, we compiled a list of our all-time best interview tips—backed by some of the most highly regarded career guides, creators, and advisors out there today. We’ve got 30 plus tips on this list, so strap in, take some notes, and prepare to nail your interview.
- Research the company
- Read the job description carefully.
- Try out the company’s product or service.
- Learn about the interviewers.
- Find out the interview type and prepare accordingly.
- Identify your selling points for this job
Even if you’re a well-oiled interviewing machine, it’s essential to spend time thinking carefully about what skills, accomplishments, and answers will resonate most with your interviewers for this job. Your management abilities? Your creativity? Sam DeMase, founder of A Power Mood, calls these your “superpowers.” - Be ready to tell the interviewer about yourself.
- Know why you’re interested in this position.
- Do some salary research.
- Prepare your stories.
- Familiarize yourself with the STAR method
Another helpful acronym is the popular STAR method of answering questions—which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Whenever you’re answering interview questions with a story, you want to make sure that the narrative is well-structured and the takeaway is clear. Your goal is to give the interviewer all the context needed to understand what happened while still answering the question clearly and concisely.
An example of the STAR method in practice is:
Situation: Briefly lay out the scenario using just enough detail to make the interviewer understand the stakes and everything else in your answer.
Task: Talk about what was your role in the situation.
Action: Discuss what you did and why.
Result: Tell your interviewer about the outcome and what you learned.
It’s worth noting that for some questions you might want to tweak this structure slightly. For example, if you’re talking about a time you demonstrated leadership skills, consider defining what leadership means to you before jumping into the situation. But the STAR method will ensure your stories always have a beginning, middle, and end.
Tell your interviewer about the outcome and what you learned.
It’s worth noting that for some questions you might want to tweak this structure slightly. For example, if you’re talking about a time you demonstrated leadership skills, consider defining what leadership means to you before jumping into the situation. But the STAR method will ensure your stories always have a beginning, middle, and end.
12. Or try the PAR method
If the STAR method feels a bit too repetitive in your interviews, Christian Lovell encourages job candidates to try the PAR method—Problem, Action, Result. The PAR Method breaks down into the following:
Problem: What was the problem?
Action: What did you do?
Result: What was the result?
13. Jot down any important numbers and details you find
While you’re doing your interview prep, write down some revenue figures, engagement numbers, budget or team sizes, percentages of time saved, or anything else you can use to communicate your impact in previous roles.
Throwing in some hard numbers when discussing responsibilities and accomplishments can show to a hiring manager that you’re good at what you do. Even writing them down on a post-it can serve as a quick reference during the interview.
14. Brush up on your interview skills
15. Practice—but don’t memorize—your answers
16. Think about body language
17. Try some mock interviews
18. Write down questions you’ll ask them
19. Pack your bag in advance i.e keep everything in a bag day in advance of interview
20. Plan how you’re getting there
21. Prepare your environment
22. Get a good night’s sleep
References :
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-ultimate-interview-guide-30-prep-tips-for-job-interview-success
