#7 Let’s Prepare The Ingredients Before Interview

There’s no doubt that jitters before the interview are real. The stress, insufficient sleep and even personality variations before an interview could affect your interview presentation.

Prepping for an interview suggests taking the time to consider your qualifications and goals relative to the employer and position. You must research the company and assess the job description carefully to know why you would be an ideal fit.

This chapter includes important ingredients you need to pay attention to before you undergo the interview.

Research The Company

Investigating the business, you are applying to is a vital portion of getting ready for an interview. It will not just help you offer a framework for your interview discussions. It will also help you with creating considerate and relevant questions for your examiners. Investigating the corporation as much as possible will offer you an advantage over your rivalry.

Some of the things you need to research about the company are their social media updates, latest news, financial statements, as well as mission and vision statements, among others.

Modern firms have blogs and social media accounts, talking about their industry and company culture. This data could offer you an impression of the character and nature of the company, as well as the things they put significance. You must fit in the company culture no matter how good a role looks. You and the company must share the same values and personality.

Research Your Recruiters & Hiring Managers

You must be familiar with who the recruiters and hiring managers are. That will offer you a lead throughout the interview day. You’ll have a good likelihood of connecting with them too. This will allow you to spark a thoughtful and relevant conversation.

Remember that it might be a bit complicated to determine who the recruiters are. Nonetheless, you must be able to search the name of the person with a bit of exploration.

You can try searching the name of the person from the email you get about the interview. You can reply to the email courteously asking the name of the individual who will interview you, in case you cannot find any info.

After you get the name of your recruiters or hiring managers, do a bit of research on LinkedIn. That will help you understand the background of the interviewer, their current place in the company, and even mutual interests you have in common.

Think About All The Possible Questions & Answers

You will find typical questions you could plan answers for, even though you won’t be able to predict each question you will be asked during the interview. You might find some jobs involving an assessment or test throughout the interview process.

For instance, you might be asked to assess or write lines of code if you’re interviewing for an analytics, development, or computer programming role. It might be practical to consult with colleagues within the sector for samples of tests they have been given to prepare.

Below are some good examples of typical interview questions:

What are your greatest strengths?

This question offers you a chance to discuss both your soft and technical abilities. Share personal attributes and qualities when an interviewer asks you to describe your strengths. You can then connect them back to the role for which you are applying.

What attracts you to this job?

The hiring manager asks this inquiry to ensure you understand the role of the job and to offer you the chance to showcase your applicable skills. It could be useful to compare the role requirements over your experience and skills. Pick a few things you excel at or enjoy. From that, you can concentrate on those within your answer.

Why do you like to work here?

The ideal way to get ready for this question is to understand the culture, history, mission, vision, products, and services of the company. Indicate the features of the company, which charm you in your answer. Make sure you support them along with your career goals.

Websites like Glassdoor help job hunters explore the inside details of the company that cannot be seen on the website of the employer. Doing this will help you guarantee you are fully ready for the interview.

You could normally see info such as company reviews, employee responsibilities, and functions, salary statistics, and info about the employment procedure, among others.

Analyze possibility using STAR/SWOT method and run mock interviews

You cannot predict what your interviewer will ask you. Hiring managers must be able to provide you an idea of what the interviewer might anticipate from you as well as the things they might ask you. Still, you cannot determine for sure.

The good thing is that there are two preparation approaches, which will keep you prepared for any inquiries coming your way – STAR and SWOT method.

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats)

The SWOT analysis is an excellent method to do in prepping before the interview. Make sure you apply this analysis to yourself first. Doing this will enable you to identify the above so you could understand how you could fit into the job, the firm, or even the team you’ll be participating in.

STAR Analysis (Situation, Tasks, Action/Activity, Results)

The STAR analysis is practical for those competency-centric interviews. These types of interviews are utilized to assess the key competencies of the applicant. They are questioning what you did to surpass any trials you might have encountered and the outcomes of your actions. They do this by asking about a specific situation you have been in.

BONUS TIP: Do you know any insider in the companies you will be applying to? Then, that will be a huge plus. Make sure you connect with them immediately to get an advantage. All of these tips above are important when preparing for an interview. So, make sure you follow them to land your dream job.

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Hey, thanks for reading this post up to this sentence. Now, I know you're probably wondering, "Why do you post this article?" 

Well, I first started my career journey as a headhunter and the reason why I jumped into recruitment is that I didn't know what I want back then. I thought the best thing to do is to interview thousands of people, understanding their roles and industries. With this exposure, I was able to understand the mind of the recruiters, hiring managers, and years later had the privilege to be in various roles with top global companies.

I am forever grateful to all the people that came into my life and showed me that I have what it takes to pursue my goals. Today, I am on a mission to help driven & ambitious people to get in front of global leaders & world-changing companies.

If you think you have benefited from this sharing, I hope you can pay it forward by sharing this article and connect with me to always inspire each other. Stay tuned for more brewing on #rioslab. God bless!