Four Job Interview Tips I Wish I Followed

Do you know what’s a worse feeling than bombing a big job interview??

For me, it’s bombing a big job interview by making the same mistakes you’ve critiqued countless applicants making for the jobs you posted. So “do as I say, not as I do” as I pull the band-aid off an old wound to help you avoid the same pitfalls with some interviewing advice:?

Ask the format and who will be participating in the interview. I expected an open ended discussion on how I planned to grow the company. Instead I got a rapid fire Q&A with five people asking monotone questions specific to their own departments as well as one wild card one: “Describe yourself using two adjectives!” By not learning about the interviewers ahead of time, I struggled to find points of connections nor did I fully understand their pain points.

Listen intently. I had prepared 8 pages of notes with actionable solutions, so I spent the interview clumsily trying to work them into my answers. This led to me second guessing my previous answer while the next question was being asked. I should have taken each question individually and followed up with clarifying questions to help me answer better as well as show how interested I was in what was being asked.

Practice. Conservatively, I have conducted 500 job interviews during my 30 year career. However most of those were group interviews with my co-workers by my side. It’s very different on the other side of the table as the lone wolf. In my mind, I was prepared with good research, quality questions ready to ask and a strong close. However, I hadn’t done any practice interviews and was so taxed by the end that my questions and closing remarks didn’t land well.

Differentiate yourself: I tell job seekers do whatever they can to stand out and demonstrate value over the other applicants. As a Hail Mary, I sent individual thank you letters to all the interviewers with better responses to their questions that night. I also spent two days turning my 8 pages of research into a 12 page deck outlining my big picture recommendations.?

This last ditch effort was too late. Since it’s hard to coordinate schedules with a large selection committee, they had already knocked me out of the running as soon as our interview ended.

While “interviewing well” doesn’t mean the hire will do their job well, it’s part of the game and I struck out at my only interview in the last 10 years.?

My experience gives me empathy and a be more patient when I see a qualified candidate is struggling. If you have other advice to share or want to connect for a practice interview, please reach out.