How to crush your next interview

Hopefully, by this point, you have polished up your CV and used the list method we learnt in the last article to land an interview at your dream company. I hope I have caught you a couple of days prior to your first interview as this is where things start to take off.?

I am going to split this interview process into 4 sections;?

• Pre - Starting 5 days before the interview
• The day of - The build-up on the day
• Interview - The interview itself
• Post-interview - Everything after the interview

Pre

?5 days before - Send a quick message to the HR person who is in charge of inviting you to the interview and ask for the email of the interviewer.

?3 days before - Send an email to the interviewer expressing your excitement and why you feel this way (don't expect a reply).

? 2 days before - Send a message to the person you previously connected with on Linkedin (as discussed in last weeks blog (link below)) drop them a message and request some tips or that you would like to meet in person as you'll be in the office.

?1 day before - Write down all your questions for the person you are going to meet. Next week's blog will go into further detail about how to best do this.

The day of

? Morning - Getting ready

1. If you are having the meeting on Zoom or in-person dress to impress. What is considered appropriate for work differs between locations. Dress the way you would if you were going on a date with someone out of your league.?
2. Brush your teeth, again this applies to Zoom too, no one wants to see the residue of your breakfast whilst trying to interview you.?There are endless studies that show good hygiene plays a big part in formulating immediate positive/negative judgment of a person.
3. For those to whom this applies, remember to shave and also make sure your hair looks presentable. I am bald, and pretty much have been since I was 16 but I still make sure what have left does not leave me looking like Krusty the Clown. This is very similar to the date idea, if you want to leave a good impression it is the micro details that can make all the difference.

? 1 hour before the interview. Make sure you have already arrived at the location of the interview. Some of you may think I am crazy for arriving an hour early but the trick here is, you get to snoop around the premises undetected and get a real feel for the place.?Also being punctual is extremely important. If your interview is on Zoom be sure to test the internet speed and picture, this avoids having to take up the first 5 minutes of an interview talking about your terrible internet speed. If this is a real issue go somewhere with good Wi-Fi.

? 30 minutes. This is when you can meet your LinkedIn connection. You will feel calmer more comfortable and the employee will likely tell your potential manager, it is super impressive!

?10 minutes. Go to the toilet, get some water/coffee (if you choose coffee chew on some gum, coffee breath stinks).

?5 minutes. No more phones. There is nothing worse than approaching a candidate who is sitting on their phone. Use this time to take out your notebook of questions and have a quick read through, see if there is anything else you want to add.?

Interview

Do’s

? When approached, stand up tall and offer your hand.?Do not squeeze too hard but don't go all floppy, as it is a little weird. You want to show confidence in your handshake.

? Let them lead the way and tell you where to sit.?

? Get comfortable, if you are nervous that is ok! If it helps you can even say it out loud, I am sure the manager will give some reassurance. It shows you care.

? If you are the type of person who likes writing notes, ask if it is okay to do so at the beginning, so you do not come across as rude or disinterested.

? Make sure to sit up straight and not slouch, also be sure you are looking the interviewer in the eye. You want them to know you are fully engaged and not looking around at other things in the room.

? Use your prepared non-generic questions.?You do not have to wait until the end, if it is relevant, ask it! Worst comes to worst they may say that they would like to cover that question later.

? When they ask a question, pause and think. Answer the question they have asked, do not go off on a tangent. Keep your answer short, precise and clear.

? When they speak, listen. That means do not sit and think of your next question, actively listen and ask more questions on the current topic.

? They are the timekeeper of the meeting but if you have lots of unanswered questions and you notice time is running out, then ask if it is all right if you keep asking. They may say yes but they may also ask to hold some for next time.

? Ask for feedback at the end. This shows self-awareness, confidence and willingness to learn. All very important characteristics for most jobs. A lot of the time you will get an honest answer.

Don'ts

? Turn up late?

? Sit on your phone waiting for the interviewer to enter the room

? Hide your hands or fold your arms. ?There are so many opinions about how to sit and what to do with your hands, I personally hold my pen and make sure my hands can be seen at all times. Just don’t cross your arms image A or go into a stretch image B.

? Speak for too long- 30 seconds to 2 minutes for basic questions, and up to 3 or 3.5 minutes for behavioural questions.??

? Tell an irrelevant story

? Badmouth an old boss or company - there is an art to being subtle, when criticising your old employee you need to be smart. If there is something amiss at your current company how can you explain it without completely throwing them under the bus? This is very case by case and sometimes to make a point it is accepted but do not go overboard.?

Post-interview

? Same day. Send a follow-up email, thanking them for their time and once again expressing your interest in joining their company (if you still feel this way).

If after the interview you do not want to move forward with the process, compose and send a short email notifying and thanking the person in HR. It is always a good idea to end an interview process on good terms you never know what the future holds.

How you present yourself at an interview is vital for getting a job. This blog highlighted some of the small, easily forgettable actions you can take to give yourself the best possible chance of making a good impression and getting the job you want. Disclaimer these are just some of the tips I picked up along the way and of course, there will be cases where you do not get the job and they go with was someone else better suited. The point here is to give yourself the best shot.

If you take away one point from the last 3 blogs, it should be, to be intentional. To truly stand out from the pack you need to put in the extra effort and really show an employer or company that you want to work for them. Next week I will cover 10 golden questions everyone should ask at an interview for a junior sales position.

Until next week

Week 1 - 7 rules for a great SDR CV

Week 2 - The best method to find the perfect SDR job