How I'd Prep You for an Interview

So you've got an interview coming up! That's great, there's a lot we need to do to wow your interviewer so let's get right to it.

Researching the company:

First off, we're not going to waste any time so I'd like to introduce you to perplexity.ai . This will be our tool of choice for researching the company so we can position ourselves as the 'solution to their problems'. That's the most common interview mistake (people make it all about themselves...their skills...their experience...you get the idea.). In reality, the interview isn't about you. It's about convincing your interviewer that your skills and experience can help the company succeed in the future.

To use perplexity.ai , go to their website, make a free account, and type in this prompt: "I have an interview coming up at [COMPANY NAME], tell me what their mission and values are as a company." Let's assume for this newsletter, the company is Salesforce and Perplexity says their mission and values are sustainability and customer service (very distilled down for simplicity's sake).

The "Tell me about yourself" Question:

When a company asks you in an interview, "Tell me about yourself", they're not looking for your life story. They're looking for a brief overview of your past, present, and future, and how that can benefit them. Continuing our Salesforce example, here's how you can answer that question as a project manager:

"In my past 10 years working as a project manager, I've helped companies maintain alignment and complete projects on time and within budget. I'm currently working for a great company but our values are misaligned, which is why I'm really excited to be interviewing with Salesforce today. Just like you, I value sustainability and customer service and I have a goal of becoming a people manager someday."

See what we did there? We're showing that we did our research. We're also bringing up the elephant in the room (why we're job searching) so they won't have to ask. That makes us look trustworthy. Do not ramble when answering this question, it's your first impression in an interview and it's an opportunity to position yourself as knowledgeable, excited, and determined.

"Tell me about a time when..."

These are called behavioral questions in interviews. They can sound like this:

• Tell me about a time when you had to manage a difficult project with tight deadlines. How did you ensure its success?
• Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict within your team. What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?
• Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a significant change at work. How did you handle it?

These types of interview questions are self-awareness tests. You need to talk about a time when something didn't go right and how you handled it.

One mistake I see people make is they don't describe their role in enough detail. They say, "One time I was working on a project and ...".

That's not specific enough. You need to instead say, "One time I was a project manager leading a team of 17 on a rushed product launch for a startup". Then you need to say what went wrong. DO NOT blame anyone else, this is your opportunity to show self-awareness and take accountability. Instead of saying, "My manager forgot to tell me the deadline for the project..." you can say, "I take full responsibility for this one, I didn't double check I had the correct deadline and we missed it and our client was very disappointed." And then you can tell them what you learned from this situation. This is the most important part! It can sound like this, "From this experience, I learned not to assume anything and to double and triple check I have the correct dates. To prevent this from happening in the future, I make sure to email a few people involved so I can get their confirmation as well."

Before the interview, spend some time with your resume and for each job or project you've been involved with, write down a few things that went sour. Write down what you learned. Then you won't have to be nervous during the interview trying to search your long term memory.

Always speak positively, about everyone and everything:

When the interviewer asks you why you left your last role, why you're job searching, or why you've applied for this role, this is your opportunity to show them what a shining ray of sunshine you are (and yes...during the interview, you're a ray of sunshine.)

• Don't talk badly about your previous company.
• Don't speak negatively about your last boss.
• Don't mention the word "toxic" unless you're talking about chemicals.

Tell them you're looking to grow in your career and you feel that you've outgrown your current role, AND THEN CHANGE THE SUBJECT. This is how you can take control of the conversation and steer it in a better direction. Here's what that can sound like, "I had a great run at my last job and I learned a lot. I'm now looking for a company where I can grow and be challenged in new ways. Let me ask you this, does your company have opportunities for growth within?"

If you've been laid off, that's ok, I was laid off in October 2023. It happens to everyone at some point. It doesn't make you a bad person. Here's how you can handle this question if you're unemployed and job searching, "Unfortunately I was laid off from my last role. I've been spending the past few months getting really clear on what I want in my next role which is why I'm so excited to be interviewing with Salesforce today. What is your favorite part about working here?"

Give a vague answer, then ask a question and change the subject.

What questions do you have for us?

Always have questions for them. It shows you're interested in the role and you know that interviewing is a 2-ways street. You're not desperate for a job, but rather, you're interviewing them so you can determine if this is a place you'd like to work at. (even if you're reading this and you're like, "but I am desperate"...no you're not...you're a hot commodity and any company would be lucky to hire you).

You're not going to ask them any old question, that's child's play.

Instead, you probably know their name before the interview (via a zoom invite or an email or an interview schedule provided by the recruiter) and you're going to look them up on LinkedIn.

Let's say their name is Bob Johnson and they're the head of the department and they've been at Salesforce for only 4 months. You can say, "Bob, I noticed from your LinkedIn you're still pretty new at Salesforce. How has the onboarding process been for you? Do you feel like you're up to speed yet?"

• Bob will be impressed you've done your research. He'll feel seen and he'll feel special because he's taking time out of his day to interveiw you, and you've taken time to get to know him. That builds trust and rapport.

Let's say, instead, you're interviewing with Chad Burke who is a programmer for Salesforce and you look on LinkedIn and see he's written a journal article from 10 years ago on "Scientific Programmer Stuff". Read the article, put it into Chat GPT, and ask it for 1 question for the author. In the interview, say this to Chad, "I found your 2014 article on "Scientific Programmer Stuff" and it was really interesting. I wanted to ask you, why did you choose those methods instead of doing it another way?"

• Chad will be impressed you've done your research. He'll feel seen and he'll feel special because you took time out of your day to learn about him. He'll remember back to a time when he felt pride in publishing that article and he'll probably smile and say, "Wow, you read my article?".

Then BOOM, you've wowed your interviewers and you get a job offer emailed to you the next day!

Interviewing is all about preparation and positioning yourself as the answer to the company's prayers. If you can do this, if you can position yourself as a great ROI (return on investment) as a new hire, you WILL get the job.

Now go get em' tiger! You've got this!

If you liked this tiny little taste of interview prep, you'll love Career Catalyst.

In my private mentorship group, I help job seekers land roles by standing out in the interview and application process.

If you've been applying and not hearing back, if you've been interviewing but not getting job offers, join us today. It will change your life.

*(We have a 14-day money-back guarantee in case you join and decide it's too much of a time commitment. Job searching the right way isn't for the faint of heart, and I will push you. Be warned.)

**Check out what our latest member to get a job had to say (Denise):

Check out what another member, Bonnie, had to say about my networking tips (she sent a screenshot of a recruiter saying they'd forward her resume to the hiring manager after she introduced herself):