How to Not Look Silly During a Job Interview

I went through a five round interview process with a pretty large company that I won't name here.

I got a lot of little things right, but I got the big things wrong. I didn't get the job.

Fortunately, my final interview was with a veteran. He gave me some great feedback that I want to share so you aren't sad like I was when I got that rejection email.

The "Little" Things You Should Do That Really Matter

Know Thy Interviewer

You have to understand that the person who is interviewing you likely did not go into their industry to be great interviewers. They're (hopefully) great at their jobs, and are merely reading from a scripted list of questions. They are grading your answers with something that amounts to "bad, good, or great."

You're nervous because you really need a job. That's obvious. It's less obvious that your interviewer is also nervous because s/he doesn't want to hire the wrong person or say the wrong thing. There are a lot of nerves! You're walking into a naturally tense environment.

Fortunately, the person asking the questions is indeed a person, not a robot. They like cool things! They're curious about stuff! They enjoy laughing sometimes!

Chances are, your interviewer has a Linkedin account. Your interviewer is almost certainly on Google. Look through your interviewer's profile and posts for anything interesting or something you both have in common. Then talk about it!

"I noticed that you went to Cal. I used to live in the Bay Area. I love it out there!"

"Wow, you're based in Chicago. I always thought Chicago style pizza was better than that thin New York stuff." (Not true, but besides the point.)

"Your Github was really helpful. I've been trying to figure out that script forever!"

Create those humanizing touchpoints early and often. It turns you from a rectangle box reciting scripted answers to into an actual person they could enjoy having around every day. Breaking that human barrier and turning an interrogation into a conversation is the most important "little" thing you can do during an interview.

Ask Questions Like You're Already Hired

This is the second most important "little" thing to master during an interview. Please don't ruin a great interview by asking awful questions. What are awful questions? In this context, avoid closed-ended questions (ones that are answered with "yes" or "no"), and purely transactional questions ("how much does this job pay?").

Pay is important, but that's not the right time to ask. You have resources to find out the standard pay range beforehand (Levels.fyi, Glassdoor), and you can hammer out money-related details during the offer negotiation process. But you aren't there yet! Focus on getting the offer first.

What are good questions? Ones that drill into details of your role (for entry/mid level roles) or the company's big picture (for management/executive roles).

Let's say you're interviewing for a process improvement management role. A good question to ask is something like "What's the most challenging project you worked on recently, and what made it difficult?" You get insight into the interviewer's thought process, the nature of the job, and it gives you a lot of room to ask follow up questions that can turn into a great conversation.

Well, I did all those "little" things. Sent thank you emails after each interview and everything. But remember, I still got a rejection letter for my efforts. Why?

I didn't see the big picture.

The Big Things You Absolutely Need To Do

Know Thy Role

During my final interview, I was asked the "tell me about yourself question," that I've responded to a million times at this point. I had a tight career summary that talked about how I've developed my leadership, management, and team building skills. Weaved all of those traits into my other answers too (This is really important, by the way). Thought everything went well and finished the interview.

The veteran who interviewed me (virtually) pulled me to the side afterwards and told me why I probably blew my chances at getting this job.

He told me that my profile was great, but not for what he was interviewing for. I was looking for an IT role at the time.

I talked about leadership, but I wouldn't be leading anything. I talked about managing, but I wouldn't be managing anyone. I talked about team building, but I would be working by myself.

Good candidate, bad fit.

In retrospect, I should have led with being technically sound, my problem solving ability, and coachability.

While I have all of those traits, I didn't mention any of them in my responses. Told him after the fact, but it was too late.

Hopefully I made that fatal mistake so nobody reading this has to. Because that really hurt.

Add A "R" and "C" to Your S.T.A.R Method

If you're reading this, you probably know about the S.T.A.R method. Situation, Task, Action, Result. You practiced it in TAP to tepid applause. You have your stories in place for each questions and have rehearsed it until you have it committed to memory.

This is good. But you want great. So we're going to turn S.T.A.R to S.T.A.R.R.C.

Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection, Connection (to your future role).

After talking about the result, talk about what you learned from the experience. Did you learn something new about yourself? Your teammates? Did you find something you needed to improve? Talk about those! They're important!

After talking about what you learned, connect it to how you can excel in your future role in the company. You can't assume the interviewer knows why you chose that story, so you need to spell it out. Talk about how you can use the skills you used in your story to do well in what you want to do for a living.

I didn't do those things, but you should!

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Very large and popular tech companies are laying off very experienced and talented people. They will be going after the same jobs that you are. This makes your job harder. If you made it this far and need help with interview practice, my inbox is open. I'll either find time or another capable person to help you out.

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