Ace the Job Interview in 4 Steps

With the fallout from the pandemic (or as Linkedin calls it the "Great Reshuffle") everyone is doing more job interviewing than ever before (whether they want to or not.) There is no evidence that personal anxiety about interviewing has reduced or that candidate performance in interviews has improved. On the contrary, I see people worrying more about interviews than ever and not doing any better in them. Frankly job interviewing is tough for most people.?

?The Bad News! – There are no quick “fixes” or simple “hacks” to performing well in a job interview. Sorry to tell you this but focusing on your handshake or your smile or how you dress won’t get you the job you want. Like anything valuable, it will take effort.

?In order for you to present the “best you possible” in the job interview there are four areas you need to pay attention to:

?1. Strengths and Needs.

?First, you have to know these two areas extremely well in preparing for an interview. You need to have a clear understanding of the STRENGTHS you bring to the employer AND you need to have a clear understanding of that organization’s NEEDS -- and, how your strengths fit their needs.

?Your Strengths – You must have a clear understanding of the 3 – 5 essential strengths/skills that you bring to each particular employer and job. This is not a list of the jobs you have held, but rather what you have to offer the prospective employer as a result of all your previous life experience (these may include things like leadership, marketing, technical expertise, etc.) You must be able to describe those strengths in clear, performance oriented language that the potential employer can understand. They must be able to see why what you have is important to their organizational success. In fact, you need to understand your purpose and strengths well before you can even prepare an effective resume.

?Needs of the Organization/position –With easy internet access to information there is no excuse for not knowing a great deal about the company and the job for which you are interviewing. You need to research your potential employer and understand what they are about as an organization; their mission, values, customers, market, etc. Without that, you cannot match your strengths to their needs. You should strive to know the organization almost as well as the organization knows itself. And you need to know as much as possible about the specific position for which you are applying.

?2. Content.

?This is the information you will use to answer their questions and generally convey throughout the interview. This refers back to understanding yourself, but it is more than just understanding. You need to have specific experiences in mind that are concrete evidence of each strength you possess. If you are asked whether you are a competent leader you should have several specific examples that demonstrate your level of leadership competence. The same is true for any area you are asked about. How do you know what they will ask? If you have researched the organization and the position you will have some strong clues. And you should have multiple examples that represent each of your strengths/skills. You need to have evidence (examples) to answer all of the traditional interview questions about strengths, weaknesses and such. You cannot have too many good examples in your repertoire.

?3. Format.

?This refers to the format with which you will answer each question. You need to make sure you give complete answers that are clear and easily understood by the person interviewing you. I teach my clients a simple model that works well. Many people teach the Situation, Action, Result (SAR) model for presenting answers to questions; making sure to cover all three. But no matter what format you use it must cover what I call the three C’s – every answer must be clear, concise, and complete. It must be coherent and make sense to anyone hearing it for the first time.

?4. Mindset.

?I believe that mindset is perhaps the hardest area to master. Mindset here refers to several things. Obviously, you need to have your anxiety in check when you go for an interview. And you have to feel confident (doing your work on the first three areas will help tremendously with both your confidence and anxiety.)?But you also have to go into the interview with what I call the “conversation not interrogation” mindset. You need to see yourself as a professional who has something of value to offer to the organization. You are there to have a conversation/discussion between equals (you and the interviewer) to see if your strengths and their needs are a good fit. You are not arrogant, but you are confident and professional. You are making a decision about them as much as they are making a decision about you. Mindset is also the one area where even if you have great content in your interview, you won’t get the job if your mindset is wrong.

?That’s it! As with anything, performing well in a job interview takes focused preparation and effort… effort in of all four critical areas: Strengths and Needs, Content, Format, Mindset. If you prepare in all four, you will be able to demonstrate to prospective employers your full potential as their next great employee. And you will be able to judge whether they are a good fit for you.

Dr. Larry Pfaff is an educator, consultant, career and executive coach who has spent a lifetime helping people live more fulfilling lives. Learn more at www.dhirubhai.net/in/drlarrypfaff/ or www.pfaffconsulting.com or contact him at [email protected]

Copyright 2022 Lawrence A. Pfaff