My 3? Favorite and Useful Interview Tips
Today, I asked my Manager, Suma, for the top three things she sees people struggling with when she runs our interview coaching program.
Here was her response:
1? Some people make the mistake of thinking they can "wing" their interview.
They do not rehearse their responses as much as they should.
If you’d like to rehearse your interview questions, I recommend Googling two things:
?? Commonly asked interview questions.
?? Commonly asked interview questions for your role/industry.
Then, prepare a sample, 60-second (five-sentence) answer for each question. Ideally, your answer should be based on an achievement that relates to the job you're interviewing for.
For example, if asked "what’s your biggest strength," a good, accomplishment-based response would look like this:
I would say my biggest strength is my ability to engage my team. After being promoted, as I began delegating tasks, I started to feel that my teammates were becoming less engaged with their work. Although our team communicated mostly virtually, because I was responsible for team engagement, I hosted the first-ever offline meeting for our entire department. This meeting led to several important changes being discussed and implemented, such as new training initiatives. As a result, team engagement improved dramatically.
2? Some people get so excited about a question that they try to cram as much information as possible into their response.
Don’t make the mistake of rambling. Aggressively cut yourself off at the five-sentence mark. If, during the interview, you feel you’re short-selling yourself, close your answer with "I can tell you more if you want?"
This makes the interview more conversational and will improve your likability. Again, however, keep your follow up response to five sentences or shorter.
3? Some folks start using self-descriptors in their interview responses.
For example, to "what's your biggest strength," instead of giving a response like the one in italics above, saying something like:
I have always found that I'm a very engaging team leader. I'm passionate, I'm dedicated about my team, and I love solving their problems.
Instead of telling your interviewer that you’re a great leader, use the five-sentence model to show them that you are.
? Are there any particular interview questions that you struggle with? Let me know in the comments.