Standing out in the interview process

You’ve made it to the interview stage! Congratulations!

But how can you maximise your chances of securing the job?

Here are 4 ways you can stand out in an interview process:

1. Have good questions and get good answers.

When asked if you have any questions, don’t be the candidate that says “no questions from me thanks, the questions I had have already been answered” Give me a break LOL! This may be true at times, but you spend more time at work than you do with loved ones so surely you would want to ask questions to find out more? ?

Be transparent with your questions.

Take time to think about what’s important to you. Culture, WLB, Route to C-Suite, Tech used, Training etc.

Prepare questions around these points.

Lastly don’t settle for a surface level answer. Organisations get away with MURDER at times here – I always challenge my clients to give in depth answers and sometimes even arrange separate chats so they can share more.

If you ask a question and get a basic or weak answer, you basically didn’t get an answer at all.

A good question that gets a clear and detailed answer is more helpful in helping you decide if this is the best opportunity for you.

Better data = Better Decision. But I didn’t have to tell you that, you know because you work in data ! lol.

Finally, good questions allow you to gather info on what is required and tailor your experience to emphasize what is most important to the business.

2. Know your WHY

Do companies care about your why? The answer is a big resounding YES!

If you can’t effectively articulate the 3 points below, you lose credibility which likely leads to you missing out on an offer:

1. Why are you leaving?
2. Why do you have interest in the product / service / industry?

This point must be backed up by evidence. HOW has this interest been played out in your career recently? This can include being a though leader in your space, contributing value in this area to your current business, attending relevant events etc.

3. Why this particular business?

Articulating your why is important. If you have the right skills but not a strong why you probably won’t be hired. This becomes more important as your seniority increases.

3. Send thank you notes.

Did you have a good interview with someone? Did you appreciate the information shared? Let them know! There is no harm in thanking a hiring manager after the fact, especially if you gained something from the conversation.

This also allows you to open up a communication line with a key industry stakeholder. Regardless of whether you’re hired for the role, interviews are a great place to network and build relationships that can be leveraged in the future.

I’ve seen thank you notes and gratitude be the difference between being hired or not. This is mainly true in super tight interview processes where it comes down to 2 candidates.

4. Be prepared

Finally – the most important point. Holistic preparation

No matter how well you do the first three, it won’t matter if you don’t have the skills to pay the bills and the ability to showcase that effectively.

Find out as much as you can about the interview process and what the business is looking for at each stage. Any recruiter worth their salt will carry out interview prep with you and this should be super helpful.

Then prepare, prepare, prepare.

Things to consider in your prep:

• Elevator pitch about your skillset and experience
• If there are case study interviews or similar, then prep for this – if you can prep with someone else then that’s ideal.
• Brush up on your technical skills / knowledge by reading and doing.

If you don’t want to put time in to prepare, then just pull out of the interview process. Because what’s the point. Unless you don’t mind waste your time.

There you have it – 4 points that can help as you go through the interview process.

Hope you find this helpful! If you think others can benefit from this, then feel free to share. This list is not exhaustive so feel free to comment any tips that are helpful.

All the best!?