Want To Stand Out From The Crowd In A Job Interview?

In this week's newsletter, I'm going to talk about a three-step preparation strategy that will help you stand out from the crowd when you go for a job interview.

1. Know Yourself And Your Abilities

It should be obvious that you have to know what you're capable of, right? You'd be surprised how many people don't even know what's on their resume. When an interviewer asks you a question about your skill set, job experience or specific tasks you've performed, you need to know what they're referencing. If you have to ask them for context, chances are you dropped to the bottom of the candidate list. One of the best ways to make sure you're prepared is to spend some time, ideally a few days before your interview, to:

Review the resume you sent when you applied for the job.

If you've been taking my advice or the advice of other career professionals, you probably have at least 2 or 3 versions of your resume that highlight different skills and experience. Make sure that you review the one you sent for this application, especially if you've used an AI tool or a professional resume writer to help you create it. Sitting in front of an interviewer and not knowing what they're referencing when they ask a question about something on your resume, is one of the most embarrassing things you can have happen and it's completely avoidable with some preparation. Spend the time reviewing your resume as often as it takes to know and understand everything on it.

For each skill you’ve highlighted, answer the following questions:

What is your level of competence with this skill?

·?????Junior

·?????Intermediate

·?????Senior

·?????Expert

How often do I use this skill?

·?????Daily

·?????Weekly

·?????Monthly

·?????I don’t use it very often.

What is a time I used this skill successfully?

·?????Write down 2-3 examples of when you used this skill to accomplish a task. Use full sentences and then read each example out loud.

Review your cover letter.

If you sent a cover letter with your resume and application, read it several times, and compare it with your resume. If any skills or responsibilities are referenced that are not on your resume, perform the same exercise for each one that you did for skills on your resume. (#1 above)

Review your experience.

Finally, go back to your resume and review the Experience section. Make sure you know the job titles and when you worked at each of the jobs listed. If you get that wrong during the interview, it calls into question everything else on your resume.

2. Know The Company You're Interviewing At As Well As Possible

This is where some of the steps I outlined in the last edition of this newsletter come into action.

Research the company.

Open a web browser and in separate tabs, navigate to the company:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Threads

Spend time learning as much as possible about the company and answer the following questions.

What role did you apply for?

Who is the interviewer?

What does the company do?

How many people work there?

What is the dress code?

Who are their clients??

What are the company values?

Write out the answers to the questions above and review them several times so you know what they do, who they do it for and why they do it in the first place.

When an interviewer asks you. "Do you know what we do around here?" You'll be one of the few people that can actually tell them.

3. Know Why You Are The Best Fit For The Job

Now that you know everything you are capable of and you know what the company does, you need to consider how your skills and experience will help you succeed in a new role. To help you with this answer the following questions.

What can you bring to the role that is unique and valuable?

Why do you want to work there?

Why should they hire you?

What makes you a better choice than the other candidates?

What do you envision your responsibilities will be at this job?

How will those responsibilities change in the following 6 months, 2 years and 5 years?

There will be significant overlap in some of the above questions but you will encounter questions like these when you go for an interview. If you can answer these questions, you'll be able to impress the interviewer.

Summary

Although nothing's guaranteed and competition is high, if you follow the steps outlined in this article and put in the time and energy you need in order to be fully prepared, you'll stand out from the rest of the applicants. I know it all sounds like a lot of work but it will all be worth it when you get that call saying they want to offer you the job.

To help guide you through the process, I'll provide a link to a worksheet you can use. I'll add the link to it in the comments once it's available. As always, please feel free to reach out to me and book a free 15-minute consultation if you need any assistance or just have a few questions.