Part of being in your 20s is undergoing the trial and error that leads you to a career you care about. Of course, with that comes countless job applications, rejection emails, some failed and some great interviews, and a desire to scream or maybe pull your hair out. The job market is a thankless and unkind place. It forces you to network, obsess over trivial details on your resume, and possibly rethink your whole life.
But, once you get the hang of it, the number of interview invitations you receive will inevitably rise. And—not to add more pressure to an already stressful activity—but the interview can be the crux of a company’s hiring process. You’ve already made it past the first step by having an eye-catching resume or cover letter. Now, you get to really shine, show off your personality, and for lack of a better word, tastefully brag about your accomplishments and experiences so far.
*Courtesy of Pinterest
Interview advice is truly not a one-size-fits-all. The students who procrastinated their way through college and came away with a great GPA (lucky them!)—yeah, those are the kinds of people who can now sit back, ooze confidence and charm, and come out of the interview with a job offer in hand, every time. But for the rest of us, it’s a little less effortless and a lot more high stakes.
For all the advice that is floating around on social media and the internet, we compiled a streamlined list of interview tips from business publications, career coaches, experts, and more! You got this.
1. Thoroughly Research The Company & Your Interviewers
This tip is on the top of the list for a reason. It’s tried and true—and probably what most people would direct you to do if you ask for advice.
Company
You’ll want to have a deeper understanding of the company’s values, culture, competitive landscape, projects, etc. aside from the information it readily presents to its audiences on its website or LinkedIn page.
Leverage your network to chat with current or former employees and gain a more nuanced explanation of current projects, goals, and skills that have made them successful at the company.
Know the company’s strong suits—for example, have they secured a new round of funding? Has one product or service performed exponentially better than another? This information will help you articulate to your interviewer that you know what makes the company special compared to others.
Look at the company’s social media and news articles they’ve been mentioned in, along with their website and LinkedIn, of course.
Interviewers
If you know who will be interviewing you ahead of time, look into their LinkedIn profiles and see what sparks your interest—whether it's something they’ve accomplished at the company so far or an impressive part of their background.
You can weave these findings into your questions at the end, to build rapport and exhibit genuine interest in people you could potentially work with.
2. Make a List of Common Job Interview Questions and Practice Them
Yes, the dreaded ‘tell me about yourself’ question will probably be on there.
Harvard Business Review has a list of 10 typical questions you can prepare for, along with answering techniques.
Don’t forget about situational, skills-based, behavioral, and technical questions to prepare for. As much as the interviewers care about your personality and work ethic, they also need to know that you could confidently execute any project or task related to your role.
These are designed to test your knowledge and skills related to the technical part of the role.
There are plenty of specific technical questions for different roles on the internet, yet a good alternative is using ChatGPT or another A.I. tool. If you plug in the job description, it will generate a list of questions, specific to the skills and experiences a candidate would need for the role.
Regardless, you should have a few examples of projects you’ve worked on, software, skills, or platforms you’ve learned, and anything else that demonstrates your knowledge, adjacent to the role, in your back pocket.
Finally, a lot of career coaches and experts recommend you practice utilizing the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method to address behavioral questions in an interview.
4. Prepare a Thoughtful List of Questions to Ask at the end of the Interview
You know you’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel when your interviewer gives you an opening to ask questions. You’re now at the point where you’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you. Try to refrain from asking the common ‘What does a typical day in life look like here?’ or ‘Tell me about the company culture’ and so forth. These questions are fine, but this is an opportunity to probe deeper and gather valuable insights that you didn't learn from your initial research. Remember, your interview isn’t over when the spotlight is off you and on your interviewers. The questions you ask are indicative of your genuine interest and curiosity about the company’s needs and how you can serve them.
Example questions:
What types of skills is the team missing that you’re looking to fill with a new hire?
What are the biggest challenges your team is facing right now that you’re hoping a new hire will come in and address?
What would your customers say about your company?
What do you think people like the most about working in this organization?
5. Ask some People you Admire for Advice
Do you have a relative, friend, or former colleague that you really admire? You’ll be surprised at how many interview tricks people have up their sleeves, especially seasoned professionals who have been through countless interviews over the course of their careers. Pick a couple of people (not too many) and ask them how they feel confident and what tools they’ve used to prepare for crucial interviews. The internet is a bottomless resource; but there’s comfort in talking to people about the lessons, takeaways, and tips they have from an experience you’re about to go through.
3. Be confident. Don’t be Afraid to Stop and Think about an Answer to a Question
As much as we try to avoid it, we will inevitably get tripped up on an interview question. It may be something we didn’t prepare for or something we’re inexperienced in and therefore don’t have an answer to. When this occurs, remain calm, professional, and confident. Ask your interviewer to repeat the question and take a moment to pause and gather your thoughts.
If you don’t have a proper answer—that’s okay! Be honest and express a willingness to learn what you don’t know. It's not too late, however, to salvage an answer to the question. Although you don’t have direct experience in that one area, pivot, and tell them about an adjacent project or skill you have, that would make you successful in that unknown area, when you start to learn it.
6. Don’t Overwork Yourself. Give Yourself Grace over the Outcome
When the night before the interview rolls around, put down the flashcards and allow yourself time to rest. It’s not a test where you’re absorbing and applying new knowledge; you already have a wealth of real-life examples and experiences to pull from. If you over-rehearse your answers, you’ll find it more difficult to pivot or think of different things on the spot if necessary.
After the interview takes place, we usually fall into two categories:
I crushed it!
It went poorly ):
If you fall into the latter group, be kind to yourself and do your best to maintain a positive attitude. It doesn’t mean you've blown your shot. While you’re thinking about how much you stumbled, your interviewer may be reflecting on your eagerness, and enthusiastic desire to learn the things you don’t have experience in. In the end, even if the outcome is a rejection, every interview is a lesson, a practice to become more confident and lead you to the right opportunity that will eventually come your way.
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