Our Ultimate Interview Prep Guide
Preparing for an interview can certainly cause a case of the nerves for even experienced folks! A round-up of our interview advice is below. If you prefer to listen to us chat about this, you can also download our Ace the Interview podcast here!
The Basics
Be sure you’ve got the correct time and location for your interview. If it’s in person, make sure you’ve mapped out the route and leave enough buffer time that you can arrive 10-15 minutes early. If your interview is taking place online, make sure you’ve tested the video-conferencing software that will be used, and try out a test meeting. You can do that with Zoom here and find instructions on how to test your MS Teams here.
Make sure you’ve got a private space to conduct the virtual interview, where you won’t be interrupted or have other folks wander through the background accidentally. If it’s on the phone, make sure you have solid cell reception. And finally, always you’ve got a notebook handy, as well as a copy of your resume - if you get nervous and totally blank, it can give you something to refer to.
Prepare for Common Questions
Next, you can prepare for a few common questions!
Start by researching the company and role:
What is their mission? This can usually be found on their corporate website, or “about us” page.
What are their values? What causes do they support as a company?
What can you find out about the role? This may be available online, but also suggest trying to connect with folks who currently or have previously worked in the organization to get the inside scoop.
Once you’ve done your homework, take some time to jot down your answers to common questions, like:
Tell us about yourself!
The interviewers are not looking for you to share that you are single or that you have pets (I know…sounds ridiculous? Not so much, it’s happened to us as hiring managers!). Stay away from inappropriate personal information, and make this a SHORT description of your experience. Think of it as an elevator pitch, that you could get through in no more than a few minutes. Walk through the highlights of your past experiences at a high level, and share what your key strengths and skills are.
Why are you interested in this role?
While the reality may be that you hate your boss in your current job, or want the benefits that they are offering at this new company, it’s best not to lead with that! Think about how you could make an impact in the role, and how it aligns with your personal development goals. This gives you an opportunity to show that you’ve done your homework into the role, and are clear on your fit for the position.
What interests you about this company?
Again, this is a great opportunity to talk about the research you’ve done. Here, talk about how the organization aligns with your values, why you are interested in supporting their mission, or your interest in similar social causes to the ones they support.
Prepare for the Tougher Questions
If it’s not offered to you, make sure you ask what type of interview to expect so that you can prepare! Is it a technical interview, a get-to-know you chat with the hiring manager, a behavioural interview, or a short phone interview with the recruiter? It’s important to know what you are walking into, so if the company doesn't offer any indication of what you’re in for, ask them! It can be as simple as: “What type of interview should I expect and who will I be meeting with, so I can be sure I’m prepared?”
Once you have an idea of what you are in for, here are our tips to prepare for each situation.
Testing
We’ve seen most of this move online, so you might be able to choose when and where you complete the testing. Rather than rushing to complete pre-hire testing the minute you get an email from a recruiter, make sure you are set up for success. Head to a quiet area, when you have ample time and won’t be interrupted. It should go without saying, but if you are asked to complete testing online, make sure that it’s you doing the testing. Deceiving folks during the hiring process never, ever ends well.
Technical Interview
Sometimes interviews will have written or verbal technical interviews to ensure you have the right experience. To get some ideas about what might be asked, review the job posting for clues. If they mention required or “nice to have” experience with certain technologies, engineering principles, or software, be sure you are prepared to answer questions about this.
Behavioural Interview
You can’t know the exact questions that you’ll be asked in an interview unless it’s shared by the employer (which some employers do!), so we recommend that you think about 3-5 past projects that really highlight your strengths, and the impact you’ve had in previous roles. Use the STAR method to write out key highlights from the project - focus on highlighting the specific situation, task, action, and result. No matter what is asked, you can draw on this handful of key experiences of your best work.
The “Meet and Greet”
We’ve personally experienced, and had our clients experience walking into what they were told would be a meet and greet, only to have it turn into a full on technical or behavioural interview. No, it’s not fair, but we say it’s always wise to err on the side of preparation and confidence. Be prepared with your 3-5 great projects, a knowledge of the role and company, EVEN if you are told the experience will be informal.
Prepare YOUR questions about the role, company, and hiring process
While you want to impress the hiring panel, you also need to take this opportunity to answer your burning questions about the role and decide if the role and company culture are the right fit for you. Jot down some of your key questions in the notebook you’ll bring along to the interview: Some ideas to get you started:
What are the next steps in the process?
What does the onboarding process or plan look like for this role?
What deliverables will this role be required to achieve within the first three months?
How do you measure success of your employees?
What is your culture around coaching and giving feedback?
To read more about how to make interviewing a two way street, check out this HBR Article!
Practice, practice, practice.
Writing down your key achievements is one thing. Discussing them out loud, with another person present, is a whole different story. Ask someone you trust to ask you some of the basic interview questions outlined above (why do you want the job, tell me about yourself, etc), as well as a handful of technical or behavioural interview questions you anticipate might come up. Some of the most commonly used questions can be found with a quick google search, like this article from the muse: https://www.themuse.com/advice/interview-questions-and-answers
Get them to ask you the questions, and practice answering them as though this was the real thing. Ask them to give you honest feedback about how you communicated your answers. Repeat the process, trying to incorporate their feedback!
If you want to really feel prepared and confident going into an important interview, we offer interview preparation services here at Accelerate Transformation. An experienced HR pro to not only prepare you for your next interview and give you feedback to improve, but also give you advice and practice questions that you can use for your future interviews! We’d love to help, and know we can turn even the most nervous folks into interview rock stars.