What are your top 3 interview tips?

[EZETHATSME]

Next week I'm flying to LA to interview for a move up with my current employer.

What are your top 3 interview tips that have worked for you or you've seen in people you've interviewed?

I'll be interviewing with at least 4 different people, my first time to go through that format.

 

[VinnyMac]

Not in ranked order:

1) Know more than the average person does about the company, and have general info' about the position...comes in handy for 2 and 3.

2) Have a list of relevant questions ready. If you need to literally bring a list, then bring a list (and other notes). Don't just ask silly little questions. Ask questions that come from actually thinking about the job. When I've had interviews, I've thought of them as me interviewing the company as much as them interviewing me. IMO, no one's below or above the other person. That leads to #3

3) Be friendly, confident and engaging. Be LIKEABLE. Let the conversation flow. Don't just sit and wait for them to ask questions. Ask about their role(s) with the company. Throw in a few appropriate stories and jokes. Interviews always go well when it feels like you're a group of people who are chatting rather than an interviewer talking to an applicant.

Bottom line: Seem genuinely interested. It's not enough to be interested. Show them that you're interested. Unless the company interviews practically anyone, they already have an idea of what your skills are. You have to win them over with your presentation and personality.

 

[jbarwick]

I ask about projects this position may work on then usually there is a little nugget of gold in there that you can talk about from a previous position. This is the whole "showing value" you can bring to the job.

And as Vinny said, be likable. It is noted that sometimes the interviewer knows within 90 seconds whether they will hire you or not. If you are in a room and the interviewer enters get up and shake their hand then make some small talk. Since you are travelling there is that aspect you briefly touch on then parle it into something for them to answer.

Piggy backing off Vinny again, knowing the company extremely well is your best bet. Ask how something in the media may have affected this group and what they have done about it. If the CEO asked for your opinion on something what would you say?

You can also look on Glassdoor to see if someone mentions questions from an interview they did for that current position. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

 

[VinnyMac]

I ask about projects this position may work on then usually there is a little nugget of gold in there that you can talk about from a previous position. This is the whole "showing value" you can bring to the job.

And as Vinny said, be likable. It is noted that sometimes the interviewer knows within 90 seconds whether they will hire you or not. If you are in a room and the interviewer enters get up and shake their hand then make some small talk. Since you are travelling there is that aspect you briefly touch on then parle it into something for them to answer.

Piggy backing off Vinny again, knowing the company extremely well is your best bet. Ask how something in the media may have affected this group and what they have done about it. If the CEO asked for your opinion on something what would you say?

You can also look on Glassdoor to see if someone mentions questions from an interview they did for that current position. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

+1 on Glassdoor

While you're at it, look up the salary info and some of the most recent reviews (if available, those in your area). You won't realize just how true those reviews and interview experiences are until after you've been through them, but sometimes, there's a key piece of info that you can use (panel vs. 1 on 1, roleplay, etc).

 

[globetrotter]

1. prepare about 10 times as much as you think you should prepare. prepare dozens, if not hundreds, of possible questions that they might ask and how you would answer. but here is how you do that - first you think of what they need to know about you for you to be the perfect fit for the job. think of stories that you can tell that will illustrate how well you fit the job. then think of what type of questions could trigger those stories, and put together lists of possible questions, how you would answer them in a way that would allow you, in a reasonable way, to trigger the stories that will deliver the information that you feel is relevant for them to know to understand that you are perfect for the job.

2. have material - 5 or more copies of your cv, a list of questions, a pad, a couple of pens. have about 10 good questions, one very good one is what people like about that office/department/boss.

3. be positive, maybe cautiously optimistic, not a slavering idiot, but make it clear that you want the job

4. be prepared physically - get a good nights sleep, check the place out to know exactly how to get there, clean white shirt, simple dark suit, a couple of pens in your pocket, have a solid but not too filling breakfast, get a haircut 5 days beforehand.


good luck

 

[woodywoodford]

1. Confidence - my boss put it best when we just discussed our new hire. Candidate A was fantastic, but "would she be able to look you in the eye and discuss either her or your own shortcomings?". No, she wouldn't - she had a hard time looking us in the eye during the interview. She didn't get the job. Another candidate was incredibly sheepish, no smiles, just very shy and uncomfortable - also didn't get it. The guy who did was arguably less qualified than both of them, but much more confident. 90% of interviewing is determining if you'd be a fit for the team after all.

2. Know exactly what the job involves, requires, leads to, etc. You don't need to go out of your way to talk about it, but it'll be very apparent in the interview if you're interviewing for "the" job versus "a" job. Huge bonus points if you can demonstrate that you're extremely excited and passionate about the opportunity.

3. QUESTIONS!!! A decent interviewer will have covered virtually all the bases, so it's not uncommon for your 5-6 prepared questions to have already been answered. If, after they've done their thing and open the floor up to you, you can get a good 15 minutes of discussion going, that'll do wonders for your chances. I have a spreadsheet of around 50 questions i can use. It could be anything: "what's the training process like", "what's a day in the life", "what would be expected of me in 6 months? a year?", "do you have an ideal career path for this position?", "what kind of professional development opportunities would I be offered here?", or my favorite: "what would your customers say you do better than the competition?"

4. Prepare a list of the questions you think they'll ask you, and make point form responses to each one. Memorize these. I stress point form so you don't just memorize it, but instead learn all the things you want to say. Practice them out loud. Realistically you won't be asked most of what you prepare, and you'll forget half your responses, but trust me - they'll no when you at least have part of a response prepared. Lots of questions, you can divert them and deliver your prepared response anyway. I also have a spreadsheet of this, and I revise it before every interview, and add any new questions to it after every interview. Everybody gets that "damn! I should have said this...", this is a way to use that to your advantage.

5. Hype yourself up about the employer and opportunity - it'll show!

6. My personal favorite - send each interviewer a very brief email thank you note. I generally touch on a couple points from the interview that got me excited, or elaborate on something that I may not have conveyed as good as I wanted to. Just a quick 3 or 4 line note is all. And do it the next day, or that day at bedtime - show them that you had time to stop and let it all sink in, not that the email was sitting open on your laptop just waiting to hit send when you got back.

7. And more than anything else - DON'T give notice until you've got a written, signed offer!

 

[globetrotter]

one other thing - be prepared with details to show how you did things. if you say that you were responsible for X project, be prepared to walk through every element of that project and explain how you did it, even if you talk about things that people who report to you did, under your direction and coaching

 

[EZETHATSME]

Thank you, each of you have replied! Great information, really appreciate you taking the time to share.

I have taken note of the many good ideas, and am busting my rear to be prepared in every way. The opportunity is a great one to take a fairly sizable leap in my career (hotel management with a large multinational company) and I'm excited about the chance to interview at the property.

I didn't mention previously that I interviewed over the phone and it went well, thus they are flying me down.

Thanks again for the advice, will keep you all posted!

 

[Medwed]

If you interview in US the most important thing is to be smiley, friendly, accommodating, polite and sincere when lying. What makes one candidate win over US middle-managers is "personality". People with the best exterior always get the offer, it helps if you are good looking but humble.
This is not a joke, your skills and exp. don't matter if they don't think you are friendly.

 

[dixon65]

These are excellent tips from you guys. But for me, before I get interviewed, concentrate on myself and during the meeting, I am me in there, no pretenses. What they see is who they are going to do with, if they do choose to seek the services of me. That performs for me so well.

 

[VinnyMac]

These are excellent tips from you guys. But for me, before I get interviewed, concentrate on myself and during the meeting, I am me in there, no pretenses. What they see is who they are going to do with, if they do choose to seek the services of me. That performs for me so well.

I hear you, but "be yourself" is terrible advice for most situations IMO. Most of the time, you should be whatever you have to be to get what you want. If I have to change my act, then that's what I'll do. I'm not as wide-eyed as you are. Other people have resources. You want them. Figure out a way to get them (legally).

 

[akatsuki]



These are excellent tips from you guys. But for me, before I get interviewed, concentrate on myself and during the meeting, I am me in there, no pretenses. What they see is who they are going to do with, if they do choose to seek the services of me. That performs for me so well.

I see a guy like that and I think "this is someone who can't even play the game for an hour interview..." I don't care whether you can't be bothered or think it is beneath you or are just low EQ, it doesn't matter to me, it just makes me go on to the next candidate.

 

[globetrotter]



I see a guy like that and I think "this is someone who can't even play the game for an hour interview..." I don't care whether you can't be bothered or think it is beneath you or are just low EQ, it doesn't matter to me, it just makes me go on to the next candidate.

+1.

my damn bum of a sister is like this, the long term unemployed one.

 

[OJKD]

If OPs case, they´ll already know who you are, and what you have done in the past. They should, at least. You have to convince them that you are able to do your new job just as well. Most people perform great in one type of positions, very few master all. I am sure you can pretend your way into the new position, but you should focus on the opposite. Is the job right for you? If it is, you are right for the job. What makes you great? Don´t pretend to be someone you are not, because no matter how good you are at pretending, you will always be best at yourself.

This worked for me, and it works for my friends, who I help with getting jobs:

1. Want it, it shows.
2. Be honest, to yourself and your employer
3. Smile

I hate the word prepare. It´s a negative word for me. Why should you have to prepare to be yourself? You have never been anyone else (true for most of us at least). Learn about the company, or the department. There are such a thing as stupid questions. With the information you have, ask the questions you want to get answers to. I´ve heard the line "Have some smart questions prepared". Well, of course your questions are smart, why would you ask stupid ones? Don´t ask questions for the sake of asking. Ask what you want to know.

There are a lot of "taboo" questions, like salary, benefits, vacations etc. There are people who think asking those questions shows that you are more interested in those things.

Any serious employer should value those questions. Of course salary is important. It pays your bills, feeds you family and benefits keep you healthy. We work to get paid, not because we like it.

To win, you have to be ahead of your competition.

Think of your job as your wife. Some random person, would ask "Are you OK?". Good, he/she are able to see that something might be wrong. You, on the other hand, know that something is wrong, and skip that part. You also know she had lunch with your mother. You smile, and say "Here, have some wine".

In business terms, the random person researched the need for improvement. You went right ahead and solved the problem. Knowledge and experience.

 

[Jerome]

1) Don't talk too much
2) be precise and on-point in your answers
3) don't symphatise overly much with the interviewer

Note: those tips are streamlined to fit my character....