Prepare for the Interview

Nice job...you have secured an interview! Now what? Well now it is time to prepare for it and really set yourself apart from the other candidates. Your task in the interview is to define why you should be the person they hire.

Study: When I was hunting for my job recently I noticed that I had some down time periodically where there wasn't much more I could do that day in terms of finding positions to apply for. So I decided to make use of my time by studying some of the deep technical questions that often get asked in the interview. I noticed that in a couple of the positions I did not get that I was not providing sufficient answers to specific questions that get asked nearly every interview. So I studied more thoroughly the material and rehearsed a memorized answer to the questions. When the next interview came, I delivered my rehearsed answer to the full satisfaction of the interviewer and later obtained the job.

Pretend you are the Interviewer: Take a moment and write out what questions you would ask someone interviewing for this position. Who would you want to hire? What type of personality would interest you? If you have interviewed for this type of role in the past, then you probably have a good idea of what will be asked. Have rehearsed answers prepared for these questions.

Pick Low Hanging Fruit: There are a few questions that will be asked every time on an interview that are often missed opportunities. First question is almost always something like "Tell me about your background". You can respond with, "There are 4 things you should know about my background" and then list them out with some short examples. Some other questions that often get asked are "What are you really good at as it relates to this position?", "Where do you feel like you could improve in your skills?", "On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate your skills on ...?" These are not technical questions and clearly ones that you can prepare answers for ahead of time.

Bring back up:A picture is worth a thousand words and depending on what position you are applying for bringing examples of past work can be a real difference maker. Be careful not to bring anything that would be considered confidential to your prior employer, but bring good examples of what you have done. For example, if you have authored best practices relating to a certain field, bring a copy of it. If you are a programmer, bring examples of your code to the interview. You can write some position papers regarding your philosophy on how to best do a type of work or skill and bring those. If you can come armed with backup information, it lends credibility to you and can serve as a springboard for good positive discussion.

Your turn for questions: You should prepare at least a couple of questions no matter what. For example, "what is the most important attribute you are looking for in filling this position?", "what keeps you awake at night about this position not being filled?", "how is your employee turnover rate and what do you like best about working here?" Don't forget that while they are interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. You have to decide if this is a place where you can flourish, if you want to work for this person, if the company is stable and how important this position is to the company long term.

If you want it, tell them: As you finish up the interview, and you decide you want the position, let the interviewer know. Express gratitude for the opportunity and let them know you enjoyed visiting with them and are confident you can make a great contribution to their team.

The interview is really where you put on your salesman hat. You are literally making a sales presentation about your skills, background, integrity and ability to perform this position better than their other candidates. This is sometimes counter-intuitive to members of the church who are taught to be humble and make light of their accomplishments. You must find that fine line between confidence, capability and humility and be able to land the job. If you are too humble you may seem unsure of yourself when managers want employees who are confident and stable in their abilities. Pray for strength, prepare yourself for the interview and trust that the Lord has plans for you.