Valiant: Interview Preparation

Research tells us that, on the whole, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Right on its heels, however, is probably interviewing for a job.

Sweaty hands. Quivering voice. Dry mouth. Mind…goes..blank.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With proper preparation, you can walk into your next interview confident, calm and collected. You can keep your wits about you, intelligently discuss the unique skills you bring to the table, and leave your interviewer wowed. You might even enjoy the experience!

It’s easier than you think. Research the company. Find out about your interviewer’s role and background. Consider common interview questions, write out your responses, and practice saying your answers out loud. Sometimes it helps to think about it from the other side of the table. Your interviewer wants to hire someone who can do the job and be a culture fit.

Are you easy to have a conversation with? Are you impressive yet approachable? Are you candid, yet upbeat with your answers? Would they eagerly introduce you to their boss?

Remember, a good resume or referral gets you the interview. But a good interview gets you the job.

Here are 10 ways to prepare for the most common types of interview questions: 

  1. Autobiographical: “Tell me about yourself.” “What’s your story?” Autobiographical questions are typically open-ended and are prime opportunities to give your unique value proposition and story. Prepare a response of 2-3 minutes that explains your values, purpose, career trajectory, highlights of your most important accomplishments and vision for the future.

  2. Full Disclosure: “Why did you leave your last job?” “What didn’t you like about your previous position?” It’s easy to trend negatively when answering full disclosure-type questions. Don’t fall into that trap. Focus less on the boss or coworkers you didn’t enjoy working with and more on unemotional reasons like the lack of advancement opportunities or business challenges you faced. Be positive, upbeat, and succinct. Then move on.

  3. Success: “How do you measure success?” “What does success mean to you?” Success oriented questions provide an opportunity to give your interviewer insight into your work ethic, goals, and personality. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll have a sense of whether the company’s mission statement focuses more on the bottom line, social impact, client success, innovation, etc. Show how your personal view of success aligns with the company’s view of success.

  4. Motivation: “Why do you want this job?” “What was it about this role that appealed to you?” Prepare 3 reasons why this is the next best step for you along your career journey and long-term career. Spend 1-2 minutes max on the highlights of your passion for the industry, the role, and the clients. Most importantly, you want to explain WHY you are interested or passionate- instead of just saying it. Speak highly of the company, its talent, and its future opportunity and growth. If you’ve read articles or news stories about the company’s direction (*ahem, you should have) mention specifics that show your interviewer depth and preparation.

  5. Strengths: “What are three strengths you bring to the table?” Time to bring out the metaphorical big guns. Strength-related questions are your opportunity to shine, using personal examples of your skills with associated results. Since you’ve carefully studied the job requirements, you should be able to select the examples that have the highest correlation to the desired position.

  6. Weaknesses: “What’s your greatest weakness?” “What skills do you need to work on developing more?” Stick to weaknesses that aren’t critical to the job in question, or tell a story about how you took a weakness and improved upon it. The key is to turn a negative into a positive, but still answer genuinely.

  7. Pressure Test: “How do you handle pressure?” “What do you do when you’re stressed?” Questions about how you deal with stressful situations lend themselves well to storytelling. Give examples of high-pressure professional situations and actions you took to stay cool as a cucumber (e.g. “When I’m up against a hard deadline, I do some of my most creative work.”) You can also add color to your answers with personal anecdotes that show your ability to manage life’s stresses so you can stay on top of your game at work (e.g., “The more stress at work, the more my gym membership actually gets used.”)

  8. ‘Why You’: “Why should we hire you?” “What are 3 reasons why – out of everyone we’re interviewing – you’re the best fit for this role?” Try taking a formulaic approach that shows you prepared for your interview. Highlight the most important qualities of skills from the job description and talk about how you demonstrate each. Reiterate what the employer is looking for and how you uniquely fill their needs. The key is to keep the focus on the employer, not why you need the job.

  9. ‘Tell Me About A Time’: “Give me an example of a goal you set and how you achieved it.” “Tell me about a time you showed innovation.” Behavioral interview questions are popular for employers because they use past behavior to predict future performance. Be prepared with 5-10 STAR experiences you’re most proud of and demonstrate each of the strengths you’ve highlighted in earlier responses. Focus on your ability to trouble-shoot problems, think outside the job, and bring innovation to your work. Be specific. Be succinct. Be proud of what you accomplished.

  10. Challenges: “How do you handle challenges at work?” “What do you do when something goes wrong?” This is another chance to turn a negative into a positive. Focus on challenges that were initially outside your control (e.g., “My supplier delivered three days late.”) Then showcase your ability to roll with the punches and adjust to deliver a superior work product. Try breaking down your answer into the STAR method:

    1. Situation (Set the scene and describe necessary details of your example)

    2. Task (Your responsibility in the situation)

    3. Action (The steps you took to address it)

    4. Results (Outcomes your action achieved)

 

Lastly, you should always have a chance to ask your own interview questions at the end of your interview. It may be tempting to relax here but this is a great opportunity to shine – the questions you ask will leave a lasting impression on your interviewer.

Remember these tips for a great change to show your engagement in the conversation: 

Prepare 5 prioritized questions that will demonstrate your curiosity about the culture, future growth in the role, and the company as a whole.

  1. Demonstrate Preparation: Avoid basic questions that could have been answered if you looked at the company’s website. Asking something like, “Do you have offices overseas?” will send up red flags for your interviewer if they clearly list locations on their website.

  2. Don’t Ask Salary or Benefits Questions: Compensation and employee benefits are important, but they should be reserved for the negotiation phase after you’ve received a job offer.

  3. Request Success Stories: Ask for examples of employees who have been successful in this role and why. What made them stand out as top performers? What did they like about managing them?

  4. Be Forward Looking: Consider asking how the interviewer has seen the role evolve in the past, and how he or she expects it to continue evolving in the future. Will priorities likely change for this role? How?

  5. Seek Clarification: If anything confused you during the interview, now is a great time to ask for clarification (e.g., “You mentioned earlier that the new corporate accounting system has made things more challenging. Could you tell me more about that?”)