1. KNOW YOUR RESUME
2. BUILD YOUR NARRATIVE – TELL A CAPTIVATING STORY
3. EFFECTIVE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
4. CLARIFY QUESTIONS
5. SHOWCASE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPANY AND INTERVIEWER(S)

Interviewing for a new job is imperfect. Chemistry with the hiring manager or hiring committee is hit or miss and your ability to connect with potential future coworkers could make or break an official offer. Make sure you have the skills below in your arsenal to take on any interview with confidence. Good luck!

Know Your Resume

Knowing your resume goes beyond the bullet points and statistics. Relate your experiences and responsibilities to the role you are interviewing for. It sounds like common sense, but being able to draw on key talking points without hesitation shows preparedness and enthusiasm. I do not mean memorizing and listing off specific numbers about how many clicks you got on a marketing email. Have ideas ready that showcase your ability to think critically about your current and previous roles. A statistic here and there will help quantify your/your team’s accomplishments.

For example, it is more compelling to discuss that you have, “grown your company’s client base from 40 to 170 customers in the last three months” as opposed to, “I contributed to the growth of our company’s client base.”

Well-placed, relevant statistics provide insight and depth to what you do and how you perform.

Build Your Narrative

Almost every interview starts with a somewhat informal background pitch. Take these initial minutes to introduce your personality and why it’s important to interview at the company and for the specific role.

Your application materials (resume, cover letter, additional documents, personal information) will connect some dots for employers. There is a lot to learn about people based on where they live, where they have worked, and what their interests are. If you have less than this on your resume, learn about Writing A Resume.

However, part of an initial interview is learning about a candidates motivation and interest in the job and the industry as a whole. This is where you can tie your story together for the hiring team.

Make sure to:

1. Apply past experiences to the responsibilities of the new position and the mission of the company.
2. Talk about what you want to accomplish if selected for this position
3. Talk about your 5-10 year goals and how this role prepares you for them

Effective Nonverbal Communication

Acknowledge all of the interviewers. Especially in a virtual interview, make sure your eye contact is consistent and your posture is tall and energetic. Nonverbal communication can be subtle but people naturally pick up on small signals that portray confidence, excitement, and curiosity, aka “wanting to be there.” Keep calm hands placed in your lap. React as you normally would if interested, confused, or emotional in any way. Be honest. Be yourself.

I rarely discuss what not to do. However, think of body language and nonverbal communication as what comes naturally to you as an upbeat, prepared, and interested candidate. What not to do: slouch, appear bored or tired, avoid eye contact, ignore a question, react negatively to feedback. For example, do not shrug things off or roll your eyes.

Clarify Questions – As Many Times as You Need

I cannot stress this enough. It took me years to find a level of comfort that allowed me to ask for a rephrase of a question or confirm what the question was asking It doesn’t show lack of intelligence, it might actually give the interviewer(s) a chance to hear how you think about your current work.

Rephrasing the question or even answering the question with a question will give the interviewer(s) more to talk about and give you a chance to form your answer. When you engage in this manner, it turns the Q&A feeling of the interview into more of a conversation.

For example: “Can you contextualize your involvement with your firm’s previous campaign and discuss its results in contributing to your team’s future goals?”

Clarification: “Yes, that is a great question. What specific responsibilities as part of the larger campaign picture are you most interested in?” Following your answer feel free to ask about their job in relation to their team’s projects.

Do not be afraid to clarify! It build rapport with the hiring team and shows your immediate comfort with them.

Showcase Your Knowledge of the Company and Interviewer(s)

Find out as much as you can about the company and the purpose of the role within the company as a whole. If you are interviewing for a sales position, discuss the target audience and have points ready about how you have engaged with that population previously and in what context.

Solar is extremely popular right now. If you want to sell solar panels, what can you learn about the benefits of the product FOR the PEOPLE you would be selling them to. You don’t need to sell the product to the team that already sells them. Why should a homeowner between the ages of 25-75 be interested in buying solar? What are the short term and long term benefits and when have you pitched to that grouping of people?

College athletics is another fun example. I used to work in college athletics. If you are interviewing for a coaching, academic support, or operations role, what is your experience in player development, tutoring/career readiness, or events organization? Have you worked with students or athletes in high school or professionally? If you haven’t worked at the college level, what skills and knowledge translates? Where will you experience growth?

Do not be afraid to say “I don’t know.” This answer should be infrequent but you can only learn so much from a website and following companies and its employees on social media.

Study up and good luck!

Questions or comments? Please send them to practiceoptimism247@gmail.com