Nailing the Interview

So, you have landed the interview for your dream job, congratulations! Here is my advice for nailing the interview and getting that job offer, broken into two major sections. The first being the Technical Portion and the second being the Behavioral portion of the interview.

The Technical Portion

While daunting at first, the technical/skills assessment of any interview is usually fairly cut and dry. Your interviewer is trying to determine one thing, can you successfully complete the tasks you will need to perform. Understanding that, preparation for the technical assessment requires only a little bit of homework. Your goal will be to find out which skills you need. Then potential ways the interviewer may probe for these skills. Below are my four go-to investigation methods:

The first thing I will do is go back to the original job posting and take a look at the qualifications section. Right there you will find every skill the employer will be looking for along with proficiency levels for each skill.
Next, I move on to Glassdoor. I cannot emphasize enough how amazing Glassdoor is for career research! Not only can you find potential income ranges, you can find the exact questions that are asked by the exact company for the exact position you are applying for.
After checking Glassdoor, I will move on to LinkedIn. There I will search for people that already have the job title I am applying for at the same company and look at the work they have done along with the skills they have.
The last thing I do is a thought exercise. I begin thinking about the company itself along with the position I am applying for. Then imagine the type of work that would be expected of me beyond what I was able to find on the job listing, LinkedIn and Glassdoor.

With all of the preliminary technical research completed, move on to practicing the skills you will need. It is as simple as that, the more you practice the more you will be comfortable and able to rock the technical portion of the interview!

The Behavioral Portion

With the technical aspect of the interview taken care of, let us discuss the behavioral portion. I am of a mind that believes this is by far the most important part of any interview, and where you can truly stand out as a candidate. The number one factor to do well with behavioral questions is to know your purpose. Know why you are trying to get that job in the short term, what that job will do in the long term for your goals, and what value you can provide for the company. My article on 10 Questions to Ask Yourself provides a solid framework for diving into your own career goals. Having a comprehensive understand of the core purpose for getting that job offers a way to ground yourself during the interview.

A common problem with many interviewees is that they seem to answer questions in “interview mode,” coming off as fake, fragmented, and uncertain. By being able to ground yourself during the interview, all behavioral questions will be answered in a cohesive manner. Communicating a clear purpose that is beneficial to both you and the company is a surefire way to be miles ahead of any other candidates who have not taken the time for serious introspection.

Keep in mind, you will be the best candidate for the job if your core purpose is aligned with the company’s own objectives. Take the time to research what the company does, where they want to go, where they have been, what projects they are working on, previous problems, who the c-suite executives are, etc. Learn as much as you can. By the time you show up on interview day there will be no question you are unequipped to answer in an honest and powerful way.

In a future article I will write some of the more common behavioral interview questions you may find.