So you’re a ready to find a new job, take on new challenges, and feel valued at work again?! Yeay, that’s what I like to hear! You’ve had a couple (or a lot!) of interviews recently but even when you thought it went well, you still didn’t get the job.
Before you go on even one more interview, let me share some things to think about and ways to prepare for an interview that go beyond just answering those most asked interview questions.
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Now, if you’re struggling to even get interviews at all, it may be your resume. Check to ensure your resume is fine-tuned with my helpful interview-generating resume template. You’ll also see tips I share with my high-achieving corporate women clients, so the template is worth a click!
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Know Your Resume Inside and Out
If you landed an interview, congratulations, you’re awesome! Of course, you’re awesome even if you haven’t landed an interview in a while, but definitely getting called in for that job you’re excited about is worth celebrating!
Getting the interview means – in part – that the HR person or hiring manager who contacted you likes what they saw on your resume. But that doesn’t mean your resume’s job is over!
Your resume can be central to your interview, either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, most people don’t spend enough time reviewing their resume in preparation for the interview.
That’s is usually because we feel like ‘Hey, I lived it, I know what’s on there.’ Or because it feels like we reviewed it while we were updating it to get ready to go on the job market.
But chances are that your interviewers scrutinized your resume in preparation for your interview, so you should too. Be prepared to answer questions about every single line you have on your resume, and to tell the accompanying story about how that particular event or experience correlates to why you are a perfect fit for the job your interviewing for.
Basically, view your resume as the Cliff’s Notes of your career path (do they still make those??) but expect that you will need to embellish on everything in there in your conversations with all of your interviewers so by the end they feel like they actually read the book!
To do this effectively takes time and practice because, let’s face it, who really remembers that task they stuck on their resume 7 years ago when they were in their last job. To effectively prep for interviews you’ll need to go line by line to make sure you remember what you meant when you wrote it and why you thought it was worth including.
After all, it may have been that specific line that caught their eye in the first place to bring you in. Taking it further, you’ll also need to ensure that you have a story (of success, of a challenge overcome, of a lesson learned, of saving the company money or time, of skill development – you get the point!) for every line of your resume.
Get In the Mindset of Confidence
This tip is crucial. Before your actual interview takes place, get into a confident mindset. Your interviewer can feel your confidence level, so you’ve really got to master this one. Confidence in yourself and your abilities will inspire your interviewers to see you as the right choice for the role. Eye contact, posture and cadence of speech all go along way to project confidence.
However, if confidence is something you truly struggle with, then fake it till you make it. It can feel like such a cliché, but here’s the thing. Even if you are faking confidence, it will convince your brain into believing you are confident. It is a psychological trick that high-level corporate professionals use all the time. And you often can’t even tell.
Aside from using the “fake it” technique, try hyping yourself up before your interviews. I love practicing positive affirmation and making myself feel the best physically and emotionally beforehand.
For example, before an important interview, I usually listen to Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ to get me feeling like “I just might be the next Bill Gates in the making” or, at least, someone 8 steps below Bill Gates, which would still also be awesome. Pick a song that makes you feel invincible and blast that a bit before you go into your next interview to see if that makes a difference.
I also recommend a quick run through of your accomplishments over the last several years as a reminder you how awesome you are, how much value you’ve brought to your current company (like all the ways you’ve increased productivity, saved them money, created innovative solutions, etc.).
Ideally you keep a running list or an email folder dedicated to they accomplishments so you can quickly scan through them before the interview. But if not, then as you are reviewing your past roles and assignments to prep for the interviews, try to recall all the amazing things you did. Doing so will surely help you get to a place of confidence and worthiness for the new position you’re going after.
Really Research the Company
Here’s a question to ask yourself before your next interview. How well do you actually know the company that is interviewing you? Research is a non-negotiable part of preparing for an interview, which includes learning about all aspects of the company.
To master your next corporate interview, you want to show that you know the ins-and-outs of their company. Not just what you can find on the company website, but deeper. This will help give your conversation depth and context. Yes, it will shine a light on their company culture, values, morals, and beliefs, but it will also highlight your passion for the company and the role, which will make you a standout in the interview process.
As part of this company research, you should also be looking at the company not just as a standalone, but how it fits into the industry in which it operates. Spend some time thinking through the current industry challenges and try to come up with some possible solutions.
In doing this work, you’ll be ready to have robust conversations with your interviewers that show that you are truly invested in the work you do, and you will be a passionate problem-solver and innovator.
Research Individual Interviewers
While you are researching the company itself, get to know who will be talking with you. First impressions are important in the corporate job scene, as you already know. Sometimes, you will not be given the name of your interviewer, but this can be rare. You will usually see the name and role of whom will be interviewing you.
If you do know their name, take a moment and look them up online. They might have their own bio on the hiring company’s “About Us” page or another relevant page. Of course you should look them up on LinkedIn.
But additionally, you need to Google search your interviewers. See if they are on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Try to see if they maintain personal blogs.
Yes, this may seem stalkerish—and I guess it is to some degree – but trust me they are doing the same for you, if not before the interview, then certainly before they make you an offer!
The reason for this next level research is to get a sense of who each interviewer is as a person, not just as a company employee. You may find that you have things in common, which may come in handy if shared appropriately. You may find that there are areas they are passionately for or against, which would be helpful to know beforehand.
Doing this research may simply be valuable for understanding that they are a mom with kids just trying to keep it all together, just like you. Whatever it is, it’s good intel.
Your Tech Setup
Now, these days, more and more of our job interviews are happening online. And given the efficiency and flexibility that comes from online interviews, I think they are here to stay! So it will be important to master the technical aspects of interviewing.
As interviews over Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skye for Business become the norm, the tolerance for ignorance into how to use these tools will diminish.
So, to be on the safe side, do a practice run with your technology and the devices you will need the day before. If it is taking place via video chat, ensure you have the proper software downloaded and have access to a mic and camera. Do a test check as well so that you aren’t faced with any surprises on the day-of.
This should go without saying, but have all of your devices charged up and ready to go. The last thing you want is for your laptop or phone to die in the middle of an enriching conversation with your soon-to-be employer.
Also do a check of your background to ensure there isn’t anything weird or distracting behind you. Plus, make sure you have good lighting in place. You want to make sure your interviewers can actually see your eyes (not just your face) during the interviews.
Focusing on each of these areas, in addition to mastering those key interview questions, will go a long way to making your next interview an amazing success!
Happy job hunting!
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YOUR NEXT STEP
If you are struggling in any other aspect of your job search – not just converting your interviews into an offer – there could be some key things you’re doing wrong and not even realizing it. Go check this list of 10 things you may be doing wrong in your job search that I put together to help you get past the roadblocks and on the way to your amazing new job.
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