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The job interview is an essential step in convincing a recruiter that we are the right candidate, so let's prepare it to present us confident, with thoughtful and persuasive answers...
- Before the interview -
Let's surf the web and read what we can about our potential future employer : their customers, their products or services. Our goal is to learn what they do, what they think differentiates them from others. If this understanding is reflected in our conversation during the interview, it will make a good impression. Also, the more we understand the context in which they work, the more we will be able to organize our thoughts and tailor our responses in a relevant way.
- The right state of mind -
Let’s remember that if we’ve been invited for an interview it’s because the recruiter already thinks we are qualified, he wants to know how qualified we are and if we are compatible with the culture of his/her company. It can also be useful to remember that no interview is flawless, therefore, it is possible for us to reduce the stakes and our nervousness, by imagining that we already have the job, or conversely that we want to leave a mark that might lead them to change their mind if the job is already promised to someone else.
Our goal is to demonstrate why we excel at work and what we look like in our daily professional life. So let's study the announcement and think about how our experience and skills will allow us to do so.
- The questions that we will be asked -
Let's anticipate the questions that will be asked and prepare them (see below), offering complete answers and practicing out loud. It might sound silly, but this process fixes responses in our brain, to make them fluid during the interview :
« Tell me a bit about yourself » : Give me an overview, within a minute, of who you are, professionally speaking, before digging into the details.
« Why are you interested in this position? » : Our response must be enthusiastic and focused on the substance of the work we would do on a daily basis and the results sought.
« Why are you considering leaving your current job? » or « Why did you quit your previous job? » : It is wise to give a response like « I feel like accomplishing new things » or « I am looking for something more stable where I can evolve ».
« Tell me about a time when...? » : The idea behind this is to get more information about how we’re functioning. As we prepare our examples, let's structure them by first explaining the challenge we faced, then what we did to address it, and finally the results achieved.
« Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses » : Let's talk about what really makes us great at work, giving an example or two that shows that we really are. For the weaknesses, let's think about what doesn't come naturally to us or what we should improve, remembering to explain what we are doing to alleviate them.
- Taboos -
Denigrate our previous employer : Let's not try to cover up that we left our previous job on bad terms, so let's honestly explain what happened (There is no reason to be ashamed of a difference of professional view). Let’s get ready to talk about it, because there is a good chance that we will be asked the reasons for leaving and our feelings/emotions might take over.
Bragging about our qualities : During a job interview, it's normal that we want to look our best, but it's never good to go overboard. A job interview is a delicate balancing act, and while humility is a bad advisor, we also need to find the right measure in terms of ambition and self-confidence.
Give cliché answers : These prefab formulas will not allow us to leave a good impression. It is better to rely on examples from our professional experience to concretely demonstrate what our talents are. The recruiter will thus be able to clearly visualize our capacities.
- Salary expectations -
Often recruiters know the budget they are willing to pay and the package they can offer for a position, while we have to estimate our worth and hope not to exceed that same number, or underestimate ourselves.
While most job announcements do not contain salary information, others do. So, we could browse similar announcements for guidance. Online salary portals can be a starting point. Let’s be careful, because the job titles can vary enormously depending on the field, the company, the size of the company and the experience we bring.
As we conduct our research, we should keep in mind that compensation rarely stops at that simple number. Because it is often a salary package : 13th and/or 14th month, vacation bonus, end-of-year bonus, bonus on result, transport intervention, company vehicle, health insurance, etc.
- Our questions -
Towards the end of the interview, we will likely to be asked if we have any questions. Now is a good time to get the information we need to determine if this is the job we really want (If the answers haven't already been given in the exchange so far). Let's write down our questions and take them with us. It is quite normal for a candidate to have a sheet of paper with questions, so let’s not worry about that :
« What tools, software do you use frequently? » : Often, the announcements are loaded with bullet-points with knowledge of a specific software, while that software is used once every six months.
« Can you describe a typical work day/week? » : This will allow us to better visualize what our work will really be, on a daily basis. It is important to know if our time will be devoted to administrative tasks at 90% or rather 50/50, which will allow us to find out if the part of the job that we are passionate about appears occasionally or if it is frequent. And no way to accept an evasive response like « Every day is different ». So let's redirect the question : « Can you tell me what the last month was like for the person in this same position? » or « To what did he/she devote most of his/her time? ».
« How do you measure the success of someone in this role? » : Which means how to do things right according to the recruiter and therefore, get to the heart of what we need to know.
« What do you hope the person in this position can accomplish in the first six months or their first year? » : This question tells us how much adjustment time we will have and the pace of the team and the organization.
« What do you think makes a good worker different from a great worker? » : This question goes directly to what the recruiter is looking for. With this question we are indicating that we care about the same thing.
« How long has the previous person(s) been in the position? » : If only one person left after a few months, that's not particularly alarming (Sometimes things just don't work out). But if several people left, that should raise our alarm signal (Is it because of the manager, unrealistic expectations, unhuman treatment?). It is then helpful to ask « Do you have any idea what led to such a high turnover rate? ».
« How would you describe your corporate culture? » : It can be formal with a lot of hierarchy or it can be a competitive environment. You have to be wary of the answer : « like a family », because this is another way of saying that it is chaos where you will have nothing to expect or to ask (Everyone does everyone’s job, and overtime is a gift we offer). So let's insist : « Why do people like to work here? ».
« Are there any significant changes planned? » : This question provides clues about the stability of the position and the company. But also to know if the first days/weeks/months will be atypical or not.
« What is the agenda for the next steps? » : This logistical question is useful for knowing when we might receive a response. So if there's a plan to make a decision in two weeks, and it's been three weeks since we've been waiting, we can reasonably send an email to ask if there have been any changes.
- Thank you or follow-up note -
In the hiring process, this mail/email will contribute to our overall image as a candidate, as will being well dressed and behaving well during the interview. So it makes perfect sense to spend a few minutes writing and sending this note.
Let's send the note, a day or two after the interview. When done correctly, this post-interview note shows that we have taken in everything we learned from this exchange and shows that we are still excited about the job.
Some will answer it, others will not (But let’s do not read anything in the absence of an answer).
Conclusions
This is not an exact science, and keeping this in mind can be unsettling but also liberating, because it means we shouldn't take it too personally if an interview doesn't lead to an engagement
What do you think?
