How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Just about any type of job or career position that you are interested in will include some type of job interview prior to hiring. In today’s market, employers often receive hundreds of applications and resumes for one position and the job interview is just one tool that can be used to filter out the final candidates who will be interviewed for the position. If your resume earns you an interview, one of the most effective things that you can do to ensure you proceed to the next step is to be well prepared to put your best foot forward.

Research the Company Before the Interview

Regardless of the company that you are interviewing with, it’s important to take some time prior to the interview to find out as much as you can about the company. Visit the company’s website and review the information provided about the history of the company and any information available on the company philosophy, number of employees, annual goals and initiatives. Armed with this basic information about the history of the company and its future direction, you will be able to respond to questions in a way that demonstrates you cared enough about the position to check them out and that you will most likely be a candidate that will hit the ground running if hired.

Practice the Interview

Anticipation of a job interview can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety but one way to reduce this is to practice or role-play your interview in advance. If you have someone who can serve as your employer, that’s great but if not, settle yourself in front of a mirror or even record yourself with your video or web camera as you play both parts. The interview process is your best and sometimes final chance to make a memorable impression on the employer which is why it’s so crucial that you are prepared to present yourself in the best possible light. Obtain a list of common interview questions and write out your response to each of those in advance. When you practice responding to questions, pay attention to your posture and be cognizant of your tone of voice as well as word choice. Make sure that your response answers the question as it was asked and try to include the most relevant details rather than a play by play description.

Types of Interview Scenarios

Interviews can be conducted either in person or via phone and can involve a varying number of people and circumstances. A standard first level interview will involve meeting one on one with a human resource staff person in an office environment. This type of interview is usually intended to sort out the viable candidates from a large pool of applicants so that short listed candidates can then be scheduled to interview with a department representative or executive as the next step. Often times higher level executive interviews and those in the education industry will involve several representatives from the company, each of whom have their own questions they will ask you over the course of the interview. Pay attention during your initial contact with the company to anything that could clue you into what type of interview you will be participating in as this can help you to prepare and reduce anxiety.

Types of Interview Questions

Growing in popularity over the last ten years, the behavioral interview style of questioning is based on the premise that future work performance is based on past behavior and performance. In a behavioral style interview, employers are looking for work specific skills (expressed as nouns), functional skills that are transferable such as coordination, management, or communication (typically expressed as verbs), and self management skills or personal characteristics (expressed as adjectives) such as punctuality, dependability, and the ability to be a team player. In a behavioral style interview you will be asked to provide an example of a time when you were required to handle a specific type of situation. Employers will be looking for a response that tells a story and provides them with the specific problem involved, the action or actions that you took, and the result or outcome of your actions. This type of response is referred to as a Problem-Action-Result response or PAR response.

Other types of interview questions are the credential verification questions regarding things like your GPA, educational degree and number of years experience with certain skills and experience verification questions regarding your previous job responsibilities or learning experiences. Opinion questions such as “What are your strengths?” and hypothetical questions “what would you do in this situation?” are still used by many companies and are designed to identify your response to specific scenarios. Other questions such as “What type of music best describes you?” or “What superhero would you like to be?”, have no right or wrong answer and are sometimes asked to gauge your creativity or your ability to think and respond quickly. Larger companies and those that are more modern will typically use behavioral interview techniques whereas smaller companies and those that are less up to date with new trends may still be using hypothetical and verification questions. If you cannot get an idea of which type of interview style will be used from your initial contact with the company, practice the PAR method of responding as it can be useful in responding to several types of questions and then also be prepared to answer standard questions about work history and strengths and weaknesses. Be aware that many companies will check your background in advance.

Dress for Success

Pay a visit to the company and pay attention to what employees are wearing or call the company and talk with the receptionist to get an idea of the company dress code. A good rule of thumb is to make your interview attire one or two notches more formal than the daily dress code. If you are in doubt about dress code, you should dress formally. It’s very important to arrive on time to your interview, about 5-15 minutes before your appointed interview time, which means that you should allow plenty of time for the unexpected on the day of your interview. Interview appearance should always be neat and clean and free of any excessive jewelry such as eyebrow rings and other piercings, large earrings, and visible tattoos. It’s also important to be comfortable during your interview so it’s a good idea to try on and even wear your interview outfit, including your shoes, a day or two prior to your interview day to make sure that ill fitting clothes won’t be a distraction for you during the interview.

Competition in the job market today is extremely fierce and employers can afford to be more selective in their hiring practices because the candidate pool is so varied. Taking the time to learn more about how to prepare for a job interview can really boost your ability to stand out in the crowd and make a lasting impression during the hiring process.