Newsflash
The demand for top talent will remain high throughout the remainder of the year. “The consensus is recruiters, hiring managers and small businesses are gearing up for a robust second half of 2014” reports Matt Krumrie in a recent ZipRecruiter post.
This is great news for job seekers, especially if your goal is to find your dream job this year. Assuming your qualifications land you an interview, how do you clinch the deal?
The candidates who get the most job-offers are the ones who are the best prepared. When you can demonstrate you understand your prospective employer’s needs, you’re in the perfect position to explain how your skills make you the most qualified candidate.
At last, here’s my secret formula to interview irresistibility…
Interview Prep: Five Steps to Success
1. Research the company.
Set aside 20 to 30 minutes to research the company on-line, including their website, LinkedIn page, Glassdoor.com reviews, recent news articles, etc. Check your LinkedIn connections for current or past company employees. If there’s time, contact them for their insights about the company and the prospective opportunity.
2. Research the interview panel’s background.
Google each person on the interview panel. Check their LinkedIn profile for their education, employment history, length of time at the company and recommendations. Get a sense for who they are and what makes them tick. Look for common ground.
3. Map Your Skills.
Pull out your resume, the job description and a blank piece of paper. Highlight the major job description requirements and desired experience. Draw lines to where the requirements and experiences show up on your resume. For each item on the list write out examples of your skill or experience. Be prepared to state the problem, your solution and the result or impact to the company or department, quantifying results using numbers and percents whenever possible. Now consider what of your past experience is most important in helping your prospective new employer achieve their desired success. (Find our Skills Inventory Map on our Resources page.)
4. Develop a list of questions.
Make a list of questions about the job, the company, the interview panel, why the position is open and any thing that you feel you’d want to know before saying, “yes” to their job offer – except… Hold questions about compensation, benefits, and vacation policy until the final interview(s).
5. Practice interviewing!
I cannot stress this point enough. Practice everything about the interview, the telephone interview, the Skype interview and the in-person interview(s). Practice shaking hands and making eye contact. Make a list of all the questions you anticipate you will be answering. Practice your answers! Especially to these tough questions…
- Tell me about yourself.
- What are your weaknesses?
- Why should we hire you?
- What are your strengths?
- What’s that gap in your resume?
- Why did you get fired?
- Why did you get laid off?
- What would your peers say about you?
- What would your boss say about you?
- What value do you bring to the table?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
If interview prep sounds like a lot of hard work – it is! Imagine how relaxing your interview will be by the time you’re done with your preparation!
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
— Seneca
Are You Ready for Your Job Interview?
Interview Prep
Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.
© 2018 Connie Dorigan. All rights reserved.
This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.
