Interviews: The Essential Interview Prep List
How useful would it be to have an easy checklist of the most essential things to do in preparation for a job interview? Well, with that in mind and drawing on the work I do as part of my career coaching, here are 10 key things that will help make sure you’re well prepared for any upcoming interview.
Understand what they’re looking for
This should be easy to find, at a surface level at least, in the job specification or advert. Or, indeed, if this is not your first interview with this firm, reflect on what you’ve learnt from previous interviews. This is the critical starting point since your first task is to create a close match in the mind of the interviewer between what they want and what you offer. This brings us swiftly on to…
List how you match with what they think they want
This is pretty self-explanatory, but make sure you are succinctly able to evidence where you meet their desired criteria. At the same time, also create a list of where you don’t have something they want and preempt what you might say to mitigate that.
Create compelling examples to evidence how you match what they’re looking for
Maybe even have two examples for each. Importantly with your examples, explain the context, your part in the story (focus on the ‘I’ rather than the ‘we’) and the result, achievement and/or impact that it had for the business. Where possible, use specific evidence or data to substantiate your claims.
Anticipate and prepare answers for the obvious questions
This has been the topic of many blogs we’ve done and if you browse our website, you’ll find more content on common interview questions. Why did you leave this firm? Why do you want to join us? Tell me about yourself. Also try to anticipate any situational judgement questions they might ask you that would be relevant for the role and firm.
Think through the questions that you hope won’t come up
This is where the deepest thinking should go as it’s where even the best candidates can slip up in interviews. What is this gap in your CV? Have you had a significant falling out with one of your bosses? Why were you fired? In a truthful, authentic and tactful way, create great and convincing answers. By the way, some interviewers might deliberately try to ‘trigger’ you to see how reactive you are to mild provocation. Avoid this by being well-prepared for any eventuality.
Do your research
Understand as much as you can about the business, role and your interviewers (if possible). Look up their performance numbers, their rating on Glassdoor, etc. Find out all about their products and services and geographies. Know who their leadership team is and see if they’ve been in the news. Spread your research far and wide, and find natural and authentic ways to thread this into your responses.
Put the firm in a broader context
How are they doing vis a vis their competition? What are their areas of strength and weakness when compared to others? How are they positioned for the prevailing markets, economic conditions and possible changes in the regulatory environment? Be prepared to discuss this and have a reasonably well informed opinion.
Prepare your questions for them
You should know what they’re looking for so have your questions ready so you can see how they match up to what you want. This returns us to my core thesis that every job search is about creating two matches. Have your critical thinking facility switched firmly on. You also want to understand as much as you can from them about the job, reporting, resourcing, responsibilities and deliverables. It may not be appropriate to ask all these questions in one interview but you definitely need to get started. This will help you make an informed decision about whether the job is right for you - not just whether you’re right for the job.
Navigating the interview itself
In person. Turn up in plenty of time at the right building and well turned out. Dress like them. Have spare copies of your CV - flat, not folded - printed on nice paper. They’ll have hopefully already looked over it, but either way, it does well to show you’re prepared.
Online. Have the up to date version of Zoom or Teams loaded well ahead of time. As best as you can, try to ensure you have great lighting so that they can see your face clearly and make sure your microphone is working. Think about the position of the camera so that it’s level with your eyes. Reduce or eliminate other noise and distractions. Consider your background - no unmade beds! And obviously, be on time.
Rehearse
The first time you blurt out your answers or questions needs to be in one of a number of practice sessions. You want to experiment with how different answers and examples sound. Rehearsing is designed to spot and rectify errors and you do need to be reasonably polished. Ideally, do some deliberate practice with someone who is going to give you clear, specific and actionable feedback. Fluffy nonsense will not cut it, no matter how well meaning. If this isn’t possible, record yourself answering some key questions and play it back to yourself - it might feel awkward and cringy, but it’s a great way to reflect on how you come across. Equally, bear in mind that despite having rehearsed and polished your answers, you still need to listen to actual questions asked in the interview and answer them - not simply trot out a well rehearsed answer that misses the target.
Closing thoughts
I hope you’ve found this useful. Interviews are the gateway to your next job and nothing beats thorough preparation. This only skims the surface of a wide-ranging topic, but it should give you the initial steps to effective interview preparation. If you’d like to discuss an upcoming interview or other career matters, get in touch.