Presenting Ourselves in the Best Possible Light
As this unprecedented year in hiring dwindles down, I wanted to cap my three-part blog series on Interview Practices in a way that reflects the current unpredictability in the marketplace. Hitherto, we’ve discussed both “Speaking to our Accomplishments” and “Discussing Difficult Career Questions.” Thus, you’ve already learned to talk about your strengths and weaknesses, the value of your skills, and potentially-unappealing aspects of your employment history. You’ve consolidated your interview preparation around mock interview practice, research, and memorization. Great! But alas, not all interviews will follow predictable templates. First, we must somehow prepare ourselves to answer questions we weren’t expecting. Then, we must execute on all the little details which help us appear as appealing a candidate as possible.
Especially in competitive job markets, interviewers may deviate from classic interview fare. It behooves us to not only be prepared for the ubiquitous questions, but find a way to thrive when we are asked more challenging, open-ended ones. Interviewers may want to see our thought processes when talking about our careers, our goals, our understanding of the company and position, or even our world-views.
Unfortunately, there’s no list of so-called “secret” questions, passed around the inner-circle of interviewers, for us to draw from. We’re simply not going to be able to control or predict every question asked of us. However, there are topics we should contemplate, explore, and understand which will leave us holistically prepared for a great range of these questions.
Take out a blank sheet of paper and give it the headline Why Is This Position Right For You? Much interviewing seeks to get you answering this question in some form, so if an interviewer is trying to see your values, thought processes, and perspective, you’ll likely find yourself facing some version of it. Yes, sometimes interviewers are just testing whether you’ve thoroughly read the job description, understood the requirements, and acknowledged deficiencies in your employment history. But often it’s about discovering how good your sense is of the industry/company/role. Take that empty paper and fill it up as much as possible, with as many various answers as possible. Doing so is not about memorizing anything, but is about legitimately familiarizing yourself with all the reasons you’re attracted to a given position. If the job really is right for you, you’ll often become exhilarated by the end of the exercise, and bringing genuine, unforced enthusiasm into a conversation is generally a mark in your favor.
Another common question theme is “What makes you a good fit for us?” Answering questions like these are about familiarizing yourself with the less obvious, more cultural aspects of the company. Get a sense of corporate culture from advertisements or company writings or websites. Reach out to employees if you feel comfortable, and try gleaning what the company places importance on: collaboration, creativity, self-starting, etc. Put into words why these things attract you, how they fit with your personality and work-style, and how they’ll help you thrive.
Though it usually won’t come up until the final round of interviews, I would also suggest you come handy to interviews with a solid salary expectation. Research the median salary for your industry, and inflect that number with your level of experience. You may feel attracted enough to a position that you would accept a wider range of starting salaries, but you still shouldn’t go in blind, especially if you’re asked point-blank about your financial expectations.
Finally, it is imperative that you have questions to ask your interviewer. Even though this advice is well-known, many disregard it! Perhaps they believe their interviewer to be infallible, having presented all the necessary information. But even so, a lack of questions reflects poorly on applicants, communicating a lack of interest or engagement. Two questions is all we need: one should be big-picture, focusing on the position or the company –and feel-free to brainstorm these beforehand– while one should be specific to the conversation you’ve been having. The best way to prepare for this? You don’t have to! Just be genuinely engaged. Simple as that. The questions will come.
Maybe you’ve recently had an interview where a question caught you off guard, and now you’re looking for help shoring up your responses. Reach out to me, Nancy, today on LinkedIn or at www.idealinterviewco.com/contact to get practiced, get researched, and get confident that your next interview will be your best one yet.