Congrats, you got yourself a coveted spot on a company’s interview list! First of all, take a second to be proud of yourself because that is not an easy thing to do! Of course, you’ll still need to rock the interview to get the job. Here are some tips to make sure you do your best!
1. Dress the part
Dressing professionally will help increase your confidence, making you more likely to do well in the interview. Make sure you are still comfortable with what you’re wearing, though. If you never wear heels, don’t feel the need to do so just because it’s an interview. I wore a professional suit with flats in all my interviews and still felt appropriately dressed!
2. Do your research
It is so important to do at least some research before heading into the interview. You are almost guaranteed to be asked why you want to work for that company, or what products of theirs you like. I would say it’s good to research the company you are interviewing with as well as the category in general, including a few main competitors. For example, in marketing interviews I’ve been asked what my favorite product was and how I would innovate/improve it, so it’s good to be prepared with some research on the general category.
3. Practice your answers (but don’t follow a script)
There are some questions that you will definitely be asked. For example, “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume” are both super popular ways for an interview to begin. Make a great first impression by having polished answers to these questions. However, be careful not to follow a script because many companies are also looking to see your personality so they can decide if you’d be a good fit in the company culture.
4. Frame your answers
There’s no way you’ll be able to practice answers to every question you’ll be asked, so it’s a waste of time to try. Instead, practice using frameworks to answer questions. For example, CAR (context-action-result) is a great way to frame most answers. You briefly describe the context before moving into what actions you took and what results came from those actions. This helps cut down on rambling and makes your answer easy to follow for the interviewer.
5. Be prepared with questions of your own
At the end of most interviews, there will be time for you to ask questions to the interview. Be prepared!! There’s nothing worse than having no questions for them, as it shows a lack of interest in the company. You can ask about a variety of topics here. If you’ve never met the interviewer, a safe option is to ask them to describe their background or time at the company and then go from there. I liked to look up recent news articles about the company to bring up at interviews (just don’t bring up any negative press!).
I hope some of these tips will be helpful as you prepare for interviews. My biggest piece of advice is to just be yourself, and you’ll end up at the right company for you!
Images courtesy of Greenhouse