How to Approach Interviewing

A job interview should be thought of as a conversation in which valuable information is exchanged for making a selection amongst candidates.  Like many decisions, the quality of the information to be considered dictates the quality of the decision.  As an interviewee, you must set a goal to provide the best information possible to help the interviewers decide you are their best option. 

In this multi-part series on interviewing, I will be covering successful interviewing tactics from preparation to follow-up.  I hope that this information is helpful to candidates trying to land the perfect job.  There are many ways to differentiate you from other candidates within this process.  Following these guidelines could be what gives you the edge.

Interviewing does not have to be an intimidating experience.  Certainly there may some excitement about the prospect of landing a great new job, but in the end, if you are the right fit for the job (and the job is a good fit for you), the pieces will fall into place.  Of course, this only can happen if you provide the right information to convey what a good a fit you really are.  To do this, you need to master the two keys to good interviewing.

1 – Prepare

Make sure you do your homework on the company and the position.  You want to clearly convey that you have an interest in the job.  Just showing up and answering their questions is not enough.  You will be measured by your enthusiasm and interest in what they are offering.  By showing you have invested some of your own time learning more about the company and being prepared for the interview will convey as much about you as the answers to their interview questions.

Incidentally, good preparation leads to less nervousness during the interview.  As you will see with a preparation methodology, your preparation materials are your security blanket to rely upon during the interview.  Sometimes, without a safety net, you can feel unsure of yourself or more prone to rush into a less optimal answer.

2 – Take ownership of the interview

There are many good interviewers representing companies out there.  And, there are many who are not so good.  Keeping in mind that the goal of an interview is an efficient, comprehensive review of all relevant facts about the candidate, you would be surprised how many interviewers miss the mark.  Many don’t even know they’re missing mark until the try to decide which candidate they want to hire (some don’t even realize it then). 

Interviewers don’t always ask all the right questions or probe deeply enough to get the optimal information out of the interview.  It’s best to assume that YOU will have to ensure all the pertinent information gets shared.  You will take ownership of the interview even though they are asking the questions.  There are many ways to do this. 

Links to subsequent parts:  Part 2 – How to Prepare for the Interview; Part 3 – How to Take Ownership and Use Your Checklist; Part 4 – How to "Shine" During the Interview; Part 5 – Asking the Right Questions the Right Way; Part 6 – Last Thoughts and the Follow-up

This series of articles on Successful Interviewing is also available as an eBook on the A-List Solutions web site.  Click this link for a free download:  get eBook now.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Interviewing 101, Posts by Jeff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.