How to prepare for job interviews

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Your job search efforts are paying off. You have located suitable job postings and applied with customizable resumes. The company representatives have called and you successfully navigated the phone screens. Now face-to-face interviews are scheduled. Below are interview tips you should follow.

Review the company’s financial statements to identify the opportunities and challenges the company is facing. If the company is private, read the financial statements of its largest public competitors to determine opportunities and challenges that are industry wide. Afterwards, request informational interviews by contacting the company’s current employees you have a common connection with. During these interviews acquire insider intelligence about the company, position, and culture.

Next prepare customized answers for common traditional and behavioral questions. For behavioral questions, link your previous accomplishments to the desired competencies of the position using the STAR method; situation, task, actions took, and results. Afterwards, participate in mock interviews with career coaches or fellow job seekers.

Arrive to the interview at least 10-15 minutes early, turn off your cell phone, and greet the company representatives with a smile and firm handshake. Once you arrive to the interview location, wait until the interviewer prompts you to be seated. At the appropriate time thank the interviewer for the opportunity to interview and answer his or her questions in a structured and concise fashion. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the position, ask intelligent questions about the company and the opportunity at the end of the interview, and send a thank you email and/or card afterwards.