Preparing for a Job Interview
You can be the standout candidate at your next job interview! To be remarkable, your preparation must include identifying those qualities and experiences that make you an ideal candidate for the job. Think of your preparation as creating a narrative about your professional journey. The narrative should be rich with details and experiences that can be drawn upon to answer a wide range of interview questions.
Rather than thinking of an interview as simply answering questions, focus on narrating your story. By doing so, you not only convey your value but also make it easier for the interviewer to see why you're the ideal choice for the job.
Below are nine areas to help you begin your professional narrative.
Transferable Skills: These are versatile skills you apply effectively across various roles. Identify and describe the 5 transferable skills you are most skilled in.
Professional Skills: These are the specific skills you've developed and mastered throughout your career. Identify and briefly describe your 5 strongest skills.
Accomplishments: Try to identify at least 3 key achievements that showcase your successes and tangible contributions.
Passions: Describe how your genuine passions and interests align with the role or industry in which you are interested.
Core Values: Identify what values and principles are important to you, and how they guide your approach to work.
Why This Field/Profession: Describe your motivations for pursuing this field or profession.
Defining Experiences: Name 2 - 3 pivotal moments or experiences that have shaped your career and personal life. This provides insight into your character and development.
Personal Qualities: Identify the personal qualities that make you a strong candidate, such as resilience, adaptability, or a collaborative temperament.
Career Aspirations: Describe what you would like to achieve in your career and what you're looking to gain from this job or profession.
Use these elements to create your story. There is no right or wrong way to write your story and writing it as a narrative or story may help you remember the information during the interview.
The next step in the preparation of your narrative is to consider your answers for common interview questions. There are comprehensive lists of interview questions available on job sites. At a minimum be prepared for these common interview questions:
Tell me about yourself.
Why are you looking for another job?
What do you know about our organization?
Why do you want this job?
Why should I hire you?
What are your goals?
Another type of question you will encounter are behavioral questions. These questions ask about how you used a particular skill in a past situation.
For example: Describe a time when you showed initiative and took the lead.
Be prepared for behavioral questions about
Managing your time
Working with difficult situations or people
Improving a service or product
Dealing with stress
Decision making and problem solving
Working on a collaborative team
To prepare for behavioral questions, identify 4 or 5 detailed scenarios from your work experience that are sufficiently complex to cover two or maybe three different questions. Each situation should showcase your abilities in a favorable way, including a positive outcome. For example, a scenario about solving a problem may also have elements of your initiative or dealing with a difficult coworker. This approach will prepare you to handle a wide range of questions.
When answering a behavioral question, it is helpful to use the SAR format. The structure ensures you tell a complete story of your skills.
S = briefly describe the situation
A = the action you took to resolve the situation (this is the longest part of your answer)
R = the result of your action
You may be asked about how you have dealt with a personal setback or failure. A question such as: Tell me about a time you set a goal and failed to meet it.
When answering “failure questions” first briefly describe what happened, show appropriate self-awareness by adding where you went wrong and then close your answer with what you learned and how you moved forward.
And a final word about your answers. Personal information is not relevant in a workplace interview. Do not use examples from your non-work life unless specifically asked and ALWAYS indicate how the personal information relates to doing the job. Besides, interviewers should not be asking about your personal life!
A reasonable question that strays into personal information is "What do you do in your free time?" The interviewer is probably trying to determine how well you balance your work and personal life. Your answer should be short with few, if any, explicit details. For example, you can talk about your pets, not your 7 dogs and 3 cats.
Preparing for an interview requires time in thoughtful reflection. Talking with a family member, a friend or trusted colleague is also helpful. You possess a distinctive blend of skills, temperament, and potential that sets you apart from others in a unique and valuable way. Preparation allows you to uncover what makes you unique and what makes you a standout candidate for the job! Begin creating your narrative!
Next month: Examples of how to structure your personal narrative and answers to common interview questions.