How To Impress In Your Next Job Interview
Top Tips
Here is how to impress in your next job interview.
Firstly make sure that you do your research on the organisation, the interviewers, and the job description. Before the call check out the employers website and connect with the hiring managers on LinkedIn. The more prepared that you are, the more confident you will be.
Next be a few minutes early. This way you have some breathing room in case there’s any technical issues or travel delays. Showing up to an interview late creates such a bad first impression, so you should really try to avoid this at all costs.
You should also demonstrate strong body language. 80% of communication is not what you say, it’s how you say it. If you speak really quiet, and your posture is closed off then it’s hard to build rapport. However, if you smile, and speak with conviction, and bring energy then this generates really positive vibes.
One of the most important things you can do is practice your answers to the most common interview questions. In almost every interview you going to be asked: “tell me about yourself”, “why are you looking for a new job”, and so on. Make sure that you have 30 second well polished responses ready to go. It’s really obvious when someone hasn’t prepared, they talk in circles, going on and on for way longer than they need to. Focus on the key details, so you don’t risk boring the interviewer with your answers.
I would also recommend you have a notepad and pen in front of you. Sometimes you might be asked a question, and it can be helpful to quickly jot down a few keywords so you can structure your answer better. Just make sure you don’t rely too much on this. It can mess up the flow of the conversation too much if you start writing down full sentences in the middle of an interview.
Next make sure you prepare a few really intelligent questions to ask at the end of the interview. Most of the time they will ask you: “do you have any questions”, and if you say no then it makes you look like you are really not that interested in the opportunity. I’m sure there’s lots you would like to know about the team, the roadmap, and the opportunities for progression. So make sure you have 2 or 3 deep questions ready to go.
One of the biggest turns offs in an interview is when a candidate starts criticising or talking really negatively about their current or past employers. Even if what you are saying is true nobody like a complainer. So keep this in mind and focus more on the future than the past.
Finally, just don’t give up. Interviewing is a numbers game, some people will like you, and some people won’t. The more interviews you do, the more offers you will receive. So play the game, and be persistent along the way.
Lastly, let’s finish with some Q&A.
Structure
“What structure should I follow when answering questions?”
A good framework to follow is the STAR technique.
The S stands for Situation.
The T stands for Task.
The A stands for Action.
And the R stands for Result.
So if I was asked a question about the most challenging problem I worked on, I could start by explaining the Situation I was in, I could then talk about the Tasks I worked on, I then could discuss the Actions which I took, and I could then finish by sharing the Result I achieved.
For example: The most challenging problem I worked on was building a new app for Lloyds bank. When I started the software was really old and broken. I started by speaking to customers to understand their key complaints. I then implemented their suggestions, and rebuilt the entire project from scratch, using modern technologies like React and TypeScript. As a result of this, in just 6 weeks we rose to number 1 in the app store, and we won the best fintech app of the year award.
Mistakes
“What’s the most common mistake you see candidates make in an interview?”
I think most video interviews could significantly be improved with better quality video, audio, and lighting. The majority of candidates interview on their laptop, which usually has a really pixelated video, an average built in mic, and really offers no lighting benefit. For a very small amount of money, you can buy a HD webcam, a super high quality microphone, and a bright professional light. This might sound like a small thing, but I promise this will massively elevate your call quality, and is well worth the investment.
Dress Code
“What’s the best dress code in an interview?”
I think this completely depends on the type of job you are applying for, and since most interviews now happen on video calls you can be much more informal. If you are a lawyer then showing up to a interview in shorts and a hoodie might not be the best idea. In the same way if you are a software engineer then appearing on a Zoom call wearing a suit and a tie might be slightly overkill. Just play it case by case, and if you are unsure then smart casual almost always works.
And that’s how to impress in your next job interview.