The Interview

How does this make you feel?  Are you excited?  Scared?  Whatever it elicits for you, it is important to understand what it is for and what it can do for you.  Check out my post on Job Openings: you have to opportunity to be the solution to the company's challenge.

Some people think of an interview as a one-way dialogue, where the employer (interviewer) gets to ask the candidate (interviewee) a series of questions.  Many (even most) employers view them this way.  This is not the right way to think of an interview.  An interview is a way for both parties to see if there is a fit.  

• Employer’s perspective: Is the candidate technically qualified?  Does the candidate have a good attitude?  Can they “play well with others”?  See my post on Culture.

• Candidate’s perspective: Could you see yourself working for this person?  This company?  Does the work seem interesting and fit with your short- and long-term goals?  Does this company seem to have it together?

• For both parties: Could they see spending 40 hours a week working together?  

Without a two-way dialogue, half of these questions can’t be answered.  Hiring is one of, if not the most expensive things a company does because it consumes so much of the existing team’s time.  Not only is there the interviewing, but there is also the training.  Even after the 3-6+ months of training, the candidate may not work out and then the process needs to start again.  All of this occurs in addition to the manager’s and the rest of the team's existing day-to-day responsibilities.

Your mission as someone who is looking for work, as someone who is interviewing, is to be the solution to the company’s problem while making sure that this job, this next step in your career, helps you achieve your goals.  

Step 1: Prepare.  

With the amount of information online, there is no reason not to be prepared.  Start with the company website.  Read every word on the website. Yes, every word.  The company has put time into the website to present themselves.  If you are going to consider spending multiple years of your life at this company, take an hour to read every word.  One hour.  The length of one or two episodes of the latest show you are watching.  Pay special attention to the Press/News section.  Read this in reverse order from newest to oldest.  This is the one area you can skip some sections once you have read the last year or so of news.

Search for the company in Google News or similar.  What is the press saying about this company?  This may influence how much you want to be associated with the company.

Find out in advance who you will be interviewing with.  Check out their LinkedIn page.  What is their background?  What are they posting?  Do you have anything in common?

Come up with a series of questions you want to ask in the interview.  These could be both about the company in general and the specific people you are interviewing.  You don’t want to be caught flat footed when asked “Do you have any questions for me?”.

Look up the most common interview questions and have your answers ready.  Some examples: Where do you want to be in five years?  What are you good at?  What gets you excited in the workplace?  Describe a situation where things did not go well.  What do you look for in a manager?

Step 2: Make a Good First Impression

This starts with showing up on time.  More specifically, show up 10 minutes early.  This leaves a buffer for surprises getting there.  Ideally, you visit the office the day before at around the same time of day to make sure you are prepared.  Does the parking take longer than expected?  Do you have to go through security?  You don’t want to get flustered getting to the starting line.

Dress one level up from the company.  If the company attire is suit and tie, wear a suit and tie.  If it is business casual without a blazer, wear a blazer.  If it is jeans and polos, wear some slacks.  [Note to reader: I am not qualified to suggest what women should wear in these situations as there a so many more choices.  My advice: look professional.]. If you don’t know what they wear, see how they are dressed on the website.  Or even stand outside the office the day before to see people come in and out.

Bring a notebook, pen and extra copies of your resume.  I have interviewed many candidates who don’t bring a thing to an interview.  This is such a bad impression.  Is that how you are going to show up for meetings once we hire you?  No one is so good that they remember everything without the need to write it down.

Give a firm handshake.  Or fist bump in the days of the pandemic.  Look the person in the eye and speak like you belong there.

Step 3: The Interview

Maintain eye contact and be engaging.  You may be nervous, but you will just have to fake it until you make it.  It will be easier if you are prepared.

Keep in mind that you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you.  You want to determine if this is somewhere you want to invest the next years of your life.  Does this get you closer to achieving your goals?  Even if you don’t know what your goal are, you still want to feel like this will give you positive momentum.

As you see the other employees interact, pay attention to how they treat each other.  Every company has its own culture.  You want to be somewhere that fits you.  I would say that the culture and who you work for are just as important, if not more important, than the actual work.  It absolutely sucks to be in a place where you are unhappy because of a toxic environment.

Question you should be asking during the interview (or in your email follow up):

• How would you describe the company culture?

• Would you recommend this as a good place to work to your close friends?

• What would the day to day of my role be?

• Why is this position open? (See my post on Job Openings)

• What characteristics would the ideal candidate possess?

• How many other candidates are you interviewing?  Who is involved in deciding which candidate to go with?

At the end of the interview, express your thanks.  Find out what the next steps are.  Make sure you have a way to contact each of the people you interviewed with.  Even if they don’t give you a business card, ask for their email address.

With all of this, try to be yourself.  You don’t want to put on a mask that is not you.  Emphasize the positive traits you possess.  Most importantly, have a positive attitude that demonstrates drive, a desire to be part of a team, an eagerness to learn, and humility.  Humility is important.  I have seen more people lose their job due to a lack of humility than a lack of skill.

Step 4: Thank You Email

This is critical.  Within 24 hours you must write a thank you email to each person who interviewed you.  Your call if you want to email them as a group or send individual emails.  I prefer the latter because it provides an opportunity for an extended email exchange.  Each person at the company may forward the emails to each other, so try to personalize each one.  Ideally you point out something that the person said that was helpful.

Some people like the handwritten letter instead of the email.  I don’t because (a) it takes longer than 24 hours to reach the person, (b) many people don’t check their work mail and/or come into the office every day and (c) it doesn’t provide a forum for two way dialogue.

Step 5: Be Persistent

It is tough to wait for an answer.  You want to be patient and persistent.  Companies get busy.  What seems like a long waiting period for you may fly by for everyone at the company because they are busy.  Continue to follow up ever 3-5 business days for status.

If they don’t choose you, be gracious.  You want the team to be impressed by your professionalism.  Who knows?  Maybe they will be hiring for a similar position next month.  You want them to immediately think of you for the new role.

Bottom line 

Preparation makes the whole process easier.  Even if you don’t get that role, you will have gone through a process that makes you better for your next interview.  This is what life is about: learning and growing.

How To Learn More

• Dig into my other writings on the job search process on The Search page.

  • Better understand your own skills and where you will be successful at Roles.

  • Check out my writings on various industries and departments at the Industries page.