Prepare
You should start by spending time preparing for all interviews and your job search as a whole, and then time preparing for each individual company and interview you are considering an opportunity with.
Top 3 Suggestions for Interview Preparation:
Review your resume, LinkedIn profile, personal/professional website, and any other online portfolios to refresh yourself on your experiences, successes, and struggles. Learn about each company and the individuals you’re speaking with through online research and consulting with Recruiters. In addition to checking out their website, do online searches and check out what the company has been sharing via their social media channels to get the most current information. Invest time doing technology training and looking at technical and market trends. The goal is to determine what skills are the most in demand by the employers you’d be targeting, and start developing or enhancing those skills.
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Practice e makes perfect, right? The most effective way to present your skill set, career goals and interests, and differentiators is to practice, practice and practice some more!
Top 3 Suggestions for Practicing for Interviews:
- Master your Elevator Pitch. Almost every interviewer will ask something along the lines of “Tell me about yourself.” You want to provide a concise answer that clearly communicates your key skills, technical competencies, differentiators and interests! Pitches can also include a brief summary of your last position.
- Prepare line of questioning. You want to ask at least 2-3 questions that demonstrate you’ve done your homework on the position and role.
- Do a mock interview. Especially if you haven’t interviewed in awhile, you want to experience as close to the real feeling of an interview experience as possible. Doing 30-60 minute mock interviews is the best way to accomplish this.
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Perform
Do interviews cause you anxiety? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. Conducting a job search, and going on interviews, is a high anxiety and stressful time for most people. However, if you take the time to prepare and practice, you have nothing to worry about!
Top 3 Suggestions for Strong Interview Performance:
- Ask the quality questions you prepared. One of the top reasons we’ve had candidates miss out is that the candidate didn’t ask any questions.
- When answering questions, be concise, make sure you’re actually answering the question being asked, be honest, and focus on what you’ve done, and not what others have done.
- Summarize your understanding of the position at the end of the interview, and ask for clarification or further explanation if needed. Many candidates walk away from interviews not understanding the major purpose or priorities of the position. We’ve learned that it should be shared responsibility by the candidate and the interviewer to ensure the candidate has an accurate understanding of the role! This is also a good opportunity to reiterate or summarize your qualifications and interest related to the position.
Post-Interview Follow-Up
We’ve never heard negative feedback from a client who received a well-written follow up ‘Thank You’ note or email from a candidate after an interview. While these are not as “standard practice” as they used to be, they’re still great gestures!
Top 3 Suggestions for Writing a Follow Up Note/Email:
Show appreciation for their time. Everyone’s time is valuable, and simply saying “Thank you for giving me an hour of your time to talk to me more about this opportunity and assess my skill set” can go a long way! Reiterate your interest. One of the top reasons candidate’s aren’t selected for an interview? They don’t seem interest. This is something we hear all the time. The good news? It’s completely within your control! We recommend you communicate your interest and/or excitement about the opportunity at the end of the interview and in your follow up ‘Thank You.’ Offer additional examples of your work. Do you have examples of your work you can share, letters of recommendation, or even LinkedIn recommendations that could be perceived positively? Offer them proactively to the Recruiter and/or hiring Managers you are working with!
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Resources
Click on the graphics below for more information about building a strong resume: 
 
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