Job interviews can be very stressful. This could be a make or break moment for you. There’s a lot of uncertainty to grapple with: What will they ask? How will I come off? What should I say that would paint me in the best light possible? As is often true with most things, the only thing you can control in uncertain situations is yourself. You can win the mental game of interviewing with strong preparation. Do these things in advance to give yourself the confidence you’ll need to nail your next job interview.
Do Your Homework
Landing the interview is step one. Step two is putting in the legwork to make sure you’re prepared for the interview. Research the employer and find out as much as you can about what they do, the industry they’re in, the kind of work culture they have, and the nuances of the role you’re interviewing for. If there are reviews written online by former employers, check those out (but be sure to read them with a grain of salt). Re-read the job description for your role and see which skills and qualifications you have that align with what they’re looking for - that way you’ll know what to highlight about yourself during the interview.
Be careful if you use A.I. to augment your research. A.I. programs can often “hallucinate” and produce inaccurate information. You’re better off going directly to the source and investigating your potential employer’s website and social media.
Dress to Impress
It’s not fair but first impressions can make or break your chances at getting a job. Make yourself as professional and presentable as possible for your interview. Dress to impress but not too much; you don’t want to end up recreating that scene from Step Brothers where they interview in tuxedos!
“Even if you are taking an interview from home, you need to take the time to present yourself professionally,” said Gina Pinch, Rio Salado College Faculty Chair for Business, Management, and Public Administration. “It will not only create a good impression for the company but also help put you in the right frame of mind for the interview.”
Don’t Be Late
Punctuality is also a key part of making a good impression. Factor in commute time before your interview. Treat going to your job interview like going to the airport where you leave extra early so you don’t miss your flight if you get delayed by long lines at security. Leaving early will keep you from getting stressed out if you end up running late because of traffic. It also gives you time to relax beforehand. Instead of having to rush in, you can grab a coffee somewhere, catch your breath, go over any notes you made to prepare for it, and get your mind right for the interview.
Rehearse
A job interview is an audition. You are auditioning for the role of “person who would be a good fit in this company.” Like any good performer, it helps to warm up and practice before you put yourself out there. Get a friend to do a mock interview with you and have them ask you some of the more common questions that often get asked in interviews. Here are a few examples of questions you can practice with:
- Tell us about yourself (this is not personal, but professional information).
- What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
- Why are you interested in this position?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Give me an example of a time when you had to overcome a challenge at work.
- Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond your job duties.
- Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work.
This will give you a chance to practice thinking on your feet and giving compelling answers. One thing to be mindful of: don’t memorize your answers to these questions! Even if you end up getting asked half of these questions, you don’t want to go in there with a bunch of canned answers. You don’t want to sound scripted, you want to sound confident and in-the-moment.
You may also be tempted to use an A.I. bot to practice with but you’re better off using an in-person partner: while programs like ChatGPT can give you questions and offer the simulacrum of a conversation, it can’t observe your body language and personal affect. Having a friend or mentor observe you in interview mode can give you vital feedback. Do you look relaxed or tense? Are you making eye contact or coming off as evasive? How about the volume of your voice: are you steady and clear or are you mumbling your sentences? Do you look like you believe what you’re saying?
And finally: make sure you practice with the right interview format. If your interview is going to be a virtual one, hop on a meeting platform to practice because how you carry yourself inside that window screen is going to be different than how you’ll come off in an in-person interview.
Test Your Equipment
Speaking of virtual interviews: you’ll want to double-check your tech is good to go BEFORE you log into the interview. Fully charge the device you’re using and make sure your internet connection is stable. Check to see if you’ve downloaded the most recent version of whatever software you’ll be interviewed on. Test your microphone and camera to be sure they both work. You’ll want to do this at least 10-20 minutes before the interview to give yourself time to troubleshoot in case you hit some technical difficulties. You can also use this prep time to double-check how you and your space look on camera. Are you well-lit? Does the space behind you look clean? Is there anything your interviewer could see in your room on-camera that could be embarrassing for you?
If you have notifications that pop up on your computer, disable them beforehand and exit out of any apps that could make noises during your interview.
“I would also suggest that you have pets out of the room and kids being cared for by someone else so they do not interrupt an interview,” said Pinch.
Ask Questions
A good job interview is a conversation. There should be some back and forth. Your interviewer will want to know what you’re looking for and what you’re interested in. If you don’t ask any questions, it can seem like you’re disinterested in the position or haven’t given any of this much thought. While normally the end of the interview is a good time to ask your questions, you don’t have to wait until then. Let them emerge organically; if a subject comes up that you want to ask about over the course of the interview, bring it up.
“Some interviews are timed,” Pinch said. “So you don’t want to risk running out of time on any scored questions by asking too many questions.”
If you’re not sure what to ask, think about culture. Ask what it’s like to work there. What values are they looking for? Ask about benefits and opportunities for professional development. If flexibility in scheduling and/or remote work options are important to you, bring it to their attention.
A job interview can feel one-sided— that it’s all about you trying to win them over— but it goes both ways. You’re interviewing THEM too to see if they’d be a good fit for what you need. It can be hard to walk away from a job opportunity if you don’t get the answers you want to hear from them. If you can afford to keep job hunting you’re better off trying to find a place that meets your standards then accepting a position that’ll stress you out and diminish your quality of life because their work culture is a poor fit for you.
The Biggest Red Flag
The salary question is often the most stressful part of a job interview. It’s also the most telling: if a company is reluctant to give you a firm answer on this or acts aggressive when you ask about it, walk away ASAP. Pay transparency is a sign of good faith. We all have bills to pay and obligations to fulfill; an employer that respects, that is worth working for, will understand that and give you the information you need to make an informed decision about working there.
As we said earlier, though: job interviews go both ways. It can be a red flag for employers if all you want to talk about is the money. You don’t want to walk into an interview and barrage them with questions about compensation right up front. Be patient, be present, and make sure you actually WANT to work there before asking about pay at the end of the interview.
As for the age-old question of how to answer “what are you looking for” when you ask for a starting salary, it helps to walk in with a do-or-die number. Have a minimum in your head of what you’d be willing to accept. That’s not the number you’d ask for; that’s the number you’re prepared to accept. Do your research ahead of time to figure out what the average salary is for your position in that industry. If you know people who work with that employer who are willing to share their salary information, that can give you some idea of what to ask for.
Whenever possible, though, it’s best to let them give you a starting offer and see if there’s some wiggle room to negotiate then to offer up a number yourself (as you always run the risk of either quoting a number so high you take yourself out of the running or undervalue yourself and get a lowballed deal).
Article by Austin Brietta
Career Corner
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