How to master a job Interview

How to master a job Interview

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If you are going to have a job interview, it means you`ve master how to create a professional CV, congrats!

Weather you are applying to a big company as Google, Facebook, McKinsey, Bain, or Morgan Stanley just to mention a few examples or you are applying to a medium or small size company, there are several recommendations that will help you succeed in their interview stage.

Basically you need to master three major points to succeed which are: preparation, relaxation and follow the general guidelines.

1. Job interview preparation

Preparation

You need to invest some time doing some research about the company you are applying and practice for the interview.

a. Glassdor research

Now a day, Glassdor is the number one source to get a good insight of companies. In this website you’ll be able to find everything you need to know about a great variety of companies with specific information of each of their offices around the world. It’s made with the contributions of current and former employees or applicants who experienced the recruiting process.

Most probably you are going to find a lot of information on big companies and less information (or non) on small ones. You’ll be able to find the following aspects and you’ll be able to filter the results by location (Country and city) and job position:

  • Open job positions: current job offer from different companies
  • Company Reviews: the experience of current and former employees
  • Salaries: a range of salaries according to each job position
  • Interviews: explanation of the recruiting process by successful and unsuccessful applicants

*If you want to have access to all the reviews you’ll be required to contribute writing about any of the previous aspects mentioned; you can write about any company you have worked with or with whom you have experienced the recruiting process (even if it was unsuccessful).

b. Research the company’s main stats

  • Company’s website: log into the company’s website and learn about it. If the company is public download its Annual Report and find out at least the following:
    • Year of foundation and current CEO
    • Historical sales and profits
    • Stock price
    • Locations
    • Revenue streams
    • Main competitors
    • Main clients 
  • Google the company: there should exist a lot of information so you should at least find a brief summary of the company in Wikipedia and read the latest news.

Most probably you are not going to be asked which were last year company sales or which is the name of the CEO, but you should know this information first because you want to work for this company and second because if there’s a chance in which you can mention any of these details you’ll prove that you have done your homework and you are going to stand above all the other applicants.

c. Read industry preparation books

There is usually a go-to book for each industry that will help you prepare with specific interview questions that most likely will be asked. For example, when I was applying to enter Management Consulting, I read the book Case in Point by Marc Cosentino.

Case in point by Marc Cosentino

d. Develop a problem solving framework

There are mainly two kinds of questions that you will be asked:

  • Behavioral questions: you’ll be asked to explain how you managed to achieve something in a past job (e.g. “Tell me about the time when you did…”)
  • Case questions: you’ll be asked to explain how would you solve a problem in a hypothetical situation (e.g. “How would you calculate the sell price of a ticket for a space trip to Mars”)

No matter which question is, the answer could be better explain if you follow a structure:

  • Repeat or state which is/was the main problem
  • Structure the solution (if there are calculations needed round the numbers and briefly explain which calculations you are using)
  • Summarize the case at the end

e. Practice, practice and practice

This is something you cannot do alone, it’s possible that you read a lot of material that will help you prepare for the interview but you NEED to practice with a friend or a family member or anyone that is willing to help you. When you practice with someone you’ll find out your weaknesses and strengths and the other person will be able to give you feedback. Just ask someone to act as a recruiter and interview you and at the end of the exercise ask if she/he would hire you and why.

2. Relaxation

Meditation

One major aspect that the person who will interview you will consider is your personality and behavior so you have to look confident and relaxed. Even if you have done your research and practiced for the interview, if you are nervous you won’t be able to transmit confidence and more over you won’t be able to focus a 100% in the interview and excel on it. Therefore, these are some recommendations that will help you acquire peace of mind before the interview:

a. Apply to several companies at the same time

It doesn’t matter if they are in the same industry or in other, or if they are big or small companies or you prefer one over another, in fact it’s better if you apply for other small companies in which you are not very interested in entering. For example, you can apply at the same time to two companies you really want to enter, two which are curious about and two which you are not really interested.

Each company will have it’s own recruiting process and you are going to learn from all of it, so this will let you practice and will let you have peace of mind because if you don’t get hired in your number one option, you’ll still have your number two option and in some cases you may even get to know a company better and prefer the culture of a company which you weren’t really interested at the beginning.

b. Have an alternative option

An alternative option could be other thing you are considering to do instead of working in a company. It will depend on the stage of your life you are because right now you may be a college student looking for an internship of a recent graduate looking for a full time job or an experienced professional looking for career development. Therefore, these are different ideas you can consider:

*Also keep in mind that you can keep on interviewing and sending your CV to other companies while you do all these options. In that way your resume won’t have huge time gaps and you’ll have more points to add.

c. Create an interview diary

After you finish each interview write down all your thoughts, this will give you more preparation for your next interviews:

  • What made you succeed
  • What made you fail
  • What you should research to be prepared to answer the next time

3. Follow the general guidelines

 Guidelines

a. Arrive 15 minutes earlier (no more)

  • Location: double check in google maps the location of the company and which way of transportation you are going to take. If you are going on a pick hour check how much more minutes you’re going to spend stuck in traffic.
  • Parking (if needed): if you’re driving ask if you are allowed to use the company’s parking place and if not consider all the difficulties you may encounter and extra time to find parking.
  • General appearance: take some minutes to go to the restroom and check your general appearance.
  • Arriving earlier: if you arrive earlier than 15 minutes stay some time in your car practicing your questions or go to a coffee shop to relax.

b. Ask questions

Ask questions that show your interest in working for the company and that you have done your research. For example, some of these questions could be:

  • Which is the career path for my job position?
  • Can you briefly describe a normal day for a person in this job position?
  • What do you like the most about working on the company?
  • I’ve heard that the company promotes X, Y and Z, is that true?

c. Body language

As Albert Mehrabian explains in his book Silent Messages, 7% of your credibility comes from the actual words you are speaking. 55% comes from just body language, and the remaining 38% comes from your tone of voice.

Silent Messages Albert Mehrabiarn

d. Sell yourself

In the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, the author explains that one of the principles of persuasion is Authority. People respect authority, they want to follow the lead of real experts. Business titles and even impressive clothing are proven factors in lending credibility to any individual. So you always have to look confident and prove expertise in each question you are asked. This doesn’t mean that you are going to lie about your experience but this means you won’t highlight your areas of opportunity but highlight your abilities if they somehow prove your expertise about a subject, even if it´s not directly related.

NFLUENCE THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION

In summary, prepare, relax and follow the general guidelines and you’ll succeed in your next job interview; just be confident about yourself.

In the Work Abroad section, you can find more experiences earning internships and full-time job positions abroad! If you had a similar experience and want to inspire others to apply please send an email to pilar.noriega@thelifestylehunter.com

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6 Comments

  1. diybutterflyblog
    17/04/2017 / 9:03 PM

    This has such valuable tips for someone going through the interview process. Relaxation I think is one of the hardest parts because you are going to naturally be nervous on an interview.

    • admin
      Author
      09/04/2017 / 6:56 PM

      Thank you very much Natalie! I’m glad you found it useful. Lot’s of luck in your next job interview! 😀

    • admin
      Author
      05/04/2017 / 5:47 PM

      Thank a lot Rumela! I’m glad you found it helpful! 🙂

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