How to Ace your Next Interview
Interviewing can be a vulnerable experience. Even the most skilled candidates can understandably feel some nervousness around interviewing for a job they really want. While interview processes can seem intimidating, they don’t have to be. Here are tips from recruiters to help you prepare for an interview so that you can walk away knowing that you gave it your best effort.
Preparation is KEY to acing your next interview.
Do your research ahead of time.
If you’ve applied to a company, your interviewer will likely expect you to have a high-level understanding of what the company does. Even if the company reached out to you, it’s always going to look better to the interviewer if you come to the interview having done some level of research. Spend at least 30 minutes looking up the company, their product, their leadership team, and any recent articles they’ve put out. Their website, LinkedIn page, and Crunchbase are good places to start.
Get into the right mindset.
Before your interview, try to carve out 15 minutes or more to do something that is uplifting and relaxing. Maybe that’s a meditation, or a walk, or perhaps a nice cup of coffee, or a snuggle with a pet. You may also want to try standing and breathing in a power stance, meaning you stand with your arms and legs wide (seems silly, but research shows that your body language can impact your mindset and performance). Whatever you do, give yourself a moment before the interview.
Do what you need to do to be in the right mindset for your interview.
Be enthusiastic.
You want to convey to the interviewer that you’re excited about both the company and the role. There is a strong chance that you’re not the only qualified candidate interviewing, and when choosing who to hire, the tiebreaker is often the level of enthusiasm that one candidate has shown over others. Everyone in the interview process wants to see that you can envision yourself as a team member and enjoy working with them.
Ask questions and take notes.
If you’re planning to work for a company, you should naturally have some questions about its product or service and questions about the team and the role they would like you to fill. This can help you determine whether or not the role is actually a fit for you, and it can allow the interviewer to see that you are trying to make an informed decision about the next step for your career.
Notes will help you remember tidbits from conversations with other interviewers. Notes can also help you organize your thoughts when crafting an answer to a difficult question.
Minimize distractions.
Even if it’s a phone interview, interviewers can tell when you are preoccupied with something else. If something has come up and you can no longer lend your full attention to the conversation, ask the recruiter to reschedule.
Get your compensation expectations ready as early as possible.
You don’t have to tell the recruiter what you’re currently making (and you shouldn’t. Telling recruiters what you make can lead to you getting an offer that’s lower than what the company is actually willing to pay you). Still, you should have an idea going into the interview of the range you’re looking for. Glassdoor, Payscale, and LinkedIn are great places to research the salaries for your area, position, and level, but they aren’t always accurate. Thankfully, pay transparency laws are changing in a few states (California, New York, and Washington, to name some early adopters) giving candidates a heads up of the salary range ahead of time.
Nevertheless, ask the recruiter if they have a pay range that they can give you while on the phone. If there is a minimum salary level that you are looking for, let your recruiter know as soon as possible. If your expectations are wildly different from what the company can pay, you can end the process and save yourself and the company a lot of time.
Be prepared for the question: “What are your salary expectations for your next role?”
Negotiate with a purpose.
You’ve received the offer. How exciting! However, if the offer is slightly lower than what you expected, it’s okay to ask for more. If you have another higher offer, that will be helpful in the negotiation process. If there is a specific number that you’re looking for (and a specific reason that you’re looking for that number), let your recruiter know. Companies often can’t increase the base pay that they’re offering you based on their own internal compensation bands, so be aware that some companies may not negotiate at all. If there is something that you’re looking for that you don’t see in your offer (i.e. more equity, more PTO, a sign-on bonus), it can’t hurt to ask. That being said, if the company can’t budge, they can’t budge.
Don’t take rejection personally.
Rejection hurts a lot, but there is a very strong chance that you are one of many talented candidates interviewing for the same role. Sometimes the timing is off, or another candidate’s skill set is more closely aligned with the role, or the leadership team decided to remove headcount for your role. Recruiters can’t always give you a detailed reason for why you’re being rejected, but you should understand that you can be perfectly qualified for a role and still not get the job. That’s okay. If you really enjoyed meeting with the team and would still like to work at the company, let the recruiter know that you’d like to keep in touch. I can’t tell you how many candidates I’ve eventually hired who were rejected the first time they interviewed.
Have fun with it!
Yes, you are being interviewed, but you are also interviewing the company. When else do you get such a solid opportunity to brag about your professional accomplishments? At the end of the day, interviewing is a great way to make connections and learn more about a new company, and that in and of itself can be deeply beneficial to your career. Even if you and the company determine that this isn’t a fit, you can walk away from the interview, having expanded your network a bit.
Interviewing can be a great way to expand your network. Try to have fun with it!
Want to check out what we’re hearing from conversations with job hunting candidates? Check out our What we’re hearing from candidates recruiting blog series!
