Prep for Success
I know there are thousands of articles out there on how to prepare for an interview, but I am adding to the pile because it seems there are still so many people who don’t do it.
Preparing yourself for an interview is interview question one. Literally, I will ask people how they have prepared for this interview and you have no idea how many people say “well I read your website” or “I read your Glassdoor reviews”. These are barely starting points in preparing for an interview.
So here I am, article 1,000,001 on how to better prepare for an interview. I hope this is one you read, and use to help move you to that next level of your career.
After asking how they prepared, I will always ask a candidate why they applied to this particular role. If you cannot answer this you should just hang up. Think about what got you excited about the role, where you feel you can bring value, and where you can learn (based on the job description). This might be something you jot down on a spreadsheet when you’re applying for jobs.
Dig into the company’s website. Go deep. Read press releases, investor packages, log into their platform (if it’s a platform!). Try to understand what the business does, how it does it, and why it does it.
Write down questions about what you’re reading and interested in learning more about. Questions don’t need to just be about the job itself, showing interest in the company as a whole shows that you’re there to be part of a team and you see the vision.
Read Glassdoor reviews. They shouldn’t be your only indicator of whether or not to join a company, but they should offer you some insight into plusses and minuses. See a concern? Ask your interviewer about it!
Look into their competition, and then ask questions about how this company differs. If you don’t know about the competition how do you know why you want to join that company?
Know your worth and the compensation range for your level of experience. The only thing worse than asking what a candidate wants to make and them having no idea, is when they throw out a lowball or crazy high number. It’s your career, know your value in the market. (If someone asks you what you’re making now, which is kind of irrelevant, you can tell them but follow up with: “but for this role my expectation is between X and X”).
Learn about the person/people who you’re meeting with. Ask them about their career paths, why they joined, how they’ve grown etc…
Moral of the story: no one wants to hire an employee who’s just looking for a job. They want to hire teammates, goal setters, passionate drivers of their business. There are so many types of companies out there today, find something you’re passionate about and prepare to put your best foot forward.