Are you preparing for an important interview? Want to stand out from the crowd? Use these 5 tips to master your next interview.
Before we jump in, let’s review some basic preparation tips for your interview:
- Arrive on time
- Research the company you are interviewing for
- Choose an appropriate outfit
- Update your resume
Now let’s talk about the interview itself. During the actual interview focus on what your resume doesn’t tell them – more about you.
1. Project warmth, likability and be personable.
The interviewer will be looking to see if you are someone that others will want to be around. An interview isn’t all about the technicalities of the job, the interviewer is aware of their company’s corporate culture and are juggling a fine balancing act of varying personalities and skillsets. They are looking to create and maintain a successful team, with new employees critically being able to mesh with an existing one. Focus on your personality. Remember to show positivity throughout by:
- Smiling
- Being positive, especially about other people
- Remember the interviewer’s name
- Tell a relevant story about yourself
2. Be prepared with your own questions for the interviewer.
Think about what will get them talking and ask great questions. It proves you have done your research on the company, which of course will impress. Think outside the box and encourage the interviewer to share projects the company is involved in, have them express opinions and explain the ethos of the company. In the last tip we talked about the culture of the company, take the opportunity to learn more with leading questions like these from former Jet Blue Chairman, Joel Peterson :
‘How can new employees become familiar with, and begin to contribute to, the culture you’ve developed here? What’s the most important way that your company differentiates itself from competitors?’
Focus the question on the industry you’re in, showing that you’re knowledgeable about the company and its sector.
3. Use social media to be prepared on who is interviewing you.
Learn about them; use the same tools that, you can guarantee, they used to research you.
- LinkedIn or other professional social media accounts
- Company’s social media pages
- Team members profile pages on the company’s website
- Read industry publications either about the company or an article that your interviewer has possibly written.
You can use this information to guide the conversation. It will shine a light on you but will also propel the other person to talk about themselves. And we all like to do that!
4. Use the ‘Peak End Rule’.
The Peak End Rule is where people tend to remember the peak or extreme point and the end of an interaction. Our memories of positive and negative experiences depend on two moments, how we feel at the most extreme point (peak) and the how the experience ends. Typically, our memories are not an average of the entire experience or for the full amount of time we are engaged in the situation. The Peak-end theory was created by the Nobel Prize-winning Israeli psychologist Daniel Kahneman. His definition is as follows:
“The peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic in which people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (its most intense point) and at its end, rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience.”
Chip and Dan Heath also explore this concept in their book ‘ The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact. ‘
They suggest that a peak moment requires at least one of the four elements below, with the best having all four:
- Elevation: these are moments of happiness that transcend the normal course of events through sensory pleasures and surprise
- Pride: these are moments that capture us at our best, whether it be moments of achievement or moments of courage
- Insight: these are our eureka moments; they change our understanding of ourselves of the world and give us a moment of sobering clarity
- Connection: these are moments which are social in nature; think weddings.
Work in positive experiences (peaks) throughout the interview and importantly ensure the interview finishes on a memorable high.
5. Remember you are not the only one preparing for this interview.
Companies often recruit other team members you interact with for their feedback. Whoever you encounter let your personality shine through. No matter who it is, remember you are in interview mode.
By using these 5 tips, fingers crossed, you will ace your next interview.
Drop us an email with your resume, or give us a call, and we can start to find out what your aspirations are and how we can get you there. We’ll work with you to identify suitable opportunities, and where needed, refer you to our career partner, Connect by Nova , to talk through career action plans, interview tips and advice to help you with your career and beyond.
Feel free to reach out to our team today at info@nova.ky
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