Pre-planning is the most important thing you can do to prepare for an employment interview. If this is done thoroughly your chances of impressing your interviewer and getting a job offer may increase by as much as 75%. And if it is not done thoroughly you may decrease your chances of success by the same percentage. If you follow the tips below you will knock the socks off of your interviewer.
Let’s assume you have submitted your resume to a company which includes your work experience, your accomplishments, your skills and your education and the company has reviewed the information. Based on that review the company contacts you and schedules an interview. You need not spend very much time in reviewing your resume, the company has already seen it and you know this stuff. Spend your time on…
- Research the Industry – To begin with you need to research the industry this company is part of. What are the things affecting this industry, what are the trends? Is there any new legislation affecting the industry, any environmental factors, or are there any regulatory agencies that are impacting this industry? Do a S.W.OT analysis of the industry (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
- Research the Company – The next area of research is the company. Find out how old is the company, how are they doing financially, what is their reputation, who are their customers, is their product or service for the end user? Who is the CEO of the company and how long has he/she been there? What factors are affecting this company? Check the press releases. Are there any new products or services being added to the company, are they expanding, down sizing any other changes to the company, are they bringing in new procedures, new software? Do a SWOT analysis on the company.
- Research the Interviewer – Hopefully when the company contacted you to set up the inter view you remembered to get the interviewer’s name and position. Is it a department head you are going to see or someone in Human Resources? Use your network to find out about this person. If that does not work, call the company. Even if you get an automated message there is usually an option to talk to a real person. If you get a receptionist or telephone operator introduce yourself and tell them you have a meeting with Mary Jones next week and you want to know the correct spelling of her name and her job title. Ask if she can assist you with this information. She may have the time to chat or may refer you to an assistant. If the person seems willing to talk keep going. Ask if Mary’s office is in the same building, how many people are in the department? By asking these types of questions the person may volunteer information you might otherwise not know about. For instance, oh yes Mary Jones’s department is in our building now because they closed our satellite office. Be friendly but don’t push. Make sure you ask this person what their name is, thank them for the information and tell them you hope to meet them in person when you come in for your meeting. You have already started to impress the company by making a connection with one of their employees.
- Create your summary speech – Once you have learned all you can about the industry and the company now take out that resume. Based on what is going on with this industry and this company how can you use your experience, skills and accomplishments to serve this company? Are they going through a merger or an acquisition and you have experience at this? Is the new software they are purchasing something you are familiar with? Look for a match so that you can speak to this on the interview. Prepare your own elevator speech which says who am I, my experience, my expertise, what kind of company you want to work for and what you can bring to this company.
- Prepare your questions – Now that you have completed all the research, get even more curious about the company. Where are they headed, how are they going to handle the current trends or legislation? How will the position you are applying for be impacted by the information you have researched? Write down your questions and bring them to the interview.
- Plan your wardrobe – What should you wear to an interview? If the company is a more traditional company, like the banking industry for example you should wear traditional clothing. Suits that are black, grey or blue with added color in the shirts or blouses would be appropriate. Woman should wear very simple jewelry. Did you see the movie "The Devil wore Prada?" In that movie a young woman starts out a job in the fashion industry wearing very plain clothes. In order to fit into the environment she quickly changes her style by wearing more high fashion clothing and shoes such as stiletto heels. You want to be seen as someone who fits in right from the beginning, so by wearing clothing that is appropriate to the industry, it will help you to impress your interviewer.
- Research Directions/Parking facilities – Do you know were the company is located? Don’t just do a quick map quest twenty minutes before you leave the house. Depending on the time of day the traffic patterns may be different or there may be one- way streets on your route. These things could slow you down and make you late for your interview. Where will you park your car? If you are going to a down town areas of a city they may not have their own parking facilities, so check it out ahead of time.
- Arrive early (but not too early) – Plan on arriving 5 to 10 minutes earlier than the appointed time of your interview. If you arrive too early you may put stress on the people who are going to see you. The company many not have a place for you to wait for a long period of time. Just because you arrive early does not mean they can see you earlier. Find out ahead of time if you will be filling out an employment application and if you need to allow for extra time to complete it.
- Check your behavior while you wait – Once you cross the threshold of the company all of your behavior will be observed and reported back to the interviewer. Don’t use the opportunity to set up a date with one of their employees or practice what you are going to say on the interview out loud. If they have some material about the company, like an annual report or a sales brochures read through it. You may pick up some new information. Or just observe what is going on around you.
- Greet and shake hands with everyone you meet – With anyone you are introduced to be sure and give them a firm handshake. You want to be perceived as confident, welcoming and open to new people. Repeat the name of the person you are being introduced to, say something like “I am so pleased to meet you John,” or “Mr. Jones.” Don’t assume a first name is ok to use unless you are introduced that way.