Preparing for Your Interview
Preparing for an interview is basically a part-time job but as someone who conducts interviews weekly as a Hiring Manager, I will let you in on a secret: I can always tell who has prepared and who has not. And I do literally mean ALWAYS. It is so obvious. In this post, I break down of the things you should be doing to prepare for your interview. Is it a lot? Yeah, it really is. For this last role that I was hired for, I think I probably spent 10-15 hours total preparing for the various interviews. I really hope this is a helpful guide for all of you, although those of you who have been interviewing for years may find it a little obvious. If nothing else, you girlies who are just starting out in the workforce will get a good idea of how to prep. As always, I love your feedback so send me a DM or an email and let me know what you think or what questions you have.
First, I am going to give you a quick list of everything I do to interview prep. Then, we will ‘double click’ (love a good corporate phrase) into some of these items below. Once you have done everything on this list, pop back over to my blogpost Pre-Interview Checklist and make sure you have everything ready to go.
Things to do Before Your Interview
1) Research the Company
Mission and Values: Understand what the company stands for.
Recent News: Stay updated on their latest developments.
Culture: Get a sense of their work environment.
You absolutely must know who their CEO is. Lol.
You need a very firm and clear response to ‘what made you interested in this role at our company?’
2) Know the Job Description
Key Responsibilities: Familiarize yourself with what the role entails.
Required Skills: Identify how your skills match their needs.
Consider making a document that outlines the skills/responsibilities and lists some projects you have done that align. Feel free to print this and bring it with you to the interview, I’ve done that before.
3) Practice Common Interview Questions - I’ll do another blog post on this and link it here when complete.
Tell Me About Yourself/Walk me through your resume: Prepare a brief introduction, 3 minutes or less.
Strengths and Weaknesses: Think of examples for both. For weakness, always tie it to your strength and discuss how you’ve taken steps to overcome it.
Behavioral Questions: Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
4) Prepare Your Questions - I’ll do another blog post on this and link it here when complete.
Ask About the Role: Show your interest and curiosity.
Company Culture: Inquire about team dynamics and values.
5) Plan Your Attire - Again, I’ll do another blog post and link when it’s done.
Dress Appropriately: Choose an outfit that fits the company culture.
6) Organize Your Documents - More about this in this blog post.
Resume Copies: Bring several copies to share.
Portfolio/Work Samples: If applicable, have relevant examples ready.
7) Mock Interviews
Practice with a Friend: Conduct a few mock interviews to build confidence.
Practice your body language: Maintain eye contact and sit up straight. Don’t sigh before every answer (many people aren’t aware they do this!).
Practice in the car with ChatGPT. Copy and paste the job description and your resume into ChatGPT and ask “Please generate a list of potential interview questions that are most likely to be asked based on this job description and my resume.” Have ChatGPT ask you these questions out loud and practice responding to them. This is great to do during your commute.
8) Review Your Online Presence
Social Media: Ensure your profiles are locked down. Don’t post about the interview online.
LinkedIn: Clean up your LinkedIn. Make sure your LinkedIn matches what is on your resume.
9) Plan Your Journey
Know the Location: Familiarize yourself with the route and timing to avoid being late.
Review Email: Review the last email you received from whoever planned your interview to make sure you’re prepared for everything they have asked for.
Let’s Double Click
Do Research on the Company
One of my biggest interviewing pet peeves as a Hiring Manager is when I ask people “What brought you to [my company]?” and they have nothing to say about the actual company. YES I KNOW it is such a BS question to answer, but if someone I am interviewing doesn’t have an answer, what that tells me is that they are not taking the job interview seriously and haven’t done their homework. If they are not going to do their homework to get a JOB, then I can make a pretty fair assumption that they are going to be someone that I have to push and/or motivate to do their work and I am not interested in babysitting.
The reason you want to work at a company is obviously “I want to make money.” But that’s not good enough (especially these days when companies are doing so much to promote how great of an employer they are). So what can you do to answer this question?
Go on the website and find their values that resonate with you. What’s their #1 objective? Are they environmentally conscious? Do they value ‘continuous learning’ or invest in employee MBAs? Look at what employees are saying about the company in their posts. Find just one crumb of connection that you can make to the company.
Go to their LinkedIn profile and figure out what they’re focused on right now. Are they posting about a recent training they did? A summit they attended and presented at? A new product they just launched? If you can spin a story about how any of this is remotely exciting to you, do that.
Do you know the name of the CEO? You must, especially for a company that has global visibility (think: Salesforce or Walmart).
Make a list of things you like about your current company or other companies you’ve researched and see how this company aligns. Are they focused on DEI initiatives? Women in leadership programs? Find something you can use to connect yourself and your passions, background, and experience with the company. When they ask you why you want to work at this company, you need a solid answer.
Know Your Interviewer: When you go on a first date, do you look at their socials? Try to figure out what you have in common? Figure out what his/her Aunt’s name is? Yes, you do. Approach this interview in the same way but I recommend sticking to their LinkedIn profile rather than trying to find personal information about them on Facebook. See what roles they have had in the past that may be similar to what you’ve done. See what extra-curriculars they have on their socials that you can drop into the conversation when telling them about yourself (but don’t make it obvious). Your goal is to find connection moments that you can use to build rapport with the interviewer. If you can’t find anything, don’t worry about it.
If you do find these connection moments, you can find ways to drop them in without mentioning that you already know you have these things in common.
You can also mention that you did research them ahead of time, especially if you have a relevant question for them.
“I checked your LinkedIn before our conversation and noticed that before you were at <company>, you were at <other company>. Can you tell me what it was that made you leave that company and come to this role?”
“I took a look at your LinkedIn before this meeting and noticed you and this team won an award for x. That’s so exciting, can you tell me more about that?”
NEVER MENTION ANYTHING YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THEM PERSONALLY! Like how many kids they have or a photo you saw of them doing a triathlon that you found while Googling them. That’s weird. Don’t be weird.
Plan Your Attire
My cardinal rules for interview attire for women:
Don’t show even one drop of cleavage
Try to avoid anything that is too form-fitting
Cover your shoulders
Don’t wear skirts/dress that comes above your knees
No open-toed shoes
No jeans
Do not show your stomach/midriff. I know we’ve moved on from dress codes for Gen Z but still, don’t do it.
Nothing on your head unless it’s a wig: No sunglasses, no hats, no headbands (I don’t care how cute the headband is, just don’t)
Maybe this is archaic but I don’t care. Don’t give them a reason to dislike you. For men – please wear a collared shirt, nice slacks/pants, nice shoes. No t-shirts. I recommend a tie and coat at the very least but you should be in a suit for a very formal corporate job (finance, sales, etc.). Do not wear anything on your head unless it’s a toupee <3.
As I have said before, your professional attire is the first thing an Interviewer will see and is the first opportunity they have to make positive or negative assumptions about you. Even if the company tells you that their interview attire is ‘casual,’ that is NOT an invitation to wear a t-shirt, jeans, and a beanie. Show them you respect their company. ‘Casual’ interview attire just means you do not need to wear a suit or pantsuit. It means you should still be wearing nice khakis/slacks and a nice shirt for guys or a dress/blouse and skirt for the girlies. Trust me on this one.
I have tried to find example images on Pinterest to show what I mean is business casual versus business professional but I am afraid that Pinterest appears to have lost the plot. A professional outfit = a suit/pantsuit. A business casual outfit is still very nice and professional and unless you’re interviewing for a role in fashion, this is not the time to break out your most cutting-edge fashionable outfit. Some of you are going to disagree with me here and I am fine with that. I think people vastly underestimate what is considered professional attire these days and I’m here to be the person that steers everyone back on course I guess.
Interview Business Professional
Interview Business Casual
Ok I’m almost off my soapbox here but bear with me for one more point: The definition of business casual totally changes if you’re actually employed and going to an event or something. In that situation, it would be fine for you to wear jeans and a blazer, for example. If you are interviewing for a job, that is not the time to take liberties with your definition of what ‘business casual’ means to you.
Phew! That’s enough for one day I think. Again, would love your commentary/thoughts/questions/feedback/things you disagree with. Thanks for reading and good luck in your interview!!
Love, Lacey
