3 Distinct Steps of the Interview Process
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they ere to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison
You have more say in your destiny than you may think. Remember that your passion, positive attitude and confidence can help establish the tone and the outcomes from the interview.
The three distinct steps of the interview process:
1. Research – before the interview, gather all the knowledge you can about the organization and the people with whom you are interviewing.
a. The easiest resources to access are on the internet:
i. Go to the company’s website.
ii. Google the company for late breaking news and general news items not published by the company.
iii. Use LinkedIn to get an understanding of each of the interviewers.
b. If you have a contact inside the company, make a call to them to get a more personal view of the organization and the corporate culture.
c. Think about the questions that you will likely be asked and think about how you would answer those questions.
2. Sell You – convey enthusiasm, energy and optimism about the opportunity.
a. Reiterate your interest in the position.
b. Answer questions with confidence and use the STAR method to provide behavioral examples of your capabilities to perform the job responsibilities. When answering questions, this method has been useful to many candidates:
i. S = quickly communicate the situation and any background information to set the stage for the example you are going to share.
ii. T = explain the task or assignment.
iii. A = explain what actions you took, how you contributed to the successful outcomes for the project.
iv. R = discuss the results or outcomes.
3. Ask Questions – convey interest and gather more information about the role, the organization or the interviewer. A couple of examples follow:
a. Can you tell me a little more about the position and the type of person and core competencies you are seeking?
b. What benchmarks are you using to evaluate candidates for this position?
