Your Must Know Guide To Prepare For An Interview

Feb. 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Congratulations; you’ve landed an interview – the first step in the hiring process!  Celebrate for a moment, and then take a deep breath.  There are a few more hurdles to jump before landing that job.  How do you prepare?

Your goal is to get a second interview! Armed with your goal and a copy of the job description, it’s time to check out the company.  What do they do?  What do they sell or provide, and to whom?  Look for evidence through research and interviews with similarly employed professionals about how your role fits into the company’s mission statement and overall operations.  Familiarize yourself with this information and incorporate it into your tone and content for the interview.

Next, dig into the company’s performance.  What strengths and weaknesses are evident; have they recently reached any milestones?  Let your interviewer know you have skills that can solve issues specific to the industry.  Review company reports, press releases and news stories to look for clues about what the company wants to accomplish or fix, and where money and resources are being spent.  If the company is public (or a competitor), I highly recommend using Yahoo! Finance to research the company performance, competitors, annual letter, and analyst reports.  You may need to buy an analyst report, but it will be the best money you can spend.  Formulate questions and know the answers ahead of time.  You’ll be able to converse on the answers you receive with intelligence and confidence.

Now, you need to practice your interview. Check the company website for info about the actual interview process.  Research and be ready for any specific approach you may encounter.  Find out if tests or technical questions are involved and make sure you’re ready to address them.  Answer these five questions to cover the basics:


  1. Are you qualified for the position?  Simple statements work here – cover your education, training, and pertinent experiences.
  2. What motivates you?  Discuss what thrills you about this work.
  3. What are your “negative” factors?  Be brave – nobody is perfect.  Talk about these frankly, but be sure to include a positive evolution from the condition or the results!
  4. Are you a good fit?  Teamwork or lone activites?  Introvert or extrovert?  Ethics?
  5. Why do you want the job?  Focus on how the company can lead their competitors with your help.  What benefits will you bring to the job?

And finally, relax!  With great preparation, you’ll get a good night’s sleep and be at your very best on the important day.

Good luck.

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