Interviewing Effectively – Part 1

Ok. So you’ve done all the work to earn a face-to-face interview for a job you’re interested in.  Now you have to prepare for the interview. What do you do?

A few tidbits to factor in:

1. 70% of all interviews that end without an offer are decided in the FIRST 10 MINUTES.
2. Always prepare questions for your interviewer. Questions denote interest.
3. Dress at or slightly above the dress code for the company. Always error on the side of overdressing.
4. Know everything you can about the interviewer, the company, the job and the company’s products or services.
5. Find out all you can about the format of the interview. Is it a panel interview? How many people will you speak with?  Who are they?
6. Know your background thoroughly, both the good and the bad.
7. Think about how to handle any compensation related questions. They might not come up…but they often do.
8. Practice how to answer the most common interview questions:  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker/manager and how did you handle it.

If you do the homework, you can give yourself the best chance of getting an offer.