How to Prepare for an Interview (2022)
You have been wanting to grow in your career for some time now, so you have been researching job postings that align with your goals. In your excitement you apply for the position and…voila, you are offered an interview!
How to prepare for an interview? Thoughtful preparation on how you will answer questions asked will help you land the job or secure a second interview!
There are many ways you can prepare for an interview, but the most important is how to answer common interview questions. Of course, the past couple of years slightly changed the more for the interviewing process. Many will be virtual, so you will be able to use this information for learning how to prepare for a zoom interview.
I will share my proven method to help you wow the interviewers and quite frankly yourself! So, let’s get it!
How to Prepare for an Interview
- Review the job description
I recommend going back to the job requisition to review it carefully. You are looking to see what the responsibilities of the role will be. Keep in mind that this may or may not change as these are never set in stone.
After reviewing, jot down which ones correspond to your skills. Not all of them will align with what you have experience or skill in but being that you feel confident you can do the job, something should stick out.
- Get to know the interviewers
Why wouldn’t you want to know more about the person(s) interviewing you? You can never predict what the interviewers’ personalities will be, but you can gain some insight into who they are. Trust me, knowing this information will ease your nerves before the interview. You may also find that you have something in common with one or more of them.
If you do, consider this as somewhat of an icebreaker to use at the beginning of your interview. Secondly, you can gain insight into what type of employee they are seeking by seeing what type of employee they seem to be.
All of this is considering you are currently working at the company for the position you applied for.
- Company research
Do yourself a big favor by researching the company you want to work for. The importance of research cannot be overstated. In order to get the best possible interview, you need to know everything about the company.
Researching a company is an important step in the process of applying for a job there. It can help you identify what kind of company it is, its values, and if they are a good fit for your skillset and lifestyle.
- Jot down your career highlights
This is the most important part of preparing for an interview, in my opinion. Really think about 5-7 situations in your work or volunteer history in which you really shined.
Choose situations in which you received positive feedback from either your peers and/or management staff. These are also instances where you feel you did well.
Notating your career highlights will assist you in answering any interview question because your highlights are very easy to remember. Most people are nervous before an interview and try to make up answers on the spot. This is not a good idea.
Interviewers can see that you are thinking of what to say and it’s just not a good look when trying to obtain a management position. It shows an inability to think on your feet, which is not a good sign for a new manager.
When jotting down notes about these highlights, ensure you are using the S.T.A.R. method.
What is the S.T.A.R method?
Most interview questions will be behavioral in nature and will not be yes or no questions. The S.T.A.R. acronym stands for the following:
Situation-Describe what needed to be accomplished
Task-What task(s) did you perform that you were asked to perform
Action- Specifically describe what you did, how you did it, what skills were used, and what your role as if the task(s) were team-oriented.
Result-Describe what happened as a result of your actions. Did you accomplish the task? What feedback was given? Were there any statistical results? Will the work be duplicated?
The S.T.A.R. Method is the way in which you will answer each question asked in the interview. Because you are familiar with the situations you present, your confidence will shine through.
Common Job Interview Questions and Answers
There are usually typical questions that are asked by interviewers for managerial positions. Some of them include
- Describe a project where you led a team to success.
2. How would you solve a dispute among two team members?
- There have been many occasions but the most notable would be the implementation of user stories to improve the customer experience. At this point, you would use the S.T.A.R. Method to provide further explanation.
- Quickly so that the dispute does not affect other team members. I would then gather facts about the dispute, speak to the individuals for clarity, decide on a plan of action to resolve amicably, and obtain agreement from both parties.
Conclusion
Through this post, I hope that you have obtain helpful tips on how to prepare for an interview. As you can see, preparation is key to your success. Remember, opportunity meets preparation. Good Luck, you got this!
