We are sad to announce that this is Shannon’s last post on the site. She is moving on to other projects and opportunities, and we wish her all the best! Please be sure to thank her and check out all her other great posts as well.
If you read this site often, you know that the founder, DC, has started a new job, and he could definitely talk about successful job interviewing since it led to his new job.
For me, other than writing about personal finance, I love to write about careers and mentor others in their careers; and I actually just started writing regularly for AOL Jobs about women in finance careers.
As a 13-year financial services veteran, I have quite a bit of experience in finance and enjoy when I can use the lessons I learned to help others on their professional journeys.
Over my career, I participated in the hiring process of dozens of candidates for the firms where I worked, and as a hiring manager or influencer, there are a number of things I would like to share with you to make your job interview the most successful it can possibly be, so here are some tips.
1) Know Yourself
Some hiring managers will utilize recruiters and get a full synopsis on each of the candidates they interview, while many will only have your resume as a point of reference. I only interviewed candidates where I had nothing but their resume, so I made a point of picking apart their resumes before I sat down to interview them. I went through every last detail, and created an image in my mind of what the candidate would be like, and I frequently developed my list of questions based solely on the resume.
There is nothing worse than asking a candidate about something on his or her resume and the candidate not knowing what I was talking about. You need to be prepared for anything in an interview, and the easiest prep work you can do is simply reading and knowing your own resume.
2) Do Your Research
Of course you should research the company where you are going to interview, and you should know all of the big picture details of the company like what they do, how large the are, where they are located, etc.; however, beyond this research, you need to make sure that you research your interviewers.
Ask your contact at the company in advance for the names of the people that will be conducting your interview and then Google stalk the heck out of those people. I would try to find all of their social media outlets, then take notes on what I could find like previous companies, interests, etc. All of this research is important for the next step.
3) Get Personal
People LOVE talking about themselves and the more they talk about themselves, the more they will associate positive feelings about you. Having researched your interviewers in advance should give you plenty of questions or opportunities to get personal with your interviewer. If you could not find much online about your interviewers, then ask them “generic” personal questions like “What do you love about your job or this company? and What would you change about your job or this company?”
The more that you can get them talking, the less pressure on you and the better your results. I once interviewed for a job where the interviewer spoke for 45 minutes out of our one-hour time limit. Afterwards my recruiter said that the interviewer had nothing but amazing things to say about me. I just laughed to myself because he barely got to learn anything about me. It didn’t matter, though, because I moved onto the next round.
4) Share Something Interesting
Oftentimes hiring managers will meet with dozens of candidates for one job position and all of those candidates will tend to blend together in their minds. The best way that you can stand out amongst the competition is to share interesting tidbits about you or your life experience during the interview; and I don’t want to hear that you studied abroad in college because just about everyone seems to do that now.
As a hiring manager, I want you to share something really esoteric and unique about your life experience. For example, one of the greatest interviewees I had shared his summer job of selling Cutco knives door to door and how he carried empty cans and other objects to demonstrate the range of capabilities that the knives had. I interviewed this person almost 10 years ago, and he not only made it through the next round, but I still remember his story.
What tips do you have for successful job interviewing?
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My hubs told me just be yourself and be honest with all of your answers. Having a self confidence and being ready before your interview and do a lot of research about your company would definitely a big help.
Love these tips and I especially identify with the “get personal” point. All my job interviews that resulted in offers were primarily like you described – the manager talking about himself/herself!
Aside from that, I like to type out responses to very common interview questions so that I have well thought out answers. Sit down and examine strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to use those results in a variety of different questions. I also think of specific examples where one worked well under pressure, led a team, etc.
I think it’s pretty embarrassing if you aren’t aware of what’s on your resume! That would seem a little fishy to me. I think asking questions is a good one, as it shows genuine interest. I’ve had a few interviews where the interviewee was awkward and didn’t really want to talk, but it is nice when you can be personable. Finding common interests is always good.
I had a similar experience to #3 when I interviewed for my first job.. All the interviewer wanted to talk about was her career and how good this employer was to her. I really wasn’t sure what to think after that interview but I must have done okay as I was hired : )
I would say it definitely looks good when you ask questions and send out thank you’s after your interview.
These are all good tips! A nice handwritten thank-you note never hurts either.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way Being yourself is definitely a great tip because interviewers can see right through falseness, and definitely lots of research about the company.
indebtedmom Great points!! The better you can prepare answers in advance, the better you will answer them. It’s like memorizing a script before acting it out on stage. The best performers are the ones that know their lines. :-)
JourneytoSaving You would not believe how many people I have interviewed over the years who had no idea what was on their resume. It was shocking! Yes, it’s tough if you have an interviewer who is not personal, and you have a harder time of finding common ground.
BudgetforMore Yes, there are all sorts of research about people’s love of talking about themselves and how it translates into positive feelings for the person they are with, and yes thank you’s after an interview are a must.
Holly at ClubThrifty Agreed! I love a handwritten note over an email any day.
Hey Shannon, sorry to hear this is your last post on YAM. Good luck with your new gigs. ;)
It’s so true about people loving to talk about themselves. Has happened to me as well. I would also add that practicing or doing a mock interview before the actual interview is a good idea. You can practice with your spouse or a friend. It can help take the jitters out of the whole experience.
Practical Cents I know! I am sad that this is my last “official” post too, but I have a book coming out in about a month and the promotion of that, plus my day job, plus some other new business opportunities have just stretched my time too much. Anywho, I think it is an awesome idea to do mock interviews! It’s a great way to rehearse for the real thing.
Aww enjoyed your articles here Shannon!
I think knowing about the company and doing your research on the company is something that everyone should do before they enter an interview room, but sadly many people do not.
SenseofCents Thanks Michelle! I have loved writing here, and yes it is amazing how little research people will do on the company where they are interviewing. In this day and age, it is SO easy to get the information, there is no excuse.
Shannon, great advice!! It’s particularly helpful since I’ll be going into an interview soon :) Congrats on your new AOL gig, and we will miss you here!
sunburntsaver Good luck with your interview!! And thanks, I am excited about the new opportunity!
I love your #3 – getting them to talk the whole way through and preferably without them really realizing it’s happening! Too bad that doesn’t work for Canadian government interviews, the process is so standardized, it sucks!