7 answers
Autumn
Student
Columbus, Indiana
2
Questions
Asked
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What is the best way to prepare for a job interview?
I would like to start practicing now so after college I'll be a pro and can hopefully land a great job #jobinterviews
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7 answers
Fola Fadero
Senior Learning Business Partner, Amazon Canada
10
Answers
Mississauga, ON
Updated
Fola’s Answer
Research the organization online and be ready to link some of your answers to any of the company's initiatives. For example, if the organization's values are on their website you can ask yourself which of the values resonate and think of ways you can express this at interview.
Ensure you use the S/TAR principle (S - Situation/Task, A - Action and R - Result) to structure the answers to your questions. Always provide context and don't assume they know what you are talking about.
Lastly on the day give yourself some pep talk. You know you are good at what you do so tell yourself that - if possible in front of a mirror! It works! Then go for your interview confident that you are going to be successful.
Fola recommends the following next steps:
Carol Walker
System Admin | Tech Support | Keeping technology running
29
Answers
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Updated
Carol’s Answer
Interview prep:
- Study the job description carefully, analyze exactly what they're asking for and make sure you have examples ready on how you meet those requirements
- search for "frequently asked interview questions" (the ones that are asked almost every time like "tell me about yourself" or "what's your biggest weakness/strength") and have 2 minute answers prepared for those
- learn how to research a company properly. Look at their company reports if they're available, press releases, major competitors, industry trends. Make sure you know who they are, what they do, and what challenges they are probably facing and demonstrate that research in the interview a few times.
- Make sure you have questions ready for them at the end of the interview. I usually go in with 3 or 4 specific to the position I'm interviewing for, plus another 3 or 4 generic ones. Don't ask all of those questions, but if they ask if you have any questions make sure you have something - never leave without asking at least one (and not about salary, hours, vacation, etc in the first interview)
- If your college has a career advice centre, use it. They often have opportunities to do practice interviews with the career advisors, take as many as they'll let you to get used to the process and the feeling of an interview
- Study the job description carefully, analyze exactly what they're asking for and make sure you have examples ready on how you meet those requirements
- search for "frequently asked interview questions" (the ones that are asked almost every time like "tell me about yourself" or "what's your biggest weakness/strength") and have 2 minute answers prepared for those
- learn how to research a company properly. Look at their company reports if they're available, press releases, major competitors, industry trends. Make sure you know who they are, what they do, and what challenges they are probably facing and demonstrate that research in the interview a few times.
- Make sure you have questions ready for them at the end of the interview. I usually go in with 3 or 4 specific to the position I'm interviewing for, plus another 3 or 4 generic ones. Don't ask all of those questions, but if they ask if you have any questions make sure you have something - never leave without asking at least one (and not about salary, hours, vacation, etc in the first interview)
- If your college has a career advice centre, use it. They often have opportunities to do practice interviews with the career advisors, take as many as they'll let you to get used to the process and the feeling of an interview
Carly Wood
Product Manager
4
Answers
Mountain View, California
Updated
Carly’s Answer
Fola's answer is excellent! I'll add one tip on top of the STAR method that always impresses me in an interview. After sharing the Result, briefly share your Reflection, then Reapply that to the current role. This was shared with me as "R cubed."
Here is an example,
Result: "With this feature, we beat our goal of 1,000 subscribers by 3X and learned the value of activating customers in our receipt feature."
Reflection: "Looking back, I think the key elements that made the project successful were a clear goal and rapid experimentation. In the first two months, we made limited progress until I shifted the team focus to the goal and experimentation. Since this project, I've started a new practice to launch an experiment in the first few weeks and have seen our outcomes get even better. "
Reapply: "I've heard that your company values experimentation, and I'm excited to bring this practice to a new problem space. It will also be interesting to learn new tactics from my team mates as I keep growing my experimentation skill set."
By sharing your reflection and how you will reapply it to the open role, candidates show that they are constantly learning and growing. It's even better when the takeaway is tied to a key skill or behavior for the role, as Carol recommended.
Here is an example,
Result: "With this feature, we beat our goal of 1,000 subscribers by 3X and learned the value of activating customers in our receipt feature."
Reflection: "Looking back, I think the key elements that made the project successful were a clear goal and rapid experimentation. In the first two months, we made limited progress until I shifted the team focus to the goal and experimentation. Since this project, I've started a new practice to launch an experiment in the first few weeks and have seen our outcomes get even better. "
Reapply: "I've heard that your company values experimentation, and I'm excited to bring this practice to a new problem space. It will also be interesting to learn new tactics from my team mates as I keep growing my experimentation skill set."
By sharing your reflection and how you will reapply it to the open role, candidates show that they are constantly learning and growing. It's even better when the takeaway is tied to a key skill or behavior for the role, as Carol recommended.
Christopher Okeh
Sales Consultant
4
Answers
Detroit, Michigan
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Great question. The first thing I do is research the company. Find out their Mission Statement. you can usually find it on their website. If not, This is the first question I would ask when given the opportunity on the interview. I would also Look up the directions to the location the night before, as well as get gas the night before. You don't want to put yourself in any unnecessary situations where you may end up being late.
Ted Robin
2
Answers
Updated
Ted’s Answer
Be able to tell an engaging story about who you are, what your goals are and how this job/company align with both. This is your elevator speech and you should be able say it from the heart in about one minute. You can then elaborate more on specifics about the company and role that are important to you. Generally the only wrong answer here is one that is not sincere or thoughtful, so think about it and practice it before the interview.
Also, be prepared with 3 or 4 stories of things that you have done that you can use as examples to help answer typical interview questions. The examples should help answer questions about how you overcame a challenge, collaborated with others to solve a problem or accomplish a goal, resolved a conflict, took initiative and provided leadership when it was needed, helped someone else learn something new or accomplish a goal. Usually you can use these stories interchangeably to help answer different questions. But you should practice telling these stores so that they are fresh in your mind and easy to recall & tell during an interview.
Also, be prepared with 3 or 4 stories of things that you have done that you can use as examples to help answer typical interview questions. The examples should help answer questions about how you overcame a challenge, collaborated with others to solve a problem or accomplish a goal, resolved a conflict, took initiative and provided leadership when it was needed, helped someone else learn something new or accomplish a goal. Usually you can use these stories interchangeably to help answer different questions. But you should practice telling these stores so that they are fresh in your mind and easy to recall & tell during an interview.
Shawn .
Recruiter
3
Answers
San Gabriel, California
Updated
Shawn’s Answer
I would do some or all of the following:
1. Make sure that you take a look at the job description and make sure that you can get draw some examples from your own life that match what the organization is looking for
2. Do some research on the company through websites like Linkedin and Glassdoor
3. When you are asked if you have any questions at the end of your interview, make sure that you give them real good ones like:
a. how is success defined in this role?
b. what are the growth opportunities for this role?
c. what are the possible next steps in the process?
Hope that this helps.
1. Make sure that you take a look at the job description and make sure that you can get draw some examples from your own life that match what the organization is looking for
2. Do some research on the company through websites like Linkedin and Glassdoor
3. When you are asked if you have any questions at the end of your interview, make sure that you give them real good ones like:
a. how is success defined in this role?
b. what are the growth opportunities for this role?
c. what are the possible next steps in the process?
Hope that this helps.
Sena Suh
Sales
2
Answers
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Updated
Sena’s Answer
My advice is to think about what you want to do (job role) in what sort of area (job field, industry) first before preparing the interview because it might be quite different from roles and industries you are aiming for.
And Fora's suggestion above is excellent and that's exactly what I have done and proved to be working very well.
It might sound simple but you will realize you need to put quite a lot of thoughts and efforts in there to give the complete answers with your own experience. (and remember the goal is to convince the interviewer to think you are the right fit for the role!)
Lastly, rehears in the mirror or record yourself so that you are perfectly prepared for the real interview!
Good luck :)
And Fora's suggestion above is excellent and that's exactly what I have done and proved to be working very well.
It might sound simple but you will realize you need to put quite a lot of thoughts and efforts in there to give the complete answers with your own experience. (and remember the goal is to convince the interviewer to think you are the right fit for the role!)
Lastly, rehears in the mirror or record yourself so that you are perfectly prepared for the real interview!
Good luck :)