Acing the Interview

Now, that you’ve navigated the interview process.  Let’s focus on acing the interview.  Many successful candidates prepare for the interview questions.  Now, some might be wondering how do you do that?

Well, for well of 15 years, many employers have been utilizing behavioral based interviews, which requires the interviewee to use the STARS technique to answer the questions.  The STARS format is (1) Situation; (2) Task; (3) Action; and (4) ResultS.  Thus, companies can now learn your thought process using this method.  It provides them a glimpse into how you handle situations and challenges.

Typical questions take on the form of “Tell me a time when [fill in the blank]”.  To answer these type of questions: first, describe the Situation; then tell them the Task; followed by your Actions; and finally provide the end Result(s), which should try to include quantifiable results.

To better prepare for behavioral type questions, create a document that details various scenarios from your experiences that can answer different scenarios.  If you are not as familiar with this interview style, focus your scenarios on leadership, analytics, innovation, and communication.  Or you can Google STAR interview questions for a sampling of questions.  Reminder, keep your scenarios concise.

Once you have your answers typed, now you can ‘study’ them before your interviews.  This will allow your interview to be more conversational.  And have them in your portfolio so while you’re waiting in the lobby for the on-site interview, you can read through them.

When you’re in the interview, ask if you can take notes too and use your portfolio to jot down important reminders that you want to make sure you address as well as information you want to include in your Thank-you letter.  This demonstrates that you, too, are interested in the conversation and you can make sure that you are hitting all of your selling points that you want to get across.

Most importantly, prepare questions to ask the interviewers for ALL phases of the interviewing process.  This will indicate to the hiring team that you are interested in the company and you’ve done your research.  Be mindful that HR might not be as equipped to answer function, department or role-specific questions.  Tailor your questions accordingly to interviewers.

Don’t forget you are also interviewing the company and the team just as much as they are interviewing you.  Matter of fact, some of the questions can provide insight into the current team.  Pay attention to their questions too.  This has to be a good fit for both parties. 

Happy Interviewing!!!  Contact New Leaf Career Solutions to schedule a coaching session today!

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New Leaf Career Solutions is a career consulting boutique that redefines individuals and small businesses professional brands.  New Leaf partners with each client to provide quality résumés, cover letters, bios, brochures and much more.  Visit newleafcareersolutions.com to schedule an appointment.  Follow on Facebook and Twitter for daily tips.  Call today to turn over a New Leaf !!