Interview Preparation: Candidate

The big day is nearing; an interview with a company that based on your current knowledge, you'd really like to work for. How do you prepare yourself so that you can feel the most confident? There are so, so many resources available with loads of information written by "experts" who have done a great job of making lists of things to do in preparation. When I read them I generally feel like I'm reading the user manual for something as exciting as a lawn mower and when I have finished reading I don't remember much. The biggest problem with interview preparation advice is that it's often based on outdated taboos about interviews leftover from the time when companies were mostly all the same and whether or not to wear a tie or nylons was not even a question.

My advice comes from years of listening to candidates tell me how their interviews went and of course then knowing whether or not they were successful in getting the position that they interviewed for. I am here to tell you that truth is frequently stranger than fiction and one method of preparation does not apply to all interviewing scenarios. But there is a general framework of preparation that is universal in helping you feel good about yourself from start to finish. Following are three things that I believe every candidate should review and implement in every interview situation (even internal interviews). If all you do is read the headings and fill in the rest for yourself you will be miles ahead of half of the people interviewing on any given day:

Know your audience to the best of your ability.
You want to go in to the interview knowing what the company does, who their clients and competitors are, how long they've been in business, how many locations, where the locations are and which areas business is handled in each location. You'll want to know if they are a subsidiary or if they have subsidiaries, and you'll want to know if they are privately held or publicly traded. Of course, don't hurt yourself trying to remember a laundry list of statistics, but review the information so that you can hold your own in any conversation and will ideally be able to ask good questions during the interview based on your general understanding of the company.To find out as much as possible about an organization, visit their web site, read press releases and do internet searches on the company's name to see what's being written about them. You'll wind up finding blogs, message boards, newspaper articles and announcements that will really help you to gain a good understanding of the company's position in the marketplace and as an employer. Ask people you know who currently work for the company and also search on social networking sites and reach out to current employees to ask for their advice. You will be amazed at how much you can learn by doing this bit of research.

Have a plan for answering questions.
It is always a good idea to have a framework in mind for answering questions. You want to be sure to hit on certain key areas with each answer. The easiest comparison is to a spiral - starting from the outside, a spriral circles around until finally resolving itself at the middle. Whatever the question is, try to tailor your answer from the largest perspective to the smallest. For example, the interviewer asks you to tell them about the number of projects that your current team (or yourself) is responsible for at any given time. Your answer should start with the company (large), then touch on the division (getting there), the specific unit you were/are in (closer!), your project manager/supervisor/team lead (almost there!) and finally your slice of the pie. Specifically, the answer would sound like this: "Bubble Tire Pro has a client base of mostly smaller companies, so there are always many small projects in play with all 6 divisions. My group is responsible for the web interface for each client so our project manager works with the project managers from other groups to help make sure that the 13 or so projects we have going at any one time are in step with the other groups' to launch as closely together as possible."

When you answer questions in this way, you're communicating much more than if you had simply answered, "13 or so". You're giving the interviewer a truer depiction of what your workday looks like and your abilities in working with others and operating in an environment where your work is both collaboritive and is highly visible.

On the flip side, if you're coming from a smaller environment, you'll want to follow the same framework concept but instead of detailing how it's been for you, you'll want to carefully place phrases that indicate you understand that working for a large organization is different from your direct experience, and that you're up for the challenge and excited about the opporunity to participate on a larger playing field.

Eat Well
This is an area often overlooked but is so important to the way you will feel during your interview. Eat a good meal before your interview to help your body and mind focus on the task at hand. If you're there on an empty belly then your mind and body will be distracted trying to undersatnd why you haven't eaten yet and how to get by until you do. A well-balanced meal is called for and you should treat this with as much care as your wardrobe to make sure you're operating at optimum levels.

Again, this is a big topic that has many opinions and way too many "shoulds" in my opinion. If interviewing were fun, it would be a pastime. It's an awful lot like going on a blind date and the odds of it working out aren't much better, so you put your smile on, take the plunge and hope for the best! Take the pressure off yourself because nothing good comes from nervousness - breathe.

Consider writing yourself this note the night before and taping it to your bathroom mirror:
-Eat a good meal
-Smile
-Have a Great Interview!

I wish you every success and know that if you keep the above in mind in preparing for your interview, it will be a better experience all around.