Five Tips for Interviewing

In my work as a career coach with women who are returning to the paid workforce, the topic of interviewing is almost guaranteed to elicit anxiety. Perhaps it's the time away from the office or the worry that their skills might seem rusty, but my clients frequently express nervousness about interviewing. While each woman's challenges are unique, there are some commonalities.

Here are five thoughts based on what I've learned from clients:

⭐️ You may have heard about the STAR method as a way to answer behavioral interview questions. Those are the questions that often start with "tell me about a time when..." STAR encourages you to share a story to answer the question: give the Situation you were in; Task required; Action you took; Result that you achieved. Great...if you can remember what those four letters stand for! One client told me that trying to remember what those letters represent caused her even more anxiety than thinking about the interview. While I love the concept behind the STAR method (tell a story that demonstrates impact), if STAR isn't something you're likely to remember, think story-telling. You want to answer the question, first and foremost, but telling a story about what you had to do, how you did it, and why it mattered might be an easier format to remember.

😌 Practice does help. It helps to think about questions you might be asked and then practice answering them. Out loud. Even if it's just to your dog! This is not so you memorize answers, but so you increase your comfort in talking about yourself and all the amazing things you have accomplished. The goal is not perfection. It's familiarization to increase your comfort level.

↔️ Remember that interviewing is always a two-way street; it's as much for you to learn about the company as it is for them to learn about you. Even if you endure multiple rounds of interviews only to learn that this isn't the company you want to join, it's a useful process. In my view, there's no such thing as wasted time in an interview. So do your research about the company and come up with a few strong questions to ask.

🥇 Before you interview, think of the one (or two) things you hope the interviewer knows about you by the end of the conversation. If you want them to leave with a lasting impression of your strong managerial skills, for example, keep that top of mind. That way, if you haven't talked explicitly about that one thing and you are asked "is there anything else we should know" at the end of the interview, you'll have something to share.

🚩 Interviewing is a conversation not an interrogation. (Or at least it should be. Red flag if it feels like an interrogation.) If you're asked an unexpected question, take a moment to pause. I even advise clients to say "hmm, let me think a minute about that..." and then take a breath. It signals thoughtfulness to your potential boss, gives you a moment to collect your thoughts, and allows you to take that all-important calming deep breath.  

 Wishing you good luck, calm nerves, and interesting conversations in any upcoming interviews!