Strategies to Help You Nail Your Next Interview - CareerAlley

Strategies to Help You Nail Your Next Interview - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. To paraphrase the 7 Ps, an old British military adage: Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Pretty Poor Performance (you can probably guess which word has been changed). It isnt just a useful philosophy for military planning. It works with everything you can imagine: work, planning a holiday, poker and a job interview. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash Doing your preparation beforehand will ensure that you nail whatever activity youre undertaking. For example, if youre playing poker, you need to ensure that you understand poker math. If youre preparing for a job interview, you need to understand the job, the people with whom youre meeting, the company and what benefits youll bring to the role. Here are some strategies you can take from poker that will help you nail your next interview. An interview is an opportunity to highlight your strengths and emphasize your fit for the position. However, you shouldnt expect that the hiring manager will only ask easy questions about your past wins and proud moments. Come prepared to answer the tougher questions, like ones about your regrets, mistakes, and weaknesses. TopInterview.com Understand People Understanding people is the key to succeeding in most areas of life. If youre playing poker, understanding your opponents will give you an advantage since youll understand patterns in their play, little traits they may have when theyre either bluffing or indeed holding a decent hand. If you dont know who youre going to be competing against, some prior research will help. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash If youre going to a job interview, most people will read up on the company and the job description. So, to stand out, you need to find a competitive advantage. In other words, something that other people arent doing. One solution is to research the people with whom you are meeting. Before an interview, ask about who you are meeting, get their first and last names and preferably, their job titles. For example, find them on LinkedIn and possibly other social networks. Then do a little research to help you understand how their career progressed to where they are now, what their hobbies might be and if possible, try to find some things you may have in common with them. If youre preparing for a job interview, you need to understand the job, the people with whom youre meeting, the company and what benefits youll bring to the role. Tweet This Doing so will then, hopefully, provide opportunities to build a rapport. For example, if you enjoy playing a sport, try naturally steering the conversation that way. Perhaps by using it as an example of how you work well in a team, this may spark a conversation that will help establish a connection. Dont Reveal All Your Cards In poker, playing your cards close to your chest is critical to maintaining a winning strategy. You only want people to know what you want them to know, so if youre bluffing with a bad hand, then youll want to keep that a secret. source The same applies to an interview. If youre asked, Why did you leave your last job? the answer shouldnt be the money was good, but the boss was a horrible person, the work was boring, I hated the paperwork and didnt like my colleagues, even if its the truth. First, it doesnt show you in a good light, and youre focusing on only the negativity. Plus, youve just revealed that you would be willing to work for a similar (and possibly lower) amount of money and that you potentially arent a team player. Youve shown your cards. Instead, a better answer would be to say, I felt like Id made a positive impact in the time that I was there, which allowed me to learn and grow, but my opportunity for progression was becoming limited, and I realized I needed a new challenge. If you can also back this up with examples of the positive impact, such as a successful project you worked on or some efficiency improvements you pioneered, then youve only shared information you want them to know and have gently hinted that youre looking for a higher salary, too. In conclusion, the old saying of knowledge is power is still relevant today. If you can prepare for an interview so that you have as much knowledge as possible, and then control what information you provide so that its only positive and favorable, then youre putting yourself in a strong position. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to nail the interview and get hired. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search