Prepare for the Job Interview

The best interviewees go to the interview well prepared. Approaching the job interview as the single most important step to getting the job, they get ready by:

• Reviewing their strengths and goals.
  
  
• Researching the organization.
  
  
  
  
• Anticipating the interviewer and the interview situation.
  
  
• Practicing answers to certain anticipated questions with well thought-out responses.
  
  
• Compiling key questions they need to ask the interviewer.

Once in the interview, these interviewees try to be spontaneous while still in control of themselves and the interview situation. Everything else being equal, they interview better than their ill-prepared counterparts because (1) the content of the interview conveys they are intelligent and interested (the verbal cues), and (2) they feel more competent and exude greater self-assurance (the nonverbal cues).

When you conduct an informational interview, you are the interviewer. You now change roles and primarily become the interviewee in the job interview. As you do this, you must follow a new set of rules for effective interviewing. Our best advice: prepare, prepare, prepare. Prepare for the interview as if it were a $1,000,000 prize. Indeed, if you are hired, the employer may give you that much in income over the next 15 to 20 years!

Conduct Research

When preparing for an interview, you should first research the organization. In addition, try to conduct research on the individual or individuals who will be interviewing you. Obviously, the more you know about the organization prior to the interview, the more you will learn during the interview. You will be a more impressive candidate if you offer thoughtful answers and ask intelligent questions based on knowledge of the employer.

How would you do research on the organization? If you already conducted an informational interview with someone in the organization, you will have acquired some useful information. If you happen to know other individuals in the organization -- friends or acquaintances -- contact them for information prior to your interview.

Information Sources and Questions

Your best information on organizations and the interviewer will come from conversations with people who are close to the organization, especially present and former employees. Hopefully, you have already met with these people in the process of conducting your informational interviews.

However, if you failed to conduct informational interviews or if you need additional information, several published sources are available to assist you. Most of them are available in the reference section of your local public or college library. Consult, for example, some of the following sources:

o American Encyclopedia of International Information o American Men and Women in Science o American Register of American Manufacturers o Bernard Klein's Guide to American Directories o The College Placement Annual o Directory of Professional and Trade Organizations o Dun and Bradstreet's Middle Market Directory o Dun and Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directory o Encyclopedia of Associations o Encyclopedia of Business Information Services of Fitch's Corporation Reports Macramé's Blue Book - Corporate Index o The Standard Periodical Directory o Standard and Poor's Corporation Records: Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives o Standard and Poor's Industrial Index o Standard Rate and Data Business Publications Directory o Who's Who in America o Who's Who in Commerce and Industry o Who's Who in Finance and Industry o Who's Who in the East o Who's Who in the South o Who's Who in the West

Your research should address several questions which yield useful information for the interview. Your first set of questions should relate to the organization:

Organization Questions

• Who is the key people in this organization?
  
  
• What are the major products or services produced by this organization?
  
  
• How large an organization is it in terms of both annual sales and employees?
  
  
• What is its profit and loss record for the past 10 years?
  
  
• Where is the company located other than in this community?
  
  
• How is the company viewed by its clients, suppliers, and competition?

Another set of questions should center on the interviewer and the interview situation. You need to be better informed about the type of interview you will encounter:

Interview Situation Questions

• Who normally conducts the interview? Position? Male or Female? Age? Personality? Style?
  
  
• How many interviews must I go through with this organization before they make the final hiring decision?
  
  
• How many individuals or groups must I meet during the interview(s)?
  
  
• What type of interviews does this organization conduct? One-on-one? Series? Panel? Group?
  
  
• What type of questioning techniques do they use? Direct? Indirect? Stress?
  
  
• Where will the interview(s) take place? Telephone? Airport? Hotel? Company office? Restaurant? Interview er's home?
  
  
• Must I take any examinations? If so, what are they and how are they evaluated?

While these lists of questions will get you started, you should generate additional questions relevant to your goals and the particular job and company with which you will be interviewing. Having information about the organization prior to the interview is important because most of the interview will undoubtedly center on the firm and how your skills and goals relate to it. However, in reality companies do not hire - people do. If possible, also learn something about the person or persons who will be conducting the interview. This information may be obtained from people you know within the organization, from promotional literature published by the firm, or from newspapers, magazines, or Who's Who books.

Employers want to know how well you will fit into the organization.

As we will note later, hiring decisions are not based solely on the candidate's competence. After all, everyone brought in to interview is thought to possess at least the basic qualifications. Equally important is how well the interviewer likes the candidate. Employers also want to know how well you will fit into the organization.

In other words, how competent, intelligent, honest, enthusiastic and likeable are you? Answers to these questions are at the bottom line of the hiring decision. Therefore, the more you know about your interviewer prior to the interview, the better you should be able to manage the interview.

Refocus Your Goals and Strengths

We assume you have already identified your goals and strengths in the process of completing three key job search steps: skills identification, objective setting, and resume writing. Focus your goals and strengths around the specific position you will be interviewing for. This involves more than just generating and synthesizing data on you. You must target it on specific organizations and positions.

You can begin doing this by first examining any information you have describing the job for which you will interview. Based on your research and the job description, look for statements of duties, responsibilities, skills, education, and experience as well as any exams required of candidates for the position. Next, carefully review your goals and strengths for identifying your key achievements, work values, and job objective. Take another look at this information so you can refocus it around the specifics outlined for the position to achieve a best fit of your strengths in relation to the employer's needs. Begin doing this by answering these questions:

• How does my major strengths and work values relate to the skni requirements for this position?
  
  
• To what extent is my goal compatible with the objectives of this position and the mission of this
  organization?
  
  
• How can I best restate the description for this position as a statement of my goals and strengths?

As you begin refocusing in this manner, you will begin positioning yourself more closely with the specific position and organization. You should become more employer-centered in the process of thinking in these terms. Your next major concern will be to begin talking in the employer's language of organizational goals and expected performance.