You’ve secured an interview & need to get ready. Here’s a prep guide – do it well to shift the odds of being asked back/progressing to the next level:

Supplies: a notebook, a print out of your resume and online access.
Prep time: 2 hours, which can be broken up into 1 researching & 1 hour finalizing notes & rehearsing. Some of the work can be reused for future interviews.

You’ll work in three areas: the company, the job, the conversation

The Company: get online and learn about the company, this will help you develop talking points on why you are a good fit and questions to ask during the interview.

The Company Website: Visit these sections on their website & make notes:

• About: how do they describe themselves? Make note of qualities, descriptions you like, relate to or can support why you are a good fit to work there.
• News: read the press releases from the last six months – what news are they talking about – does it have any relevance to the role you’ve applied for?
• Careers: see what jobs are posted – what sectors of the company are being staffed? Do they talk about what it’s like to work there – again, make note of qualities, descriptions you like or relate to.

Owned Social Media: Peruse Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Pinterest, etc.

• What are they positing about? note anything relevant to you or the job

Linkedin: visit

• The company profile, note how they describe themselves (as above, note qualities, descriptions you like, relate to or can support why you are a good fit to work there.)
• People at the company (right-hand side: do you know or are you connected with any employees? Make a note)
• The person you’ll be speaking with: read their profile. How do they describe themselves, how long have they been there, where else they’ve worked, what the endorsements say. You’ll use this to ask questions about them, and note similarities.
• How you’re connected (right-hand side); note anyone that connects you to that person. If you know this person well, make a personal call in advances of the interview to ask for their insight and, if appropriate support.

Google

• Top of the search page – is it a paid unit by them or competition? Note the competition – this may be a useful discussion point.
• Their website headline: what is the title of their listing- make note of how they describe themselves
• The google information bar (on the right of the page) – make note of the CEO, when they were founded and what similar companies people searched for.
• Headline/news: does any news come up – if not search again in google news. Scan the headlines for articles which might be related to the job you’ve applied for, click the link and read it – make note of the article, where it was published and any points/info you find interesting.

Yahoo Finance: note the stock performance in the last 12 months, scan the headlines and press releases as noted above. Is the company doing well? Does the news indicate what’s driving the growth? If it’s not doing well, it’s worth considering when you get further along in the process, and you’ll want to have a discussion about why and what they are doing to reverse it.

The Job: now you are preparing talking points for you which illustrate why you are right for the job. First, make notes of relevant experience, then take those notes and turn them into ‘soundbites’ – brief paragraph which you can answer a question with or raise to promote your qualification for the job:

Job requisition: Print it & make notes (I like to do it right on the req) :

• Job description: what is the key role – how are you qualified to fill it?
• Responsibilities: for each, note a personal example which illustrates your capability. Then prioritize which from most relevant to least – be ready to talk about three, with examples.
• Desired Skills & Experience: check that you have the qualifications and note them and jot down examples of how you fit them.

The Conversation: Just like a good athlete previews the race in their head, now you’ll map out the conversation by anticipating the discussion, preparing answers and questions you’ll want to ask. Write out answers to these using the notes you’ve already taken, rehearse saying them out loud and edit until you have concise, to the point responses.

“About you”: Be ready to succinctly answer “tell me about you”. Summarize yourself professionally and personally in a few sentences. Include what inspired you professionally, your experience,  personal qualities which are useful in the business, something interesting about yourself. This is important – it’s likely to be the first question they ask you.

Why are you interested in the job? Refer to your notes on the job description, about the company & how they talk about themselves. Try to include specific reference(s) to their social media, recent news about them, their products or services. Think about how this relates to you, what about it draws you to the role & your potential to do well there. Be enthusiastic, let them know not only why you’re interested, that you’re knowledgeable and well suited for the role.

Why are you qualified (refer to your notes from the job description)

What are your strengths: things you excel at, have been recognized for, others have said about you.

What are your weaknesses: you just need one – and you should couch it by noting it’s a work in progress – you’ve been focusing on it and expect to turn it into a strength.

Now jot down some questions you can ask:

About the company: refer to your notes on the company, the competition, recent news, the financials and jot down related questions.

Their interest in you: Why are you (interviewer) interested in hiring me? During the interview, make a note of their answer – you might follow-up with a point that supports their reasons. 

About the person interviewing you: Why did they join the company? What’s most enjoyable about working there? What’s the company culture like? What are characteristics of successful people there? During the interview, make a note of their answer – you might follow-up with a point illustrate you have similar characteristics. 

Personal Questions about the interviewer: Review your notes about the interviewer from Linkedin – think about more personal questions you can ask (i see you have been in your current role for three months – what are some of the challenges you’re facing, are they different from your previous role at the company? Or:  I see you’re a fan of mad men – me too! what do you like about it).

The process: how many candidates are they speaking to, are there any next steps for me? when do they hope to make a decision

Closing: plan to ask these questions and summarize why you would like the job:

• Do you have any other questions, is there anything I haven’t answered fully, do you have any concerns I can answer?

Rehearse: Once you’ve done this, re-write the questions, your answers/talking points. Rehearse saying the answers/talking points out loud three times. If it’s a in-person interview try saying the answers to a mirror. I know it sounds lame – but you want to be comfortable with your answers. This will help you put them to memory and make sure they’re in your words – sound natural to you. If you have a phone interview, you’ll keep the job description, with notes and the final Q& A on your desk as a reference to help you through the interview.

Followup: During the interview, take some notes of the conversation, so you have a reference for your thank you note – which you’ll send within 24 hours of speaking with them!