The interview presents the last obstacle to getting hired. Like the last large incline before finishing a marathon, or the last 100 feet to the summit of a mountain, the interview, despite being the last step to getting hired, is perhaps the most challenge-ridden and talked about component of the job application process. Just like the runner, or the mountaineer, surmounting this obstacle requires training, experience, and a great deal of nerve!
It is important, therefore, to gain the background and relevant knowledge which will help you skate through the interview process, thereby increasing your chances of getting the job for which you are interviewing. There are numerous resources, including Web sites, tutorials, both print and electronic news articles, and people which can assist you and provide advice about the interview process. Among the various resources are CareerBuilder’s interviewing tips page, the Career Insider powered by Vault, and innumerable news articles with highly distilled messages relating to the do’s and don’ts of interviewing. Author and Career Advice Guru Karen Burns recently penned such an article for U.S. News titled “How to Answer 10 Tricky Interview Questions.” Of the 10, there are three questions which have had a history of leaving me feeling distressed:
- “Why should I hire you?”
- DO: Impress your interviewer with how much you know about the company’s requirements and then describe how you are the best person to meet those requirements.
- DON’T: Get tripped up by a lack of prior research.
- “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
- DO: Talk about how your specific abilities, training, and experience will enable you to smoothly integrate with this company.
- DON’T: Say that you have no idea.
- “Tell me about yourself.”
- DO: Talk about the ways that what you know and what you can do are perfectly suited to this job.
- DON’T: Tell the interviewer your life story.
As Burns alludes, doing the necessary research and adequately preparing for an interview (i.e. conducting mock interviews with friends or family, rehearsing your answers to confounding interview questions, etc.) so that you can methodically navigate the interview process and its various obstacles is unequivocally important, and could mean the difference between not getting and getting that job you want.
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