What’s Your Best Tip for Job Interviews?
Compiled by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Andrew Seaman is a senior editor for Job Search and Career News on LinkedIn. He asked this question. I thought these would be helpful to you.
Most job descriptions are at best 80% accurate. Thus you are probably aiming for the wrong target on your interviews unless you ask this before they start asking questions: “Thanks for making time to speak with me this morning. I recall the position description but want to get your take on the role. Would you tell me about the job as you see it and what I can do to help?” As you answer every question after that, you connect the dots between your experiences and what they need. The way most job descriptions are generated, a busy manager contacts his/her HR business partner after someone gives notice and says, “Do you have that job description we used to hire Paul? Yeah, he just gave notice. So would you get it up on LinkedIn, on the website, to our recruiting vendors and see who you can get on my calendar for Tuesday. No one updates them. Thus people are interviewing based upon a job description that may or may not reflect what a firm is really looking for.
Paul Cecala, GCDF – Certified Career Coach
We need not be content with “I’ll call you when I am ready to take you to the next step” or whatever version of “Don’t call me, I’ll call you” we get. We need to be responsible for our own job search, not leave it to the interviewer. So, I always set the date and time of the next conversation even if it is to set a time to schedule the next time to talk. It usually sounds like:
“I appreciate you have others to interview and hope to be done by next Friday. If I have not heard from you by then, I will call you the following Monday to check-in and make sure you have all you need from me.”
One important tip would be to stay away from recruiters and talent acquisition teams– they have no budget, no decision-making authority and aren’t in the sphere of influence. You need to get the attention of hiring mgrs and their peers– and all of them can be found on LinkedIn within 5 mins. When you reach the right individuals you get interviews and HR won’t matter. And while the phone screen is likely to be performed by a junior talent acquisition individual, they will have no choice but to interview you and are likely to pass you along to the hiring mgr for the next set of interviews because you’ve gotten to the people with the power. The trickle-down approach works and saves a lot of time wondering if you’re resume or LI profile will get you the visibility you want. Too many job seekers waste a lot of time pursuing the wrong targets which gives them 100 to 1 odds of getting an interview… short-cutting the process gets far more results and in a shorter period of time.
One of the biggest things I hear is about being nervous pre, during and post interview. Best advice I give is one you need to start practicing for your job interview as part of your job search and not just when you get the interview request! I am a big believer in positive visualization and breathing techniques to calm any jitters: Visualize yourself doing well in the interview, and getting the job. If you’re feeling nervous, take a deep breath and be conscious of your breathing.
Anne Genduso, Certified Career Coach(
While it can be tempting to focus only on selling yourself, it’s equally important to uncover what it’s like working on a day-to-day basis with your future colleagues.
If you want to get to the heart of how a workplace operates, come to the interview with scenario-based and open-ended questions, like:
– How do you recognize employee accomplishments?
-Tell me about your most impactful DE&I initiative and what’s coming next.
-Why did the person last in this position leave?
-What is your approach when there are different opinions on the best way to handle a project?
- Treat it like a two-way conversation – and less like a test. Having a conversation with your interviewer can help you feel more natural in your responses and reduce stress that often makes people slip up and get off track on what they’re trying to say.2) Think about the information that’s most important to your interviewer – not necessarily what’s most important/impressive to you. What keeps them awake at night – what do you bring to the table that would help solve their challenge, fill a gap, and enable the company to achieve its goals?
Tiffany Uman 🚀 Career Strategy Coach
My #1 tip to set you up for success going into an interview is mindset. Let me elaborate:
#1. Remember, the interview is a conversation and the interviewer is not out to get you nor do they want you to bomb. You’ve made it past the application stage, so by this point, they genuinely think you could be an ideal candidate for the role. The interview is now your golden opportunity to convince them that you are.
#2. Convert your negative/nervous energy into positive energy. For example, instead of going in thinking “what if I screw up a question?”, or “what if I forget what I want to say?”…which will only psych yourself out and work against you, fuel this into positive energy like “I can’t wait for them to get to know me”, “I’ll do my best to answer clearly and effectively” or “I’m excited for what they’re going to ask me so I can showcase my skills”. See the difference?
#3. Don’t underestimate the importance of connection and rapport. The interviewer needs to be able to see you as a member of the team. As much as you want to be prepared with well structured answers, give yourself permission to show your human side too. Asking questions throughout the interview is great to build a more natural flow!
Run a mock interview with someone—whether over Zoom or in-person, this is a great way to see how all your prep is coming together.
Simply: be yourself. Not a polished BS-bingo version that would get hired by a box-checking AI. In my career, I have been deemed “slightly nuts” by some, and I’m sure that saved me some workplace misery. On the other hand, when hiring, I look at personality first and foremost. That, and the motivation. Skills can be acquired. Experience – gained. But as an employer, I have no way to put the right amount of passion, craze, and heart into a candidate who doesn’t have it already.
Identify and communicate what makes you fabulous. In other words, describe what sets you apart from other applicants interviewing for the same role. This makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to put you in the ‘yes’ pile.
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 2100 episodes.
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