As of today, the unemployment figure in the US is 9.7% – 1 out of 10 people in this country is actively seeking work. There are a lot more people looking for jobs than there are jobs available. That means competition. Odds are that for every job you apply for, you are competing against dozens of people for the same job. We all need something to set us apart from this stiff competition.
Nothing is a good substitute for our work experience. We relate our work and education experience and our goals in the resume and application. Then we hunt for the right job, and apply. The next step is the job interview, when the prospective employer has essentially narrowed down the competition to the top few.
The interview phase is where the competition is the strongest – and here is where we need to shine in order to stand out from the competitors and win the job. My goal is to provide three useful tips that you can use in preparation for your job interview that can help you win the job.
Tip #1 – Research Your Target
In an interview, you want to grab the interviewer’s interest right out of the gate. One of the first questions in an interview is typically a softball question like “Why are you interested in this position?” Here is an example of a mediocre response to this question – and what NOT to say.
Interviewer: Welcome to Big Power Company. Thanks for taking time for talking to us today. First, please tell me why you want to work for Big Power Company.
Candidate: Well, I used to work in the finance division of the ABC Company and also for the federal government. I haven’t worked in the power sector yet, but I feel I have the background and the experience to do a good job here.
Why is this response mediocre? It sounds reasonable enough, right? Yes, but “reasonable” and “mediocre” will not help you stand out from your competition. An easy and sure way to impress right off the bat is to research the organization you are interviewing for.
Not too long ago, research meant going to the library and spending a few hours pouring over sourcebooks and industry magazines. But in the current information age, you can learn as much as you need without even leaving your couch or home office. A great place to start is the website for the organization you are interviewing with. Look for their annual report and mission statement. Most larger and publicly-held companies are required to provide this information for their investors, and they make it easily available via web search.
Privately-held companies are not obligated to make company information available for the public. However, many private companies communicate their mission, values, and goals to their current and respective customers via their website. If you’re interviewing with a government agency, information may be easy or difficult to find on the internet. Try looking for the public documents from the city council, county commission, state legislature, or the Federal Record to glean what is happening that is important to the position for which you are interviewing (hint: do a keyword search in Word or PDF documents).
Other ways to find out about the organization is to perform an internet news search. There are dozens of news aggregators on the internet. You can also go to the website for your industry’s trade magazine and search. For example, the definitive source for the construction industry is Engineering News-Record (http://enr.construction.com). Another great source are the current or former employees of the organization. If you don’t know anyone that works for them, search your connections on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com). You can even call the Human Resources department – in your hometown office, or even an office across the country if you want to be discreet – they are typically more than happy to answer your questions!
When it is time for the interview, you should bring two items with you. They can be written on paper (bring a professional-looking briefcase or portfolio), or you may memorize them. The first item to bring is knowledge of the organization, their mission and goals, and be ready to describe how you will help them meet their mission and goals. Remember, in the end, the organization wants to hire someone that ultimately will make them more successful, more profitable, or more efficient.
You should also come prepared with a number of questions designed to help you determine if this organization is the right one for you. Here’s a personal story to illustrate this point. My wife interviewed last fall for a position with a large health care provider. She was hired. A few weeks later she went to lunch with her supervisor, who had interviewed her and was the decision-maker in the hiring process. She asked him, “What made you decide to hire me?” He responded, “A major factor was that you were the only candidate that wrote down questions and brought them to the interview. And you had three pages of questions! This showed me that you did your homework and that you were very interested in the position.”
Here’s another crack at this leadoff question, this time with a response that shows that the candidate did their research on the company and knows what traits they are looking for in the open position.
Interviewer: Welcome to Big Power Company. Thanks for taking time for talking to us today. First, please tell me why you want to work for Big Power Company.
Candidate: There are three major reasons that I was very happy to see this opportunity with BPC. First, I am very impressed with your company that started from scratch 60 years ago and has grown to be the largest power company in the Pacific Northwest. Second, I believe very strongly that alternative energy sources should be a major part of power production in this country. I like that BPC states the very same thing in their mission statement in the Annual Report, and has committed tens of millions of dollars in alternative energy production over the next 10 years. Most importantly, I believe my background and education is an excellent fit for BPC, and will help the company achieve its goals of profit and efficiency.
This response shows that you are “in the know” – you are familiar with the company’s past, it’s current initiatives, and it’s goals of profit and efficiency. As the interview proceeds, sharing insight on the company will put you in a better position to describe why you are the best candidate for the job.
The next post will describe Tip #2 – Behavioral Interviewing.
