When You Have Time To Strategize
Having enough time to properly prepare for a job interview can really make a difference in how effective you are. I only had 1 day notice before my last job interview and I felt unprepared and much more nervous than I would like to have been. I don’t think I did horribly, but considering the very tough competition, I really needed to bring my A-game to have a fighting chance at being invited back for the second round of interviews.
This time I have ample time to prepare. A week and a half, actually. I’ll be keeping you updated as I prepare but here are my tentative plans.
- Request a vacation day for the day of the interview. Last time I tried to do this on my lunch break and found that I did not have adequate time to prepare mentally so I started out feeling anxious.
- Research the organization. I want to know the history of this organization so that I can ask great questions and so that I can determine if it’s a good fit for me.
- Study the job listing and write down each task listed along with how my professional experience demonstrates my ability to perform all tasks required for the job. The interviewers are going to want to know why I’m the best person for the job and a huge part of that will be my ability to demonstrate that I have experience doing every single thing they are looking for.
- Take a test drive to estimate how long it will take to get there and what the parking is like. I know I’ll be facing rush-hour traffic so I need to determine exactly how early I should leave and where to park so that I can arrive at least 20 minutes prior to my first appointment. If you live in a big city like Chicago, this is one of the most important things you can do to minimize the chance you’ll be late to the interview.
- Study tough Behavioral Interviewing questions. I was shocked at how much I struggled with the behavioral interview questions. I’m accustomed to asking and hearing responses to the questions that I use when I’m nterviewing candidates, so I thought I’d sail through this but the questions geared toward managers were more difficult to answer.
- Find a great suit to wear. Not only does looking sharp give a great impression to the interviewer, it’ll make me feel more confident and relaxed. Attire is the easiest thing to always get right but one of the first things that can turn the interviewer off.
My expectation is that I leave this job interview with all 4 interviewers wishing they could make me an offer on the spot. Wish me luck!
Tags: interview-chatter, preparing for a job interivewRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Coach's Cornor, Preparation & Planning
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