79: Preparing For Your Next Job Interview

Here are some different ways to prepare and think about your next job interview–as the interviewer or the interviewee.

Highlights

• Block out time to do deep preparation
• Get clear about the unique strengths and combinations you bring
• Have a few prepared stories and examples that demonstrate your accomplishments and skills
• Get clear on your core values
  • Determine how your values would be honored in the new job
  • Be them in the interview
• Are you running to something or running away from something else?
• Figure out your “must haves” for you and red flags ahead of time
• Make the job interview process is a two-way street
• Put your best foot forward if you have a video interview
  • Get a good camera — Logitech C920
  • Put the camera at least at eye level–best to have it pointing slightly down at you
  • Practice talking to the camera instead of talking to the screen
  • Make sure you have earbuds or something that sounds good
  • Pick a good place to do the call from with a pleasant background
  • Webcam Glam: 3 Easy Tricks To Look Polished On Video Chats
  • Seth Godin takes things to the next level with his Zoom setup
    • Yes, hiding “self view” definitely reduces exhaustion
• Consider what you need to do to get into the best mental state
  • Go for a walk
  • Meditate
  • Put some buffers in your schedule
  • Select times of the day when you bring your best energy
  • Get a good night of sleep
• Remember the interview is looking to hire the awesomeness you bring, not the collective output of your previous team
• Get your self-awareness dialed in
  • “Everyone likes working with me except when I _______________.”
  • “As a ______________, people experience me as __________________.”
  • Tim Ferriss interview with Stanley McChrystal
• In the stories you share about your experience, try to demonstrate
  • How deep you go
  • What you accomplished
  • How you got there
  • Your thought process
• Avoid getting lost in your own story
• Have questions for the interviewer
  • Use to determine if you are a fit
  • Gather information on what they are looking for in the role
  • Always have questions even if you ask the same questions to multiple people
  • Asking the same question to multiple interviewers can yield interesting results

Job Interview Resources

• 10 Impressive Questions to Ask in a Job Interview
• How to succeed at Red Hat
• What to Expect from DoorDash’s Technical Interview
• Questions not to ask at the interview
• What to look for that you might want to avoid

 Salary Negotiation Resources

• Kate Dixon‘s list of articles
• Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued
• How To Answer “What Was Your Last Salary?”
• An interview coach says there’s a right way to answer the dreaded salary history question

Credits

• Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund
• Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod
• Original photo source

All songs licensed under Creative Commons

The post 79: Preparing For Your Next Job Interview appeared first on John Poelstra.