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The Celerity Interview 

Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off! Your networking has lead to a job opportunity that offers you the challenge and responsibility you've been seeking. You've drafted a powerful and focused resume, customized specifically for the position. Now, at long last, the day has come for you to interview.

Job interviews are more than just a formality or a step in the hiring process. The interview represents your opportunity to market your skills to a prospective employer. This is your chance to go beyond your resume and to communicate what an asset you could be to an employer.

Preparation

All too often, candidates fail to adequately prepare for the interview.  Just as in all phases of your job search, the interview stage requires a certain degree of advance preparation. Following is a checklist of information to establish prior to the interview itself.

  • When and where the interview will occur?
  • With whom you will be interviewing (including the job title of the interviewer)?
  • What will be the interview format and how long is the interview expected to last?

Research

Once those details have been confirmed, it's time to go back to your research. Take some time to review your previous notes (or do addition research if necessary) to educate yourself on key details regarding the company itself.

  • What are the company's key objectives? 
  • What are its products/services/customers?
  • What do they look for in good employees?

It is also important to review the job itself. Any information you can garner from advertisements, internal postings or job descriptions is invaluable to you as a candidate. By researching these topics you will be better able to present your skills and experience as they relate to the position at hand. Using that information, you need to consider the following concerns- regardless of exactly what the interviewer may ask.

  • What transferable skills can you bring to this position? How do these skills meet the company's needs? What problems can you solve for the company?
  • What sets you apart from other candidates for this position?
  • What are the areas where your qualifications for the position are weaker than preferred? How can you re-dress those weaknesses? Can they be turned into strengths?

Potential Interview Questions

Once you have established your own personal strengths and weaknesses with regard to the position at hand, you are able to anticipate and prepare for various types of interview questions. Following is a sampling of commonly used types of questions.  

  • Chronological/Work History- An interviewer will ask questions regarding your prior work experience based on each of your prior positions. Questions typically focus on specific questions with regard to your responsibilities and accomplishments in each position, as well as why you left your former positions.  If you were terminated from a prior position, be honest and communicate what you learned from that situation without resorting to excuses or maligning your former employer.
  • Traditional Questions- The interviewer will likely ask broad, open-ended questions that will test your ability to think on your feet and highlight your own qualifications.  Typical questions include the following:

  1. What are your long range and short range goals and objectives?

  2. What do you really want to do in life?

  3. How would you describe yourself?

  4. Why did you decide to seek a position with our company?

  5. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?

Strength/Weakness Questions- These are the most common interview questions.  They are open ended and are often used by interviewers to get a sense of how the candidate evaluates themselves.  

To be successful, you must be able to convey not only what your strengths are, but how they will benefit you in this position.  It's not enough to simply answer that you are detail-oriented.  Instead, you should be prepared to offer examples of they strength in action and how it will be an asset in this particular role. 

When it comes to describing your own weaknesses, be honest.  Interviewer are likely to be wary of any candidate that honestly feels they have no faults or room for improvement.  However, even this answer can be made to reflect positively on you as a candidate.  Some options include describing the steps you have taken to correct for a weakness, or how you have worked to develop resources to assist you in that area.  Lastly,  you  must prepared to counter perceived weaknesses with examples to illustrate that you have the critical skills needed to succeed in the role.

  • Behavioral Questions- These questions are used to evaluate your communications skills as well as the key success factors for the a particular position. These questions may focus less on the 'nuts & bolts' of your background and more on how you have performed in various work-related situations. You need to be prepared with examples of how you have performed in various critical situations in the past as well as hypothetical difficulties that may arise in your new position. Sample Behavioral Interview questions include:

  1. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
  2. Tell me about a time when had to use your persuasion skills to influence another person's opinion.

  3. Give me an example of when you tried to accomplish something and failed.

  4. Give me an example of when you motivated others.

  5. Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and prevented them from occurring.

  6. Tell me about a time when you had to do too many things and were required to prioritize your tasks.

  7. Tell me about a time when you able to successfully deal with another person, even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

The S.T.A.R. Answer- The S.T.A.R. formula is a highly effective way to fully and completely answer a behavior-based interview question in a concise and professional way.  When you are asked a behavior based question, take a moment or two to organize your thoughts before speaking.  The formulate a S.T.A.R. answer consisting of  the following:

Situation/Task:  Describe a situation that fits the interviewers inquiry.  Be certain to describe a specific situation or event and not a general summary of past experiences.  Be certain to include as many pertinent details and facts as possible to allow the interviewer to fully understand the situation.

Action:  Focus on the specific actions you took to resolve or address the situation.  This is your chance to highlight your performance.  Even if you were operating as part of a group or team, focus on your personal contribution.  This is your opportunity to show them that not only can you successfully deal with this type of situation, but that you already have a proven performance record.

Results:  Conclude your answer by explaining what the final result of the situation you described.  Be certain to include what was accomplished and what you learned from the experience.

Ask Questions of Your Own

There are many factors the interviewer considers in addition to the answers you provide.  Many interviewers carefully consider what, if any questions you ask of them.  These types of questions indicate that you are interested in the position offered and have given the roles and responsibilities discussed the proper attention.  Examples of these questions include the following.

1.   What are the critical priorities in this position?

2.   What are the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities of this job?

3.   What are the company's values?

4.   How would you describe the company's corporate culture?

Presentation

Last, but by no means least, the interview is your most important opportunity to present yourself to the employer.  The interviewer and other staff will be evaluating you formally and informally from the moment you arrive.  In order to make the best possible first impression, it is important that you prepare yourself for success.

  1. Prepare appropriate clothing for the interview.  Regardless of whether it is a highly professional environment, a laid back  small office or an informal meeting, make certain that your clothing is cleaned and pressed.
  2. Even if you have already submitted a copy of your resume prior to the interview, be certain you have several high quality copies of your resume- on resume paper- on hand.  This will allow you to provide one to each individual you meet with if necessary.
  3. Be certain that you understand exactly where the interview is to take place.  You may even consider driving to the interview location a day or two in advance to be certain that you don't underestimate the travel time.
  4. Make certain that you have all the information necessary to complete an employment application.  Many employers request that candidates fill out a standard application form before or after the interview.  This information includes the names, addresses and phone numbers of former employers, dates of previous employment and reference information.