30 Tips To Ace Your Job Interview

Recently I was chatting over dinner with two of my good friends, when we talked job interviews. One of my friends (who is still a student) said she was glad that she was still studying because she found the prospect of job interviews scary. To her, the thought of having someone grill you face-to-face with questions and being pressured to think on your feet was quite overwhelming.

I found her adversity towards interviews quite interesting. While interviews can seem intimidating, they are definitely manageable with the right preparation. In fact, as you do more interviews, you will find them easier — and something to look forward to! Personally, I find interviews a great opportunity for personal growth and would feel an adrenaline rush every time I finished one!

30 Job Interview Tips

In my years as a business student and in the corporate world, I learned numerous things on what’s important in an interview and how to win over your interviewers. Here are 30 job interview tips which will come in handy as you prepare for your interview — apply them to dramatically increase your odds of securing that next job. :)

1. Be clear that this is a job you want. Is this a job that you really want? Be clear on your end objective. Only accept the interview if there is a possibility that you will accept the job offer after you get it. Otherwise, you will only be wasting their time and your time — plus it creates bad will if you reject an offer later on without a valid reason. You never know when you might want to join this company in the future.
2. Look up your interviewers before the interview. What are their names? What are their designations? What are they working on? Try to get some broad-based information on them like their names and designations before the interview; then, look them up online or on Linkedin to see if you can find any other information on them. This will help you better prepare and connect with them during the interview.
3. Research the interview style of the company. Different industries use different interview styles, and even the same company uses different tests for different roles. These range from stress panel interview (with 4 or more interviewers), to 2-on-1 interview, to 1-on-1 interview, to group interview (interview with a few candidates together), and more. Even within these interviews, the kind of questions asked varies. Some interviews focus on behavioral questions, some on case studies, some on general knowledge, and so on. Read up on the interview style and rounds because these will be critical as you prepare.
4. Connect with people who have interviewed with the company before. There is no better way to learn than to talk to someone who has been through the process. If you can find someone who has interviewed with the company before, talk to them. Learn what the whole process was like, the questions asked, any surprise elements, how you can better prepare, etc. Sites like Linkedin and Glassdoor now make it very easy to learn about a company’s hiring process.
5. Connect with company’s employees. Do you have any friends who work there? Friends’ friends? Connect with them and try to learn as much as you can about the company, its culture, organization, the interview process, etc. This will give you very valuable insights for your interview.
6. Research the company background. What does it do? What products do they have? How is their performance in the past few years? What is the status of the company now? What are the latest news surrounding the company? How is its culture? How is its structure? How many regions and countries is it in? Which are its biggest markets? Find out as much relevant information as you can about the company that you feel will come in handy for your job interview.
7. Research the job you are interviewing for. What is your role about? How many people will you be working with? What will you be doing? Does it require traveling? As you think about these questions, think about what you have to offer that will be a fit for this role as well as the company.
8. Check how many candidates are up for the interview. This is optional, but knowing this gives you an indication on the intensity of competition for the role. You can ask this question if you are already through to the next round (if there are multiple interview rounds); most interviewers or HR folks should be happy to share this information.
9. Be clear about what you have to offer. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What achievements have you had? Why should the company choose you over another candidate? What do you have to offer to them? How does your knowledge, skill sets and abilities fit with what they are looking for?
10. Rehearse with a friend. Nothing like a trial run before the real thing! After all, practice makes perfect. Brief your friend on the interview style of the company and simulate an interview scenario with her, where she interviews you. Anticipate questions they will ask.
11. Dress right. Check with the HR or your headhunter on the dress code before the interview. Generally, formal office wear should work right.
12. Be 10 minutes early for the interview. The worst thing you can do is be late for the interview. It sets the wrong tone and you don’t want to enter your interview hot, sweaty, and flustered. Be early rather than late; make sure you set off for the place earlier by 15-30 minutes. Reaching earlier helps you cool down and prepare yourself mentally.
13. Check how you look before your interview. Ensure that your hair is in its place, there’s nothing on your face, and there’s nothing stuck in your teeth. The last thing you want is to finish an interview smiling, then realize there’s a big piece of vegetable stuck in your front teeth afterward!
14. Give them a firm handshake. Your handshake should be firm and steady. Your handshake gives them an initial impression on the kind of person you are. If it’s a solid shake, they will think of you as a confident and firm person. If you have sweaty palms, make sure you wipe them before you shake their hands!
15. Ask them for their namecards (and give them yours). Before the interview, your interviewers will typically offer you their name card. If not, you can request for it. This will come into handy after the interview (see Tip #30). If you have your own name card, give them the card before the interview starts. When I was in business school, my school provided all the students with their own namecards as a way for us to easily network with prospective employers and people in the industry. As small a gesture this may be, it helps leave an impression. You never know how it may come in useful.
16. Be confident in yourself. The company wants to hire someone who is self-assured and can perform, not someone who lacks self-worth and seems doubtful of their abilities. Be confident in yourself. Read my article on How to Increase Self-Confidence.
17. Be positive. During the interview, always be positive and focus on the good things, not the bad things. Do not ever badmouth anyone or complain about anything because it comes across as very unprofessional. What you share in the interview is going in their evaluation of how well you fit the company. Whenever you think about saying something negative, quickly flip it around in your head and talk about the upside instead.
18. Be truthful. Be true to your integrity with your answers. Don’t overexaggerate your contributions or falsify them. When you tell the truth, you don’t need to worry about what you said before. Also, be honest about the pay you want as well as your start date. Don’t tell them an answer that do not convey what you really feel. There is no need to lie just to secure a job.
19. Be enthusiastic. Let your enthusiasm and passion flow through your answers. One important indicator of how well a person will perform in their job is their passion. I just had a phone interview last week (for a Fortune 100 company) where I was shortlisted for the next round immediately after the interview. The interviewer said she could feel my passion surging through just from talking on the phone! If you exude enthusiasm, the energy will be felt by your interviewers as well.
20. Think before you speak. For every question they ask you, think over your answers for 2-3 seconds before you speak. This is better than if you jump straight into the answer in a fluster and go off a completely wrong tangent. Structure the key points mentally then convey them one by one in your answer.
21. Be conscious of your body language. Convey confidence in your body language — have a good posture, put your shoulders back, and don’t go overboard with your hand gestures. I tend to lean forward a little when listening or talking — it helps convey my interest and level of engagement.
22. Don’t speak too fast. I normally speak very fast, with a tendency to speak even faster when I’m excited. If you do that, this makes it hard for the interviewers to capture what you are saying! Be conscious of your rate of speech — again, practice before the interview (Tip #10).
23. Win them over with your answers. During the interview, the interviewers are looking for answers that suggest that you will be a good fit with the company. Be aware of what they are looking for and include that in your answers. Give answers that clearly highlight your key strengths and what you have to offer. Everything you say should support a key message. Don’t ramble about unrelated details. Make it easy for your interviewers to see you for the excellent candidate that you are, rather than making them probe for answers.
24. Smile regularly. Remember to smile from time to time! Be amiable and approachable. Don’t look too serious as it might alienate people. Apart from hiring competent people, interviewers also look to hire people they like.
25. Take a notebook into the job interview. This depends on the interview style and who your interviewers are. For some, it’s okay to take a notebook that you reference or jot down notes during the interview. If you are someone who gets easily nervous and forgets stuff, this will be a good tool to have.
26. Be conscious of your interviewers. Watch their facial expressions and body language. If you have been going on and on in an answer and they look like they are getting restless, get to the main crux of what you want to say. In an interview, your ability to “listen” is as important as your ability to speak.
27. Ask smart questions at the end of the job interview. Typically at the end of the job interview, your interviewers will ask if you have any questions. Asking questions which express your interest in the job, such as details of the projects you will be handling if you get the role, lets them know your sincerity in the role. Asking questions about the interviewers, such as how they came to join this company, their most challenging assignment so far, what they feel about their experience there, etc., is a great way for you to build a personal connection and get valuable insights about the company.
28. Ask how long it will take for them to get back to you. This helps manage your expectations in your waiting time. It’s important since you are likely interviewing with other companies during this time and may be receiving other offers. If you don’t get a callback within their stipulated time, then most likely you did not get shortlisted.
29. Follow up with an email. After the job interview, follow up with a quick thank you email for their time. Briefly touch on your strong interest for the company and the assignment. This helps put you at the top of their mind.
30. Learn from the interview. Regardless of what happens, be sure to learn from it afterward. Which questions stumped you? Were there any answers which you could have improved upon? Work on them for your own learning purposes.

After Your Job Interview

Sometimes, just because you think you blew a job interview doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause.

When I was getting interviewed for my internship in a Fortune 100 company in 2005 (I was just 20 then, very young), I thought I had totally ruined my chances during the second round. As someone who was really spontaneous and enthusiastic at that time, I made two of the worst boo-boos possible during the interview.

The first one occurred just before the job interview started. I had two interviewers, a man and a lady. When I was sitting, their colleague entered the room with drinks for them. The male interviewer, seeing I had no drinks, asked me out of courtesy if I wanted one. Instead of saying no, I quipped “Okay, yes please!”

All the three employees must had been taken aback, because they looked at each other for a few seconds, after which the lady (who bought the drink) said she had to walk 10 minutes away to get the drinks (the interview was held in a school campus and there were no shops nearby). There was some awkward silence before the male interviewer said I could have his drink, which he then passed to me. Upon realizing what I had just done, I left the drink untouched for the whole interview.

The second one happened during the end of the interview, when they asked me if I had anything to inquire. One of the questions I asked was, “When did you join the company, and how long have you been here?” The male interviewer started talking about how he studied for his phD for four years, after which he went to work in the company for over 6 years. Since he looked relatively young, this prompted me to interrupt and ask him how old he was! There was another awkward silence in the room before the interviewer eventually shared his age (34).

I totally thought the interview was a goner afterward. As a neurotic perfectionist in the past, I was really upset and beat myself up over it.

Eventually though, I was shortlisted for the third round, after which I was selected for the coveted internship and subsequently offered a permanent placement in the company. In a twist of fate, the male interviewer was my manager during my internship and he became my mentor afterward.

So, keep your chin up and be positive regardless of what happens! Even if you didn’t get shortlisted for the next round or for the role, all it means is that you are not a right fit for the position at the moment. Don’t take it as a measurement of your competency or your worth, because it isn’t. To quote Alexander Graham Bell, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

There is always a reason why everything happens — if you don’t get this particular job, then it means you will get a better job elsewhere. What’s most important is you learn from what happened (tip #30) and put the lessons to good use next time. :)