How To Prepare For An Interview Like A Pro

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Second Class Collective is holding an online interview preparation workshop on 20 July 2022. RSVP to join the workshop by clicking the button at the end of the article. Spaces are limited.

You got it! You got the job...INTERVIEW! Fine, you are not at the promised land yet but you are one step closer. You just have to slay this beast called interview.

Over the years, we’ve had friends approach us for assistance on preparing for interviews. The sheer joy of getting one’s foot through the door by securing an interview can very quickly be displaced by the anxiety of actually having to back up what you have very nicely packaged on your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.

Unless you are someone who job hops frequently, it is likely that you may not be well-versed in the art of interviewing. You may not even be sure as to how much time one should dedicate in preparing for an interview. One can trawl through the internet to find thousands of interview tips and examples of questions and answers, and you will more than likely be overwhelmed, which would be counterproductive to your preparation.

Three Day Model

To cut through the noise, we propose the following simplified model, spread over a minimum of three days. Unless the Company is adamant an interview is urgent, it makes the most sense to buy as much time as you can get to prepare.

This is under the assumption that it is likely most interviews are scheduled during a weekday. Quite possibly, the only time you have to prep would be after your current work ends in the evening, giving you no more than a couple of hours a day to invest into the preparatory work.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of the elements.

Research – There are three main areas to be researched, where the depth of research depends on each area’s complexity and your familiarity with it.

Regardless of your familiarity with the industry or company, a little research and consolidation of your knowledge of the organisation will come in handy. There are many avenues for helpful information, including:

• Annual report

• Company corporate website

• Online news reports

• Trade journals

• Glassdoor

If possible, reach out to family, friends or associates who are or knows someone who are currently or was previously working in the company. This is where having an expansive network would come in handy.

To summarise the key information that could be useful, we’ve put together the following template which we propose to be the Output from Day One. We have intentionally kept it to One Page for ease of reference. The full Interview Preparation Template can be downloaded at the end of this post.

Digest – Once you have had the chance to collect your thoughts and the results of your research, we would recommend curating anticipated questions that may be asked during the interview. We’ve split the questions into four types:

1. Background questions

2. Behavioural questions

3. Competency questions

4. Questions for the interviewer

Background questions are questions on your education, your experience, etc. Sometimes the interviewer might ask for you to summarise your resume. This is where a high level and succinct but impactful response should be prepared beforehand. If you are feeling confident, throw in a small, inoffensive joke here to show how at ease you are and to break the ice.

Behavioural questions (also known as situational questions) usually focus on how you have responded in the past or would respond in a hypothetical situation, and is usually used to test how you would react to challenges, and how you would act in a professional setting i.e., soft skills.

Competency questions focus on your technical abilities and hence is highly dependent on the field of role you are applying for. There are tonnes of sample questions on the internet tailored for specific industries and fields and it is best to familiarise yourself with some of these questions.

It will also be advisable to have at least a couple of questions that you would like to ask of the interviewer. Again, examples of questions to ask by interviewees are widely available on the internet. However, while questions about salaries and compensation is not as taboo as it used to be, there has also been a trend moving away from discussing this at this stage of an interview. This segment would be a great opportunity for you to further show your enthusiasm for the role and the organisation. It would also be a chance for you to ask questions that are important in your own decision as to whether they are an organisation that you want to join. For example, you may be curious about the team’s working style and flexibility. Just be mindful that just as much as you are putting your best feet forward, so are they. Take their responses with a healthy level of scepticism.

A common suggestion on how to craft your responses (especially for behavioural questions) is to use the STAR framework.

Situation – Describe the Situation.

Task – Describe the goal that you were trying to achieve

Action – Describe the actions you took to address the situation and achieve the goal.

Results – Describe the outcome

The Interview Preparation Template (Downloadable below) provides a framework for you to think through the anticipated questions and responses.

Another key concept that might assist you in your preparation is the ATIC, that is the Ability To Identify Criteria. This is defined as an individual's ability to read situational cues in order to discover what skills or competencies the question posed by the interviewer is trying to assess. The following is an example of what we mean by this.

Question: Can you tell me when was the last time you were faced with having to provide an explanation of a complex concept to a person who is not familiar with it?

A person with high ATIC would be able to reconcile this to the job description (which may specify that good communication skills and managing/leading a team of juniors as part of the role's responsibility), and recognise that the focus should be on her strength in coaching and communicating. A person with low ATIC might think that the question is relating to selling a complex technological product to a potential customer and focuses on his sales experience, or on his persuasive skills.

As referenced above, your familiarisation with the job description will be helpful to increase your ATIC.

Simulation – This is where you get to have a bit of fun. Our first advice is to find someone who is willing to roleplay who is objective enough to feel comfortable giving you the truth, is not too emotionally invested, and has the right level of experience to be able to help you.

The proposed simulation cycle would work as follows:

It is suggested that the “Interviewer” takes note of the following in addition to the content of the applicant’s responses.

• Non-verbal language i.e., body language, eye contact

• Tone, pace, filler words i.e., ‘mms’, ‘like’

As part of the Interview Preparation Template (Downloadable below), we have also included a page for feedback from the interview simulation exercises

Bear in mind, the goal of simulation isn’t to memorise your responses verbatim, but to gain the confidence one gets from putting being prepared.

Rest – Now that all the hard work’s done, the final step which is as important as those that preceded it is to work out the logistics in advance, and rest knowing that you have done all you can. Plan the route to the office, ensure you get there at least 15 minutes before the agreed time, which will allow you some time to freshen up sip of water.

If it is a virtual interview, ensure you know how to dial into the teleconference, have your webcam, headsets etc set up in advance, remove any distractions around you and make sure your background is at the very least tidy.

Lay out your clothes the night before – dress according to the organisation’s dress code.

Print a copy of your resume as well as the job description, and carry it along with you.

Consider planning your meals and nutrition prior to the interview. If you are someone that needs to have breakfast every day and the interview has been set first thing in the morning, ensure you have something in the fridge ready to be consumed the moment you are up.

If possible, reward yourself the night before with something you’ll enjoy – a simple dinner with a loved one or with friends, a thirty-minute comedy show, something that will lift your spirits prior to an important interview.

Cultural differences in interviews

An interesting aspect to consider, especially for applicants from a minority culture seeking employment in a foreign land, is the level of enthusiasm and excitement you bring to the interview. Studies in recent years have shown how cultural differences might make an impact on your chances of acing an interview. For example, it was found in a study that Western employers favoured an excited and enthusiastic applicant over a calm and collected one, while Eastern employers in the study tend to prefer the opposite. While we don’t advocate acting unnaturally counter to your personal demeanour, it might be useful to be tuned into the interviewer’s emotional cues which may provide guidance as to what sort of candidate they are looking for.

(Note: For any interviewers reading this, it might be worthwhile reflecting on any potential cultural biasness while conducting interviews especially for roles where a specific type of personality is not mandatory.)

Ultimate goal of interview preparation

To be clear, while there may be criticism from fringe quarters of interviewees being too well-rehearsed, from our experience this would be far more preferable than someone who looks and sounds as if they have just walked in from the street, all deer-in-headlights. Most interviewers will not view diligence and being prepared as negative traits to be avoided, and if they do, these may not be people you would want to work with.

At the end of the day, even if none of the questions you have prepared for were asked, you would still have achieved the main objective of the effort you put in:

Building self-confidence

This confidence, buttressed by deep technical knowledge of the role and your experience, would hopefully put you ahead of other candidates.

Good luck.

Templates to Download

Interview Preparation Template - 2022 Copyright The Second Class Collective.pdf

Download PDF • 621KB

Please leave comments below for any other suggestions or feedback you might have that will be useful for other readers.

If you ever need a interview simulation partner, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Lastly, consider joining The Second Class Collective to keep abreast of future posts in the Interview series.

Up next, we will discuss one of the main challenge faced by interviewees, ANXIETY. We will also dive deeper into the cultural differences in interviews across different countries. Stay tuned.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Second Class Collective is holding an online interview preparation workshop on 20 July 2022. RSVP to join the workshop by clicking the button below.

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