Congratulations! You've searched and searched for the job of your dreams and you just scored an interview. Based on everything you know so far, it reads like a perfect match for you and your experience. 

Now comes the pesky part: nailing the interview and actually getting the job. 

Interviewing for a job isn't necessarily hard if you know the right way to approach it. It does, however, involve a lot of different steps along the way. There are a lot of places in the process where one wrong move can cost you the position if you don't manage it correctly. 

Luckily, preparing yourself with the right mindset will help you increase your chances for success with an interview that leaves the company seeing you as someone they absolutely have to hire. The steps outlined below can help you do just that.

Research the role

Your interview doesn't begin when you set foot in the building. It begins well before, once you've scheduled it. Once you receive confirmation that the interview is happening, do some research on the company. Ideally, you've already done some digging on them before you applied or after they reached out to you. Now it's time for a deeper dive. 

Seek out the company's website. Look for employer reviews online. Take a look to see where they've appeared in the news or other media outlets. Try to gauge the company's reputation in its industry. You should also get a feel for the type of work that they do, their mission statement, and the values they operate under. 

Once you have a better understanding of the company, you will be able to:

1. Have a better understanding of how good of a fit for the role you are based on your experience and qualifications. 

2. Determine how you can best tie your previous experiences to the company's mission and values. 

You should be well-armed with plenty of research on the company and the job itself before you shake your first hand. 

Do research on yourself as well

It's not enough to review your resume before the interview. Start compiling notes about your career. Write down your top skills, accomplishments, and major "wins." Jot down some major obstacles you faced and how you overcame them. 

Use data to back up your claims wherever you can. For example, let's say you're in marketing and you ran an email newsletter campaign. Which of the following sounds more impressive? 

"I started a successful email campaign filled with great content. We added a lot of people to our email list." 

Or...

"Using content from 25 different data sources relevant to my client's stakeholders, I developed an email campaign that helped increase our subscriber count by over 150% during the fiscal year." 

You may not have these kinds of numbers for every claim you make. Wherever you can, focus on providing actionable evidence for your success. Have this information ready and review it the day before the interview so that the examples are fresh in your mind. 

Look the part

Dress professionally. This doesn't mean you have to hop on a flight to London to buy the finest designer items from Savile Row. It means having clothes that are clean, well-pressed, and fitted. Your interviewers may not take notice of your clothes if nothing stands out, and that's okay. At the same time, you don’t want them to notice anything out of place. What you wear is an important part of building a first impression. 

Bring copies of your resume

Do you know how many people you'll be interviewing with? Print out that number of resumes - and possibly even one or two extra in case anyone else joins the interview. They may have a copy on hand already, but having copies available shows that you came prepared. These are small details that your interviewers will appreciate. 

Also, make sure your resume is up to date and has a modern look and feel to it. Using the right template will help with this. 

Understand the problem the company is trying to solve

Once the interview begins, either you'll start off describing your experience or the interviewer will go into detail about the position. If you've done your research, you should understand on a basic level what type of problem the company is trying to solve by filling this role. The interview gives you the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and ask more about the position. 

Is it a new role? Was there a person in the role before you? What are the current obstacles or challenges they're facing? What are the pain points? If it includes work with an external client or base of stakeholders, what challenges do they present? 

By asking these questions, you are trying to understand exactly the problem the company is trying to solve by bringing you on. Maybe it's a newly created position. Perhaps the last person left and they need to maintain the excellent service they received before. Or there may have been issues in the past that led to the position being open now.

Whatever the case, the interviewer is trying to solve a problem. It's up to you to understand it either as they describe the role during the interview, or when you have the opportunity to ask them questions at the end. 

...then tell them how you are the solution

Now that you understand the problem, you're in the perfect position to tell them why you're the answer to it. This is where the story of your career up until this point will come in handy. 

Use your past experiences - challenges you overcame, major accomplishments, certifications - to position yourself as the ideal candidate for this role. Share the metrics you compiled with them. Demonstrate how you can add value to the organization. Tell the story of someone who cultivated a level of expertise for the position and is now ready to apply it towards a new challenge. 

Ask the right questions

When the interviewer asks if you have any questions, this is a great opportunity to show both your aptitude and your ability to think critically. The types of questions you ask will vary depending on the specific company and position, but below are some examples of what you can ask about: 

• The company's overall culture.

• What is a typical "day in the life" for you going to look like in this role? What are the daily responsibilities? 

• What has the interviewer's experience at the company been like? 

• What are the company's expectations for the role in six months to a year? What goals are they trying to achieve, and what major milestones do you need to hit to make this a reality?

Hold off on discussing salary or benefits packages - these types of questions are usually handled with recruiters or human resources representatives. If there is some kind of mitigating circumstance with the position (i.e. work location), you may want to bring this up with the interviewer. 

How to conclude the interview

After you've asked lots of great questions about the position and the company, you'll get to a natural stopping point. Your interviewer will likely ask you one more time if you have anything you'd like to ask.

Once they do, you'll want to pose one more question to them as the final one before the interview concludes: 

"Before we wrap up, what are our next steps, and do you have any concerns about us moving forward for the role?" 

If there's anything causing the interviewer to hesitate on heading into the next steps with you, this will help them state it plainly. It also gives you one last opportunity to address any concerns they may have directly. You leave the interview on a positive note. 

Following up

Upon ending the interview, did you request the interviewer's business card? Make sure you do, saying you'd like their contact information in case you need to reach out with additional questions. 

Following the interview, make sure to follow up with a brief but appreciative thank you email. Thank them for their time and also tell them you believe you'd be a great fit for the role based on their description of the position. 

Where possible, add a specific detail about the interview. While you certainly want the email to be polite, you don't want it to sound like a formal letter. Work in an anecdote from the interview, for example, something about the position, or even a comment about something you may have discussed outside the scope of the interview. It gives the email a personalized touch which the interviewer will appreciate. 

Summary

The bottom line? When you get an interview, be prepared and be confident. By gathering all available information on the company, the role, and yourself combined with knowing what questions to ask, you'll put yourself in a position to succeed. Following these steps increases the chances that the company will leave your interview thinking, "We can't afford to not hire that person." 

Looking for an opportunity to interview for your perfect role? Take a look at our open roles or join The Hire Standard’s talent community, and see how we can help!