Interview Advice for Newbs
I was recently asked whether there is any special interview advice for people who are just starting their careers. Upon reflection, I realized that there wasn't a lot of specifically different advice, but that there were a few tweaks to consider.
Im general, when talking with friends about how to interview, I start with this, as advice on how to prepare:
The day before the interview, do something fun, like go out to dinner or see a movie or visit with friends. This is tough in the pandemic world, I know, but there are analogs. The key is to focus and center and not “future trip” about tomorrow.
Then, get a good night’s sleep.
In the morning, eat a healthy breakfast.
Give yourself an extra half hour more than needed to get to the interview. (This applies even for an online virtual interview. Be ready well in advance.)
Check in at least 15 minutes early.
Don’t schedule anything else for the hour after the interview, in case it goes long. You don’t want to feel or act rushed or impatient.
Turn off your phone or at least silence it when you greet the interviewer and leave it off or silenced until the event is done, if you can. An exception might be if you are left waiting between interviewers for some time.
And then, during the interview? This may be where minor tweaks are needed for people without an extensive work history.
Be yourself.
Illustrate all your answers with examples from your past, or at least your thought process if you don’t have any specific examples. This might seem tough since you are a newbie. But it is not as tough as you might think. If you don’t have a workplace example, find an example from another part of your life. Example: How do you handle setbacks? Maybe you don’t have a workplace example to share, but you have likely had some setbacks in other areas of life. Maybe a road trip that didn’t go as planned. Maybe a family event that went awry. Maybe a school project that wasn’t well executed. Find something you can talk about that illustrates your answer. That story will likely sit with the interviewer and make a greater impression than an abstract answer (I pick myself up by my bootstraps.)
Remember that your are interviewing them, as much as they are interviewing you, and act accordingly. In fact, as an early in career person, this might be even more important. Do your research on LinkedIn and business web sites to understand the company as well as possible. And prepare some good questions about the company, the role, the team, the challenges, the projects or programs, etc, and engage in “active listening” during the interview.
Bonus points: Look up the interviewer(s) ahead of time on LinkedIn or other social media. This will tell you how they want you to think about them. Treat them as they have indicated via their social media presence they want to be seen and treated.
What about follow up?
I think it’s nice to do a brief followup with the folks I have interviewed with. Some people call this a “thank you note,” and in most situations I would use the words “thank you” somewhere in my message. Depending on the industry and what contact information I have access to, this follow up might be via email, written note, phone, text, or online messaging/social media, etc. It will almost always be one paragraph at most, unless there was some more substantive follow up discussed in the interview that I am supposed to provide.
This note isn’t an empty platitude, though such social niceties have their place and being able to go through the motions can be important. Rather, this follow up is a chance to tie up any loose ends, and demonstrate that, on your end, you are still interested.
What’s that? Of course you are still interested? Well, an interview is a two way interaction. Sure, the company was interviewing you. But you were also interviewing the company. And just like the candidate is waiting for the company to indicate whether they want to proceed further in the process, the company is usually waiting for the candidate to indicate the same thing. This follow up note is that indication (yes, I am still interested) and can make a difference.