As promised, the time has come. Here are the interview tips they should teach during college but don’t.
You have followed the guidelines from last week’s post and secured an on-site interview with a company you’re excited about. The company has made an impression on you and now you have to make an impression on them. How do you go about doing it? Understanding what the hiring directors are keeping an eye out for is a very strong place to start.
Consistency - Whether it’s throughout your conversation with one person, or your conversations with many, being consistent it key. A strong example of this would be speaking to a hiring director about how much you love meeting with clients in person, then learning the role you're interviewing for doesn't involve in-person pitches/sales. If you respond by saying you don’t mind the fact that you won’t be demoing to clients in person, it seems you’re just saying what they’re looking to hear.
You’re better off asking deeper questions around why a company has chosen that model of sale, or how people in the past have performed when they transitioned into this role from previous experience in outside sales. This way it’s a conversation and discovery. In the other scenario, you’re flip-flopping.
And as obvious as this is, hiring directors talk. If you express one thing to one person and something entirely different to another, they will both find out.
The balance between confidence and cockiness - It seems like an unsaid rule, but particularly with salespeople, it’s not so easy. Confidence is key in any interview. It shows that you are capable and intelligent. If you believe you can do this job and you confidently present reasoning as to why, your audience will likely believe it too.
But the moment you start to sound arrogant, you lose the hiring director’s trust and respect. If you rub the hiring director the wrong way, you’re likely to rub the team the wrong way, and rub prospects the wrong way, so you won’t be the best fit.
So much of this comes down to tone and overall attitude. It is wise to speak to your accomplishments as they’re representative of the impact you could make for this next company. But what helped you reach those accomplishments? Even noting the influence of managers or colleagues in your development humbles the statement.
Tactful utilization of each interviewer - Due to the fact that every single hiring director meets with you for a purpose, it’s important to take advantage of each person’s offer to help and to tailor your questions to the person you’re meeting with. When directors open the floor for questions, have questions prepared. To not do so suggests that you didn’t prepare adequately.
Another folly is to preface questions with, “You probably don’t know the answer to this, but…” It suggests that you don’t think the person interviewing you is capable of answering your questions and is, in turn, perceived as very disrespectful.
Additionally, if you feel you make a connection with a hiring director, utilize him or her for assistance in future steps. Whether it’s asking for feedback on the interview you just had or your candidacy, or emailing afterward for tips on future steps, it’s impressive to ask for assistance and it shows authentic interest in the company and role.
Genuine responses - We understand that interviews are nerve-wracking. You’re often trying to put on your “best you” but sometimes that leads you to presenting as disingenuous. Being nervous is fine but being dishonest isn’t and believe me when I say, hiring directors interview enough people to know when you aren’t being honest.
Here is an example of a question that begs for a genuine response: What do you see as the primary hurdles you’ll face transitioning into this role? The most common response, and a weak one, is “learning the product.”
At any new company you join, you will have to learn the product. This response tells us absolutely nothing about you, the way you learn, what challenges you - simply, anything genuinely relevant to you (or us as a company) at all.
Perhaps you answer this way: “The only audience I have ever worked with before is within the financial space. Those are different decision makers with different pain points and they even use difference lingo. It took me a bit to grow accustomed to that in the financial space and now I’ll have to learn it within the marketing realm.”
Could a hiring manager perceive that answer as you’re going to take longer to ramp than other people he or she could hire? Maybe. But always, that’s an honest answer they’ll respect.
Another quality response could be: “I work in an office of 10 people right now and honestly have my own space, as well as peace and quiet. Transitioning on to a sales floor of ~70 will be louder and more distracting, but I want an opportunity to learn from those around me and see that opportunity here.”
Could a hiring manager fear you won’t be able to take the hustle and bustle of a loud sales floor? Maybe. But always, that’s an honest answer they’ll respect.
Knowledge of the company and role, inside and out - Your interview is your opportunity to show not only that you want a job, but that you want this job with this company. Demonstrating otherwise could lose you the job all together.
Before even having a first call, but particularly before going on site, use every resource possible to learn about the company. Look through case studies, recent articles, webinars, and if you can watch a demo - watch it. Particularly if you’re interviewing for a sales position, your interviewers will be looking for you to articulate the value of the company in a way that is concise and informative.
Know the role. Hiring directors won’t respect a candidate who is interviewing for a position they can’t articulate. Look through the job description with care and if there isn’t one on the website, ask for one from whoever set up the interview. It is perfectly understandable to ask the intricacies of the day-to-day during the interview process, but do so only after you have demonstrated what you already know.
Utilize the previous tips to ask creative questions. You have already learned to ask questions specific to your interviewer’s title and previous work experience, you know to ask genuine questions you actually care to hear the answers to, and to ask questions that don’t demonstrate a lack of understanding you should already have for the company and role.
Now to help you ask even more creative questions, it’s helpful to know what everyone else is asking. If some of your questions resemble these, that’s okay. If all of your questions resemble these, know you should come up with some more in order to stand out from the crowd.
Why did you choose to join this company?
What do you look for in a hire?
What's the culture like?
What's your favorite thing about working here?
What is the trajectory for growth?
What is the day to day in this role?
But you want to know all of these things? Find a way to make the question your own. Example: Why did you choose to come to Yotpo? Becomes I know you worked with over 150 companies while with Betts Recruiting. Why, having been introduced to so many other startups, did you choose this one?
Personalized thank you notes - Never, never, never, ever write bulk thank you notes on which you copy numerous members of the hiring team.
It is okay to use templates with thank you notes as long as you send individual emails to each person you met with.
It is best to send unique emails to each person you met, including content specific to the conversation you had with that person.
Do hiring managers compare thank you notes with one another to see whether you sent everyone the same email? No, they don’t. And if they do, those hiring managers aren’t as busy as every hiring manager I have ever met.
But they do notice personalized notes and sometimes those notes are the make or break for whether you make it to the next round in an interview or even whether you get the offer.
Finally, send your thank you note within 24 hours. Managers do notice if you don’t send them in a timely manner, and it’s offensive to not send one at all.
Different companies have their own qualities that have translated to success depending on the position you’re interviewing for. But regardless of the role, it is universally agreed that confidence, consistency, creativity, preparedness and authenticity are traits that make for any good hire.
By demonstrating the following in tandem with the right experience for the job, you’re clearly the candidate to come out on top.
