Preparing for an Interview

• 00:05 Let's start out by defining what a job interview is.
• 00:07 It may seem at first blush to be very simple.
• 00:11 You have someone come in, sit down, and you go over the resume,
• 00:14 ask them a few questions, ask them to tell about themselves.
• 00:18 You make a few comments, you make a few notes, and you go on to the next.
• 00:23 It's really a lot more than that, but let's start off by looking at the goals.
• 00:27 Do you want to really find out the person behind the resume?
• 00:30 Do you want to find out who they are, see if they would be a good fit?
• 00:35 But you also have to sell your organization on this person because let's
• 00:40 face it, for really high quality people, highly qualified people.
• 00:45 People who have great credentials, great people skills,
• 00:49 great personal skills, they're in demand.
• 00:52 They can pick your company or any number of companies, so
• 00:56 you don't hold all the power here.
• 00:58 You've got to impress people and
• 01:00 give them a sense of what's special about your organization too.
• 01:04 So while it doesn't seem like a two-way street, it really is.
• 01:08 Finally, it's a type of presentation, and you're presenting in front of a stranger.
• 01:15 Now for most people that's uncomfortable, it makes people nervous.
• 01:20 So you need to know how to come across comfortable, confident, and
• 01:24 relaxed in any job interview you conduct.
• 01:27 You need to know how to get the information you really need about this
• 01:32 person so that you can make judgments and you can pass on the information to
• 01:37 others who are a part of the decision making process for hiring employees.
• 01:41 And finally, you need to really sell the main points, the main positive attributes
• 01:47 of your organization and your mission to make that person want to work for you.
• 01:53 Those are the three main goals that I think you should have for
• 01:56 any job interview you conduct.
• 01:58 Those are the goals we're going to focus on right here, let's hop in.
• 02:03 Let's start with preparation before the interview actually starts.
• 02:06 If someone is taking the time to send you a resume, send you a cover letter,
• 02:10 at least do them the courtesy of reading it,
• 02:13 being a little bit familiar with it before the actual interview starts.
• 02:17 Too many job interviews consist of the person in your shoes,
• 02:22 head buried looking at the resume.
• 02:25 So you studied economics at Drake University.
• 02:30 Well, do you really have to ask that question when it's there on the resume?
• 02:35 I'm not suggesting that you Google this person and spend 12 hours researching
• 02:40 them when you've gotta interview 20 people for a particular slot.
• 02:45 But I am suggesting that you will at least spend five minutes going through
• 02:50 their resume, looking at their cover letter,
• 02:53 trying to get a better sense of who they are.
• 02:56 So when you do have that face-to-face interview or
• 02:59 that interview through Skype video or some other means, that it can be meaningful.
• 03:04 You can go deeper, you can dig deeper than simply what's on the resume.
• 03:08 Because you don't need an interview to just go over someone's resume.
• 03:13 You already have that, so that's the first bit, really prepare.
• 03:18 The other thing I need you to think about is, what is it you're looking for
• 03:24 of all these applicants that will distinguish one from the other?
• 03:29 Because you may have a very, very set, specific number of job requirements.
• 03:35 But if you've listed those, presumably all the people you're interviewing fit that,
• 03:41 what in your mind is going to distinguish one applicant over another?
• 03:46 I can't tell you what that is, but I can tell you, it's a lot better
• 03:51 to have something in mind rather than just a gut feeling or I like that person.
• 03:57 They like sailing, I like sailing.
• 03:59 They seem like they'd be nice to have around the office.
• 04:01 Too many hiring decisions are based quite often on arbitrary things like that.
• 04:06 So I want you to have a particular vision for
• 04:10 what would be the ideal candidate for this job.
• 04:13 That way as you're asking specific questions, and open ended questions,
• 04:18 you can get a better sense of whether this would be the perfect fit or
• 04:23 at least the best fit for that job.
• 04:25 So that's your first bit of homework before the interview even starts.

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