Practice: The Best Way to Prepare for an Interview
Whether you’re in the early stage of your job hunt or days away from an interview, it’s important to thoroughly prepare. It doesn’t matter if you know your resume inside out or have been in more interviews than you can count, no expert goes into a situation without a little practice, and neither should you. According to bestselling author & leadership speaker Mark Sanborn, “practice won’t make you perfect, but it will make you better.” 100%.
Think about it — when was the last time you played a sport, entered a competition, or wore a new pair of heels without a little practice? Probably never. So why leave your career up to chance? Practicing for an interview not only helps you feel more confident and prepared, it also helps with interpersonal communication skills. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the power of practice. If you want to do well while feeling good in your next interview, here are some of the best ways to prepare.
Know your audience
Before heading into the interview, do research on the company, and jot down questions as you go. Find out as much as you can about their culture, mission, values and communication style. It will help you to decide what parts of your background and experience to highlight. What you discover will shape what you say, and how you say it.
Know your story
Its important to know your resume and the through-line. Don’t just regurgitate what’s on your resume, highlight relevant experience and skills and why it fits for this particular role & organization. Know your why. Why do you want to work for them? Why are you a good fit? Prepare to answer behavior based questions specifically on conflict resolution, teamwork, leadership and accomplishments. When you know your story, you’re able to speak directly to the role and how you fit – which helps you connect the dots for the interviewer.
Practice how to show up
Once you understand the company and how you fit in, make sure to apply this knowledge during the actual interview. That means you’ll need to anticipate specific interview questions, know your stories, refine body language and make sure you have your technology in check. This is where you reap the benefits from the power or practice!
Most people don’t think they need to practice or feel uncomfortable practicing with someone else, and most times after an interview we hear people say that they wished they would’ve practiced. So, just do it! Find someone, a real live human to practice with. Practicing in front of the mirror and on voice memos are great – but showing up with another human to practice and receive feedback is even better!
You’ll want to make sure your mock interviewer asks the right questions related to the job description, is honest and is skilled in giving actionable feedback. That’s why we built our popular mock interview service so you can receive personalized feedback from a qualified consultant. Our consultants have conducted thousands of interviews and are dedicated to helping you refine the interview. The mock interview sessions are powerful. After completion of the mock interview session(s), people receive offers, have increased confidence, clarity, and felt authentic and comfortable in the interview.
To land the job you want, you need to do well on the interview. And to do well on the interview, some practice and refinement can go a long way. Reach out to us if you’d like more information about our interview prep services. Or, join our network to see to see upcoming courses and connect with other job seekers. We’re here for you.
By: Amber Lewis
