How do I interview well?
It’s an opportunity for the employer to learn more about you, your related skills, strengths and experiences, and whether you are a fit for them. You will also learn more about them and whether they are a good fit for you. Here are some resources and tips to keep in mind as you prepare for an interview.
- Do Your Research
- Prepare and Practice
- Sample Questions
- Prepare Your Response
- Choose Your References
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1. Do Your Research
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Know yourself, your education, your interests, your experiences and how they give you what it takes to do the job well. Be able to articulate the skills you have and how you developed them. Let them know that you have what they’re looking for!
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Know the position and be able to relate your skills to its responsibilities. Use concrete examples. If the salary is not listed in the posting, research the salary range for that kind of position. Have a look at this Activity: Connect what employers require to your skills and experiences (T-Chart)
- Know the employer What do they do and stand for? Where are they going? How are they growing? Who are their competitors? What are their values? What are their core accomplishments? Check them out on social media and their website. Talk to people who work in the field – they probably know the company.
- Conduct informational interviews with professionals in fields you're interested in. Do you need some tips on how to approach an informational interview? Learn more here about informational interviews.
2. Prepare and Practice
Types of interviews: Interviews don’t come in one standard format. Ask what format your interview will take and who will be conducting it so that you can be prepared. Here are the more common formats:
- Panel, board, and committee interviews: This type of interview is usually conducted by a panel of three or more people.
- Multiple rounds of interviews: Often, the interview process involves more than one interview. 1st interview is to assess that you meet the position requirements by looking at your skills, experiences, and qualifications. 2nd interviews focus on making a decision between final candidates, which may involve a more detailed assessment of specific skills required for the position
- Telephone or video interviews are a lot more common, and typically, there is more than one interviewer. When arranging the interview, ask the number of interviewers, their names, and their position titles.
- Case interviews are typically used by management consulting firms whereby the interviewer describes a business problem from the perspective of a client and asks how you, as the consultant, would solve the client’s problem. Good resources for preparing for this kind of interview are mbacase.com and The Vault Guides to Case Interviews.
3. Sample Questions
There are numerous types of questions employers could ask you in an interview. However, these questions can be categorized into three main types: open-ended, behavioural, and situational.
- Open-ended questions do not have a specific direction and cannot be answered by "yes" or "no." An example of an open-ended question is "Tell me about yourself."
- Behavioural questions focus on your past performance, such as "Can you give an example of how you dealt with ____________ in the past?" Based on past behaviour and "proven track record," employers try to predict how effective the candidate would be in a new position.
- Sometimes, employers present problematic scenarios that require solutions. These are referred to as Situational questions. You need to demonstrate your analytical and problem-solving skills in your answers.
Here are some sample questions questions frequently asked by interviewers.
4. Prepare Your Response
1. Analyze the question: What is the interviewer really trying to assess?
From the research you have done about the position, organization and industry, you will be able to determine which particular skills, qualities and/or experiences the interviewer may be trying to assess by asking you that question.
2. Describe your experience(s) and use a relevant example, ensuring that you are highlighting the key skills and qualities that you have analyzed and determined and are being asked in this question.
These examples can come from your volunteer, internship, extracurricular, academic and /or paid experiences. Highlight results wherever possible and show evidence of having researched the position, company and industry. As you prepare, you can use this activity to connect your skills and experiences to the job.
3. Organize your response succinctly. Use the S.T.A.R. method to organize your answers and create a detailed picture of your skills and experiences to help the interviewer remember you.
4. We recommend Big Interview for interview preparation. It is a great resource available on clnx.utoronto.ca within the Student Resources section to practice and improve your interview technique. Big Interview offers virtual mock interviews for all experiences and dozens of industries. It allows you to tape yourself answering random questions and view your response to assess how you did.
Don't Forget to Follow up: Following up with the employer demonstrates your interest in the position.
5. Choose Your References
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When selecting references, choose people who can talk about your skills and qualifications that enable you to do the job you are interviewing for.
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Choose three or four people from paid or volunteer positions who have supervised you and possibly a colleague.
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Ask them for permission to use their name.
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Before sharing their information at the end of an interview, send them a note thanking them for agreeing to be your reference and share your application (resume and cover letter) and the job posting, if you have one.
This is your chance to shine! Good luck.
Searching for more ways to get a job?
Check out at these Career Start links about the job search & interviews: