How to prepare for interview questions

Wondering how to prepare for interview questions? Here are 3 tips.

To prepare for interviews, I typically do thorough research on the company and look up interview questions. But when I ended up in a situation where I had five interviews all in one day, I started to wonder how a person could prepare for interviews when there is too much information to remember. Here’s what I learned.

3 tips to help you prepare for any interview question you may be asked

1.Know the basics about the company

Of course when you interview, it’s important to know the basics about the company just in case you are asked about it. Here are a few things to get you started:

• Company name & job title – These seem almost too silly to mention. But wouldn’t it be even more silly if the interviewer asked you the name of the company and job title you were interviewing for and your mind drew a blank because you’ve applied for so many jobs and companies?
• Company mission and vision – It’s likely they won’t quiz you on this, but knowing the mission and vision will help you communicate how you would be a good fit for the company.
• Company leaders – Again, It’s likely that you won’t be quizzed on this, but knowing who the leaders are and their backstory may be important information to demonstrate your fit for the role and your interest in the company.
• How and why the company got started – Knowing this can also be important for answering questions about your fit for the role and interest in the company.

2.Practice answering questions concisely

Being able to answer interview questions in a short amount of time is truly an art.  And because it’s impossible to know exactly what questions the interviewer will ask you, it might actually better serve you to practice answering behavioral questions concisely. For this, I use the STAR method:

• Situation – Summarize the problem or project you were addressing.
• Task – Say your responsibilities in overcoming the problem or completing the project
• Action – Explain what you did, how you did it, and why you did it
• Result – Share the impact your role had on addressing a problem or completing the project

3.Know yourself

When you are confident in yourself and your abilities to do a job, answering questions becomes more about being yourself.

Be able to explain:

• Why you are interested in this role
• How this role fits in with your career goals – Download the free career roadmap to help you with this.
• Your strengths and weaknesses
• Why you are the best candidate for this role

Next steps:

Before your interview, be sure to follow these steps to prepare for interview questions:

1. Do research on the company so you can demonstrate company fit and interest.
2. Look up behavioral questions and practice answering them.
   • Signing up for a free 30 min career consultation is a great start.
3. Understand and be able to communicate why you should be the candidate they hire
   • Get on the waitlist for my virtual workshop where you’ll learn my 4-step process on how to market yourself even if you don’t have much professional experience. Learn more here.