You’ve been internship/career shopping for a while now and you scored an interview. Congrats! It’s always exciting to receive the email or call notifying you’ve been selected to interview for a position, but then the worry and panic sets in… how do I prepare for this and what in the world am I going to wear?!
I was in early career talent acquisition at a fortune 250 company for the first 4 years of my career. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds and reviewed thousands of resumes at this point. I’m no expert, but I can provide you a bit of advice!
Get to know the company
So many people say research the company and yes… before the interview you should probably know the industry the company mainly plays in and be aware of their brands/product portfolio. However, don’t spend as much time on this, at least not for the initial interview anyways. Look at the company’s social media including LinkedIn and most definitely checkout their Glassdoor. What they post on social media is going to shine a light on what they’re currently focusing on. Is it sustainability? What awards did they recently win? Why did they win that award? Look at their Glassdoor… What do their employees say about them? What interview questions have candidates been asked before? YES that is a thing… you can go to Glassdoor and see what interview questions the interviewers have asked before. Which also gives you a glimpse at what type of interview questions they’ll ask you!
Get to know the interviewer
When you received the email or phone call asking your availability for a phone or in-person interview, did they tell you who you’re interviewing with? If not, ask! What’s the worst that can happen? They say, “I can’t tell you.” More than likely they’ll tell you the interviewer’s name. Which means you have the golden opportunity to look the individual up on LinkedIn and learn more about them and their career. Where did they go to school? What organizations are they members of? What exactly does their current position entail? Knowing this information will help you find commonalities between you and them. It will help you tailor your conversation with them and your answers to their questions. It will also give you the ability to ask more detailed questions at the end of your interview.
Pro-Tip | Make sure your LinkedIn setting is on private so the interviewer will not see that you stalked their profile. AND whatever you do… don’t tell them you LinkedIn stalked them.
Pro-Tip | Make sure your LinkedIn setting is on private so the interviewer will not see that you stalked their profile. AND whatever you do… don’t tell them you LinkedIn stalked them.