Preparing for an upcoming interview, whether in person or via video call can be an anxiety-provoking event. You’ve conducted your company research, prepped questions in advance, and mastered your career narrative, but what you don’t know is exactly what the interviewer may be looking for. While this is a common area of uncertainty for many, we’re sharing our interview tips including the top four qualifications your next interviewer may be seeking in order to help you feel more prepared and get hired.
Defining culture fit
Company culture, whether working remotely or in a physical office space, plays a major role in the relationship between you and the organization you are looking to join. While moving through the interview process, the interviewer(s) will do their best to assess how well you’ll fit into the overall company culture. According to our recent job market research, culture fit was the #1 candidate characteristic hiring managers are looking for. While employers seek to have a collaborative, unified working environment, they are not looking for everyone to be the same. An interview tip from our recruiters: ensure that you highlight your strengths and beliefs in a way that goes hand in hand with the overall company mission to showcase yourself as an ideal candidate and get hired!
What sets you apart?
Your resume should showcase your past experience as well as the skills you’ve developed throughout your career. While it’s great to share these things on paper, be sure to articulate how your skills, both hard and soft, have helped you build upon your success in prior roles. Questions the interviewer may ask are: What tools and applications did you regularly utilize? What project did you complete that you’re proud of? How did you make process improvements? The goal here is to provide concrete examples of your experience and be specific. This is your opportunity to define what sets you apart as a candidate and showcase why you’re qualified for the position and how you can add to the team. Another interview tip is to make sure you can speak to each skill listed on your resume– if you aren’t confident enough to explain it, you may not want to showcase it.
Confidence is key
While interviews can make even the most confident candidate feel uneasy, it’s important to not let the nerves take over. Remind yourself that you got this far and that the company sees value in you, as well as your prior experience and skillset. On the other hand, hiring managers want to see that you’re confident without being cocky, so even if you know you can do the job with your eyes closed, don’t appear cavalier. Engaging with the interviewer on a personal and professional level will help convey the strengths you’re ready to bring to the table as a potential new hire.
Soft skills will seal the deal
While what’s on your resume is critically important, the interviewer is likely going to ask you probing questions to understand qualities that are not listed in your past experience. Soft skills like strong communication and detail orientation are increasingly valuable in today’s job market. How you interact with others, how you handle difficult situations, and how you combat problems are all areas potential hiring managers will want to assess. Making sure you are honest in your answers while articulating how you’ve managed prior situations is always the best course of action. We recommend having a few key scenarios top of mind ahead of the interview, so you feel more prepared. Remember, the interviewer wants to determine how you would fit in with the overall company and potential team members, so highlighting your true sense of self in these answers will help to build a more natural connection between you and the interviewer. This is one of our favorite interview tips!
Most importantly, take a deep breath! Every interview is going to be different, with each experience allowing you to become more comfortable and prepared for the next. Be confident in yourself as a candidate and your experience and remember to keep your goals in mind throughout the process. For more interview and career tips to help you get hired, click here!