Preparing for Your IT Job Interview

Looking nice, smiling, being qualified, and being able to sell yourself are all important aspects of an interview. However, there is so much more that you can do to make your interview a success that is often overlooked to some degree, if not completely.

The best thing you can do for your interview is prepare! Do extensive research about the organization that might hire you. They will appreciate (and notice) that you took the time to see if they are a good match for you. It will convey that you are truly interested in their company and could be the final thing they need to feel confident about hiring you. Many companies and organizations today have recruitment sections of their websites that might include company values, leadership, benefits, company culture, and more. This is a good place to start and any sharp recruiter will pretty much expect you to have read these things if they are available.

Dig deeper and gather information about how your skills will play a role in their business. If you are experienced and a good fit, then this should come easy as long as you take the time to do it. This information will help you to choose the most relevant aspects of your experience to talk about. The more relevant, the better. After all, they are going to be looking for the right candidate for THEM. You have to connect with your prospective employer and be able to show why you are the best match for the job.

Keep Your Interviewing Process Accurate and Consistent

Many jobs require multiple interviews before an actual hire is made, so make sure you are honest and keep your communication consistent. If you have a phone interview first, ask questions and take notes. When you get to your in-person interview, this will help you refer back to previous converstations and communicate efficiently. If you can do that, you are showing them you pay attention to what they say. Every employer likes a good listener.

Practice Talking to People Before Your Interview

Think of it as a warm-up. Most major cities have meet-up groups for various IT disciplines. Go to them and meet people and practice talking about your skills. Who knows, you might even be able to find job leads and inside connections that you wouldn’t find through your computer screen. This is really important if you have been stuck at home and cut off from the outside world while searching for a job. Even going to a coffee shop and trying to chat with strangers is good practice. Talking to someone you know previously usually doesn’t prepare you as well because typically you will not know the person interviewing you. The sharpness of your person-to-person skills when you meet someone new is a really important aspect of your interview because any employer is going to want to hire someone that can do the job AND be able to able to meet new people. It’s fundamental in being able to communicate with new people in a new environment….exactly what you do when you start a job!

If you have any interviewing tips that might have been missed, please share your thoughts! Questions are also welcome!