Acing that job interview

One of recruiters’ biggest complaints is that job seekers do not come prepared for interviews.

From my interactions with job seekers, I find that this can be because they apply for multiple positions and do not feel fully invested in some of them.

They do the basic research to get by, but not enough to demonstrate their enthusiasm for the role.

Recruiters can easily pick up whether an applicant is passionate about the role during an interview.

The fact that a candidate can have a meaningful discussion about the potential employer and its industry during an interview speaks volumes about his interest in the job.

Whether you are a novice or an experienced job seeker, taking the following steps can help you ace that interview.

UNDERSTAND THE ROLE

Take a closer look at the job description to identify what the role requires.

Typically, job descriptions include a section that covers the areas of responsibilities. For areas where you have relevant experience, prepare examples where you can share certain achievements.

For job responsibilities where you have no experience, think about transferrable skills that may be applicable. You need to be able to interpret how experiences in other areas would demonstrate your ability.

Take the example of a National University of Singapore Business School student whom I counselled.

He secured a job as a project manager in a game production company with no prior experience in the industry. What he had was project managements skills in theatre production gained from directing various public performances during university.

While the experiences may be different, he was able to explain to the hiring manager why his ability to manage different teams under very tight timelines in the university projects could be applied in the new role.

UNDERSTAND THE COMPANY

Do your research into the company and think about how you can contribute to its vision. By looking through the company’s website, you can quickly find information on its vision, mission as well as its products and services.

Also check out some of its recent press releases on how the company has announced some of its recent corporate developments, such as projects secured, awards won and management changes.

It may also be useful to check how media outlets have covered some of these announcements as news reports can contain useful background on the companies and their competitors.

For listed companies, you can also look at the investor relations section that may also contain white papers and speeches from the leadership team.

UNDERSTAND INDUSTRY TREND AND ISSUES

With technology disrupting industries at a rapid pace, it is important to have an eye on the future by looking at trends affecting the company’s industry. For example, many see drones as toys, but forward-thinking logistics companies are exploring how they can integrate drones into their future operations.

While you are not expected to be an expert in industry trends, being aware of, and able to discuss, the key issues and challenges the industry is facing could set you apart from other candidates.    

The best way to equip yourself with this knowledge is to read the news about the company and its competitors. Research reports from consulting firms such as McKinsey and Deloitte are good sources for trend reports about various industries.

UNDERSTAND THE TEAM

The last part of the preparation involves using LinkedIn. By isolating the “location”, you will be able to quickly gauge how many employees there are in the local office and find out the major job functions within the company.

For example, in Singapore, the roles that most global tech companies like Facebook and Salesforce are focused on are customer-centric, such as in business development and post-sales support.

As these companies offer services that are application or cloud-based, they need not replicate most of the office functions like product development, analytics and operations, which remain in the United States.

Through LinkedIn, candidates can better understand their interviewers’ experiences and background. They may even be experts on certain subjects. If you strike the right chord with them, you will have a better chance of securing the job.

With thorough preparation for the job interview, you will be able to curate a collection of personal stories that demonstrate your hard and soft skills, your understanding of the industry and how you can fit within the company or even a specific team.

This collection of stories will continue to evolve as you grow in your career and seek other opportunities in the future.

As you practise, they can become stories that you can use not just in interviews, but also in networking. Each story will relate an incident as well as a resolution demonstrating a core skill you want to bring across to a contact or an interviewer.

The other thing to communicate during an interview is that you are the right fit for the team. Sometimes, the best individual for the job on paper may not translate in person, especially if he or she comes across as being disruptive.

To make the right impression, be mindful of the attributes interviewers are looking for and use your experience to highlight these qualities.  This will demonstrate that you can walk the talk.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eddie Phua is a career advisor with NUS Business School’s Career Services Office, which works closely with business undergraduate and postgraduate students to prepare them for their careers ahead. This is part of a series of career-related commentaries which TODAY will be running in partnership with the school.