How to Control a Job Interview

The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Kevin Mercadante, who is a freelance professional personal finance blogger for hire, and the owner of his own personal finance blog, OutOfYourRut.com. He has backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry.

A job interview can be an intimidating process, there’s no question about it. But you can take the sting out of it – and make it a more comfortable event – by taking control of the interview.

Here’s how…

Make Sure You Know the Job You’re Interviewing For

It’s mission-critical that you have a solid grasp of the position that you are interviewing for. Though this point should be self-evident, job candidates sometimes apply for jobs that they are either totally or substantially unqualified for, in the hope of a miraculous outcome. But it’s one thing to embellish your resume to make it look like you’re qualified, and quite another thing to prove it in an interview. Interviewers, managers in particular, can usually spot an unqualified candidate just minutes into an interview.

Carefully study the job and requirements presented, and make sure you understand the position you are applying for. That means not only having the skills and qualifications necessary, but also being able to comfortably explain how you’re the person for the job.

Make Sure You Know the Company You’re Interviewing At

This is easier to do with large publicly traded companies, but much harder with smaller ones. No matter, you still need to get as much information on the potential employer as possible. The more you know about the company, the more credible you will look in the interview.

Get information on the company from any public sources that are available. Also do a web search on the company name, and see what recent news stories come up. Be prepared to discuss the more interesting ones. Your interviewer can’t help but be impressed with your knowledge of the company.

Make Sure You Know the Industry You’re Interviewing to Enter

This is at least as important as knowing the company you’re interviewing with. In fact, it can be even more important if the company is small. It demonstrates that you have open understanding and an interest in the big picture environment that the employer operates in.

You might even want to be prepared to discuss challenges that the industry is facing. At a minimum, that will position you as a candidate who perceives problems, making you better prepared to solve them.

Rehearse Answers to Questions that are Likely to be Asked

If you have already been on a few interviews, you’re probably aware that there are certain questions that are common in just about any interview. Make a list of those, as well as your best answers to address them.

You should also consider questions that you are likely to face based on certain jobs. These aren’t as easy to know in advance, but if you spent time studying job requirements, that’s a good start. Be prepared to answer any questions that are likely to come up in regard to those qualifications.

Make Sure You Can Support Everything Your Resume Says You Can Do

Do a detailed review of your resume, and make sure that you can support everything you claimed. Understand that an employer may be interested in you based primarily on a single skill. If it turns out that you don’t really have that skill, or that you’re really not strong in it, the interview and your candidacy will be over.

Be sure that you can not only support what you claim, but that you can explain it easily. The interviewer may be looking for inconsistencies or a lack of comfort in your answers. Make sure that isn’t the case.

Prepare a List of Relevant Questions

This step is an absolute must on any job interview. Having your own questions will provide the following benefits:

1. It will demonstrate clear interest in the position on your part
2. It will show deeper understanding of the employer’s needs
3. It will help you to determine if you really want the job (you may not!)
4. It will take the pressure off of the interviewer having to ask all the questions
5. Having a list of questions will eliminate periods of “awkward silence”
6. It may give you the ability to get around answering a question you aren’t comfortable with

Make sure that your list of questions are relevant to the job, the employer, and the industry. That means that they need to be substantial – the kind that demonstrate your knowledge of the position and confirm your value to the interviewer.

In that regard, you must avoid standard questions, such as asking about salary, vacation time, or the 401(k) plan. Those are filler questions in a serious interview, and need to be addressed when an offer is made.

Make Sure YOU’RE the One Conducting the Interview!

The bigger picture purpose of going through all of these steps – knowing the job, the company, and industry, being prepared for questions that are likely to be asked, being prepared to support your resume claims, and having a list of relevant questions – is to put you in a position of being able to conduct the interview.

In truth, anyone can be the interviewer in a job interview – the employer or the candidate. But by assuming the role of interviewer, you put yourself in a position of strength. You’ll be able to control the flow of the interview, often to the point of being able to avoid uncomfortable situations and inquiries.

The interviewer will not only respect you, but the strategy will probably make you strongest candidate that they interviewed for the position. That should make an offer more likely to come your way.

How about you all? Do you have any other tried and true tips for maintaining control over an interview?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

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