Some of my favorite people are applying for jobs!
Here’s how I prepare for interviews:
I create a handwritten sheet that looks like the picture above. Writing it by hand helps to solidify the information in your head in a way that typing doesn’t. I recommend handwriting it.
It has three sections:
- why Joanna,
- why the job/company, and
- questions.
In the first section, why Joanna, I list qualities, skills, and experiences I have that make me a good candidate and that I want to remember to highlight in my interview. You can include projects you’ve worked on in the past, successes from previous positions, or just qualities of you as a worker/person.
In the second section, why the job/company/organization, I list things about the job that interest me, reasons why I’d want to work for that particular company, why you applied, etc.
And last but not least, the questions section. Here I come up with 3-5 really good questions, ones that show I know enough to ask a good question but also are things I’m curious about. You should always ask questions at the end of the interview, and have questions prepared ahead of time just in case you get caught up and can’t think of one in the moment. Asking good questions shows your interest in the position. The answers to these questions can give you clues about the working environment, how they problem solve, how the organization handles certain situations. You can use the questions to get information you can use to compare and contrast your current job or previous positions, etc. One tip for creating your questions: make sure they’re not too leading–you don’t want the interviewer to think you will or will not take the job based on how they answer.
After I fill out my worksheet, I review it a little bit but truthfully I hardly have to reference it in the interview because I spent time thinking about it, writing it, and looking at it.
How do you prepare for interviews?