Interview Tips

Interviews are often one of the most difficult parts of the day for those participating. They are anxiety-inducing and stressful, but they’re a great opportunity to show off your skills to your potential future employer. This guide is here to help reduce the stress and get you as prepared as possible for your next interview.

Behavioral-based interview questions

Behavioral-based interviews are becoming more common today. These interview questions are meant to show an interviewer what skills the interviewee might have based on specific experiences in the past. Interviewers will ask questions that point to a specific skill: time management, customer engagement, leadership abilities, etc. However, usually they don’t ask: “How is your time management?” Instead, they will ask you to describe a situation in which you had to demonstrate strong time management skills. Look for keywords and phrases such as “Tell me about a time,” or “Can you describe a situation..?” Anytime you hear these phrases, you know you’re being asked a behavioral-based interview question. Answering these questions with specific details that will help paint a picture for the interviewers is vital. The best way to answer these questions is using the STAR format, which we will review next.

Using the STAR format

The STAR format is an interview technique that many hiring managers are trained to look for during an interview. STAR stands for Situation Task Action Result. If you can learn to answer questions in this format successfully, you can prove to interviewers that you have the skills that they are seeking in a quality candidate.

Situation – This is the point when you describe the situation you were involved in. Be sure to be specific and give details. How did the situation form? What difficulties did you experience during this situation? Who was involved in the situation?
Task – At this point, you describe your role and tasks within a situation. It’s important to make it clear to your interviewer how you were involved, and what was asked of you. Ask yourself: What was your role in this situation? What actions did you need to take to solve a situation?
Action – This is the meat of your answer. Describe what you did to solve the situation and be specific. Be sure to include any other players in the scenario, and what you did to help them. Try to share the results of conversations or meetings. Describe the actions you took throughout, and why you decided to take those specific actions.
Result – What was the result of the actions you took? It’s important to end your answer with a specific result. Think about the metrics your interviewer might be looking for, and provide an answer around that. There’s no use in lying or exaggerating, as most interviewers can see through that.

Remember that details and specifics are keys to quality interview answers. Without them, interviewers might not get the understanding of the skills needed to hire you for the job.

Things to do

There are several habits to form when getting prepared for an interview, and then to do during the interview. Start with a quality preparation period where you have some alone time, and then bring in a partner to practice interview questions and answers.

• Prepare for your interview

Preparing for the interview is the first and easiest step. Take some notes for yourself. Review the job description, keywords, and skills that your potential future employer is looking for. Take notes of times when you have practiced those skills. If the job you’re interviewing for states that a key skill is “strong customer service skills,” then you will want to write down a few scenarios in which you’ve practiced good customer service skills. And don’t forget your achievements! Showing an interviewer that you are skilled in a specific area is great, but proving it with an example of an achievement is amazingly convincing.

• Bring shorthand notes

When you prepare for your interview, be sure to take notes for yourself. Don’t bring several pages, but instead have quick notes that might remind you of a situation that you want to talk about. Give yourself a few lines or keywords for your recall. Always ask your interviewer if it’s appropriate to take out your notes during the interview. If they decline (potential red flag), comply, and move on with the interview. You will want to make sure your notes are well-organized and presentable. Don’t bring in several pages of scrap paper ripped out from a notebook.

• Write down keywords during the interview

When being interviewed, there are some keywords to take note of throughout. Be sure to ask your interviewers first if they are okay with you taking notes. If you’re asked “Tell me about a time when you were given a difficult deadline,” your keywords are “difficult” and “deadline.” Write down these keywords, and build your answer from there. Avoid writing down the whole question, as that would be too time-consuming and will lead to awkward silences.

• Share how you’ve overcome struggles in the past, and how you’re better because of them

While you don’t want to spend too much time discussing your struggles, sharing a story or two where you’ve overcome difficult situations or made mistakes in the past can prove that you have strong emotional intelligence and that you’re capable of growing and learning from your mistakes. When done right, this is an amazing tactic for interviews and can impress interviews. However, this is a difficult task to do correctly, so be sure to take the time to practice.

• Lookout for follow-up questions

If you’ve answered a question, and your interviewers probe more into that question, this likely means you have not given them all of the details that they are looking for. Review your keyword for that question, and reevaluate the answer you’ve given. Attempt to explain the answer with more details, but don’t start the story over. The fact that your interviewer has allowed you to answer your question with more details is a good thing, so take advantage!

• Be Flexible

Interviewers can often take a turn that you weren’t expecting. You may have prepared a presentation or prepared for specific questions, and never get the opportunity to share. If this happens, don’t panic. Go with the flow of the interview and pivot where needed. Apply the skills you’ve learned here, and that you’ve practiced for throughout the interview, even if it’s not what you were expecting.

Things to avoid

• Bashing your previous employer/manager.

You may have difficult and true stories of how your previous employer did not treat you or their customers with respect, but going on a rant against them is a very big red flag for the interviewer. Instead, turn these scenarios into examples of times that you’ve grown as an employer and a person.

• Spending too much time answering a question.

Answering questions promptly can be difficult. While you don’t want to breeze through questions quickly, you don’t want to bore your interviewers. Taking too much time on one question can lead to your interviewers ignoring or missing much of what you’re saying. It can also be a red flag for your interviewer, as content dumping can be seen as a sign of someone who has very little substance in their answers.

• Short answers with little content/details.

Answering interview questions is a tough needle to thread. While you don’t want to draw out a question too long, you also don’t want to be too short. A good answer is usually between 1.5-3 minutes long. If you realize that you’re wrapping up your answer within 15-30 seconds, you’ve likely missed a lot of detail and missed proving a point to your interviewer. When this happens, interviewees will often notice their mistakes but feel they’ve gone too far into the interview to turn back. Instead, if you’ve noticed you’ve wrapped up your question too quickly, ask your interviewer this: “Do you mind if I expand on that answer a little bit more? There are a few more details that I’d like to share.”

How to answer poor interview questions

Let’s look at some bad interview questions that are difficult and most likely unnecessary to be asked. Answering these questions well often doesn’t yield many positive results, however, a bad answer to a bad question can hurt your chances to get your job.

• “Tell me about your weaknesses”

Yes, this is a bad interview question (take note hiring managers). However, some still ask this question. While this question is not a red flag in an interview, it can still be a difficult question to answer. Avoid tacky answers that are insincere such as “I work too hard,” or “I stay too late.” Not only are those answers not what your interviewer is looking for, but they could be detrimental to your employment. Saying you work too late could lead the interviewer to believe you have poor time management.

The best approach to these questions is to take one of your strengths and find a downside. Are you extremely competitive? If so, you could say, “I’m extremely competitive, and want to be the best. Some people might see those like myself who are highly competitive as someone who is not a team player. Because I want to be known as a team player, I always take time to support my peers so that they do not see my competitiveness as a negative.”

Another approach to answering this question would be to tell an interviewer a skill that you naturally lack, but how you’ve worked to build that skill. Maybe you struggle with analytics, but you can describe what you’ve done to better yourself in this area. However, be sure not to describe a skill that is necessary to your job. If you’re applying for a business analyst, and you struggle with analytics, this would be a bad example (and you probably shouldn’t be applying for the job to begin with).

• “Why do you want this job?”

“Umm, ’cause I need money?” This is a particularly poor question to ask outside candidates for frontline work. Unfortunately, hiring managers and recruiters still ask this question, and it needs to be answered appropriately. When answering this question, keep it simple, and keep the answer focused on the work. If you’re applying for a sales position, describe what you like about sales or the benefits of sales. “I’ve always liked jobs where my success allowed me to make the most money possible. I find the rewards thrilling, and want a career where I am rewarded for my success.”

Difficult interview questions

• “Why would you be the best fit for the job?”

Never a fun question to answer, this one can easily be prepared for beforehand. Before going into an interview, review some of the main skills needed for the position. Where does your work experience align with the skills needed for the job?

• “Do you have anything else for us?” or “Do you have any questions for us?”

Many interviewees will know the interview is over and feel a sense of relief. This is a good time to add any additional details to your experience that you missed the opportunity to do so previously. You may want to ask about company culture, or what success looks like in the role. If the interviewers discuss something that you didn’t get a chance to expand on, this would be a good opportunity to tell a quick story of success in that area.

If you’re in the early stages of an interview, avoid asking questions that might make the interviewer see red flags. “What does paid time off look like?” or “When can I take my first vacation?” These questions, while legitimate, will be answered later in the hiring process.

Practice interview questions

Below are some practice interview questions (many of which you might be asked during an interview). Be sure to take note of the keywords highlighted in the questions. Remember, always be specific, and use scenarios that you have experienced in the past when answering these questions.

• Tell me about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation.
• Tell me about a time that you went above and beyond to help a customer.
• When have you had to adapt to changes in an organization?
• Tell me about a time when you were given a difficult deadline.
• Can you describe how you’ve handled accountability in the past?

Additional tips

• Dress appropriately and comfortably. Make sure you understand the role you are going for. Showing up in a tux or dress for a customer service interview can be tacky and seen as condescending. However, showing up in a t-shirt and shorts can also be seen as unprofessional. Find something that you will be comfortable in for an hour or two, as physical comfort can be distracting for you, even if the interviewer isn’t aware.
• Bring water. A bottle of water can help during a long interview process, especially if you have to talk for a long time.
• Avoid messy paperwork. While it can be helpful to have notes, make sure they are well organized and presentable.
• Bring a resume (and a plan). Print a few resumes before your interview, and pass these out at the beginning of the interview. If you are doing a virtual interview, send an email to those with your digital copy of the interview. If you are interviewing for an advanced position, be sure to have a plan ready. This plan should include what you will do when you start the role, and what your structure will look like. You can find resume tips and tricks here.
• Show up to the interview early (but not too early). While this may seem obvious, arriving at your interview location 10-15 minutes early can help you take a few minutes to have some quiet time to review your thoughts and notes. However, showing up too early can put the interviewers in a difficult situation, so be sure not to arrive hours before the interview is scheduled to start.