Impress hiring managers and nail interviews
Interview preparation is a key skill area that Mentees often ask our Mentors to support. In today's competitive job market, standing out in interviews is essential to land a new role and start building an amazing career. Are you a young person ready to leave a lasting impression in your interview? Or one of our Mentors who wants to provide the best support to your Mentees? ConnectHive has you covered with some tried-and-true tips to impress hiring managers!
The primary goal is to treat an interview like a sales pitch. Interviews are an opportunity to pitch your value to the hiring manager. And what is the best way to land a sale? Make it really easy to see why you’re the best choice for their needs. This is threefold; one part is to share a compelling personal brand about who you are; the second part is to “prove” your perfect fit to the role; and the third is to maintain confidence and professionalism.
1. Share a unique and compelling personal brand
What is your “unique selling proposition”? Create your own personal brand narrative through a summarised sentence or slogan. When sharing your journey, from experience to accomplishments to challenges, make sure to always reflect this consistent personal narrative. Practice pitching this narrative in response to questions, particularly that tricky first question – “tell me about yourself” – which is a perfect opportunity to really grab their attention. This approach makes the candidate memorable to any hiring manager; a stand-out from the rest.
Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, adaptability– these skills are important! Identify some of your best “soft” skills and prepare specific examples from school, university, volunteering or work that showcase how these skills were used to make a positive impact. These can be woven into responses in the interview, making sure to always reflect your narrative.
When developing your personal brand, make sure to embrace your true self. Authenticity fosters genuine connections and helps you to stand out as a unique individual.
2. Prove fit to the role
Evaluate the job spec in detail to understand the hiring manager’s needs. Research the company online to build your knowledge of its mission, culture, and values. You can then work on developing a bank of evidence (e.g. experience and accomplishments) that shows how well you fit the role and company.
Think about the type of questions that might be asked in the interview. How can your evidence be used in your responses? Practice demonstrating your fit by preparing answers customised to the specific role and company while showing how your skills and expertise could directly contribute to their success.
Don’t forget to mention your achievements whenever possible. Expand on them and what they meant to you.
3. Be confident and professional
Maintain eye contact, offer a firm handshake at the start and end of the interview, and walk in with a smile. Your body language speaks volumes about your confidence and professionalism.
Impress Hiring Managers by asking insightful questions about the company's future plans, team culture, or challenges they're facing.
After the interview, send a thoughtful thank you email to express gratitude for the opportunity. Reinforce your interest and highlight a key point from the conversation.
Embrace these strategies and you'll be well on your way to interview success! Anddon't be afraid to ask for help! You can always schedule a 1-1 remote mentoring session through ConnectHive to prepare for your next interview.
