I recently started playing squash. A great game and tremendous fun, even if I'm still a total novice who can lose a match to an intermediate player in just a few minutes. It's a game where it's very important--the most important thing, if you're a beginner--to simply not make too many mistakes. I'm easily at the stage where the vast majority of the points I lose are lost simply because I'm so low on the learning curve, and I haven't mastered the basics that intermediate players have.
This made me think of all the mistakes that I've made and that I've seen other people make in the interview and application process. So much of interviewing well is simply not making any terribly glaring errors, and to be strong in the fundamentals. I've certainly "lost" more than a few interviews due to a bad mistake or two, and I know that I've advanced to the next rounds in several not because I was particularly passionate about the job, but just because I didn't screw anything up too badly. Here are 10 basic things to keep in mind while interviewing this fall. In fact, it may be enough to get you the job you want:
1. Read through the company's website and know the basics of how the industry works.
I can't tell you how many cover letters I've seen that make it obvious that the applicant didn't bother to do even basic due diligence on what the industry was like. I'm talking about knowledge that should have been gleamed from reading through the firm's Wikipedia page and from doing a basic Google search. If you can't devote 10 minutes to do this, why should your interviewer hire you?
2. Wear a suit.
Err on the side of formality. I don't think that this would be a deal breaker at many places, but why handicap yourself? People judge you on your clothes, whether at an interview or in the day-to-day "real world." Get used to it.
3. Show up on time.
Type in the address of the interview location on Google. Click the map, "Get directions," and type in your address. Choose whether you're walking, driving, or taking public transit. Leave 20 minutes before the suggested time. Done. Don't rush, there's no sense in stressing yourself out.
4. Be able to answer basic interview questions.
Be sure to have your "story" down. Be ready to answer questions like "tell me a bit about yourself," "what attracts you to this job/company," "how are your skills/experiences relevant to what we do here," and so on. When I was in college I practiced answering many of these questions while sitting alone in my dorm. At first I felt like an idiot by talking to myself, but it really helped.
5. Send a thank you e-mail to your interviewers.
Frankly, this probably won't matter much either way--but there's no sense in not having a good follow through.
6. Print out your resume and cover letter before submitting.
You WILL notice mistakes. And you don't want to be that guy who references the wrong company in the cover letter, that will get you sent to the trash bin automatically.
7. When in doubt, be serious.
This goes along with number 2. If you're deciding between telling a joke and not telling one, don't. It's also better to be too formal than too casual.
8. Be able to talk about every line on your resume.
If it's on your resume, it's all fair game. Be able to speak halfway intelligently about every word you have.
9. Know your technicals.
This will vary by firm and industry. If you're interviewing for IB, you should be able to walk though a DCF and WACC calculation. In economic consulting, you should know the basics of a regression. If you know the basics well enough and the rest of your resume/interview is good, then you may get a pass on messing up harder questions.
10. Go to the bathroom before the interview, and try to avoid too much coffee on an empty stomach, spicy food, etc.
I have a rather humorous story from my college days if anyone is interested in hearing about it.
Monkeys, what say you? What are some other fundamentals that I left out?
Dont lose eye contact
I don't have much interview experience compared to most here, but I would add to make some sort of personal connection with the interviewer. They conduct so many interviews that it becomes second nature and they're simply going through the motions. Sometimes it can be much easier (and actually, more effective) to make some sort of personal connection with the interviewer than to differentiate with your technical skills or an impressive resume. Ask the interviewer about their family, about what they like to do, find something you both have in common; you'll find that it can be powerful and separate you from the herd.
BW
One other tip from a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy:
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_ar…
The whole video is pretty interesting, but the part that applies to interviews starts around the 10 minute mark. It may seem a little out of the ordinary, but the suggestion she makes takes about two minutes to do before an interview, and certainly can't hurt your chances.
Thanks for sharing the video - tried the "power pose" before cranking out more work this evening and actually felt more alert than I was before doing it.
Let's hear the story!
Read WSO before your interview. Read up about the company and position you're interviewing for.
A good piece of advice is to be very cautious when talking about your credentials/experience. Many people do it in a way that sound too presumptuous to the interviewer. If you are in school, or have limited experience, no one will believe you are a combination of Mahatma Gandhi, Jim Simons and Buffett.
It will be kind of awkward when they discover that your great stock picking ability that resulted in a 300% return was in fact your gramma's birthday present invested on something you saw on Mad Money.
Pretty much every interview I ever had started with small talk or at the very least a polite introduction. Don't mess this up. It sets the tone for the interview. I always chat with the admin or secretary as a little social warm up.
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