We hear a lot of advice about preparing for an interview. It’s always about how early you sleep and wake up, how good your breakfast is, how familiar you are with the route to the company’s premises, how much you researched the company beforehand and how ready you are for the possible questions.
It’s a very different story when you’re actually doing the interview, though. There is no way to undo the impact of your answers on the interviewer’s assessment of you. And of course, your performance at the interview will determine a significant part of the result of your application.
The only real weapons you have in the on-the-spot situation of an interview are signals – cues and habits, whether verbal or non-verbal, that tell the interviewer you have what they need for the position. So how do you send out these signals for interview success? Continuing from last week, let’s run over another handy signal this week to get you ready for your next turn at the candidate’s seat.
TALK IN-DEPTH ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW.
If your expertise is in one subject or field, it is literally the only context through which your interviewer can learn about your capabilities. Expect them to try to find out just how good you are at what you do. The company wants the best, not someone who’s only average. Say everything you can about what you can do, as long as it’s relevant and you can support it with evidence or real experiences.
At the same time, it’s not a good idea to try to impress them by talking about things you only know a little about. If you’re a beginner at programming but you talk about it like an expert, you might accidentally expose your weakness when the interviewer asks an in-depth programming question. And being dishonest is a big turn-off, especially if you do it to try to impress.
Play to your strengths and avoid personally opening up about your weaknesses. The interviewer will surely already have a plan to ask you about what you don’t know, and if you don’t pretend you know something then you’ll have the opportunity to honestly admit it.