The article below builds upon insights taken from: Bolles, R.N. (2014). What Color is Your Parachute? Berkley, CA. Ten Speed Press. Image by Free SVG.
Job interview
In general, there are two things hiring managers are concerned about when they interview you. Make sure to emphasize these matters also in your Curriculum Vitae or motivation letter.
1. Why are you here?
They mean by this, “Why are you knocking on my door, rather than someone else’s door?”. Point out your interests related to the job at hand, and the chain of events that led you to contacting the company.
2. What can you do for us?
They mean by this, “What are your skills, and how much do you know about some subject or field that is of interest to us?” To get a better idea of what problems the company is facing you could examine the job application in-depth: what challenges will you likely be facing in this job position and do your skills and previous experience provide you with the tools to deal with them? You could also study the company website, social media and ‘google news’ to be up to date with the latest developments (trends & challenges) in the company and the industry it operates in.
But in the end, what can they do for you?
At the end of the interview, your interviewer will probably ask if you have any questions for them about the job or the company. This is the time to gather more information in order to complete your prototype of the job at hand, for example:
- What does a typical work day look like?
- What are the biggest challenges that someone in this position would face?
- Can you show me examples of projects I’d be working on?
In case the job interview didn’t work out for the both of you, you still have acquired new information that will help you move forward in your life and career decisions.