It’s true that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Would you like to leave your next interview thinking, “I nailed it!”? Acing the Interview is an intensive workshop given by Career Transition Coach, Catherine Morgan, of Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.

1. Acing the Interview
Catherine Morgan
Career Transition and Entrepreneur Coach
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.
June 20, 2013

2. Welcome to Sales 101
• Wrong place? No!
– Get comfortable with selling yourself

3. It comes down to chemistry
• Once there is a baseline of skill sets that
would enable you to do the job, who do
they pick?
– The one they think would be
easiest to communicate with?
– The one they think would be
easiest to manage?
– The one they think would FIT
into the corporate culture?

4. How do you know if you fit?
• Gut feeling?
• Common background?
• Common interests?
• Similar personality traits?
• Similar work style?
• Similar personal style?

5. Be yourself
• Don’t fake it!
• Six months in your real personality will come
out and you will be miserable

6. Mirror their conversational style
• Short questions should yield short answers
– If they want more detail, they can ask for it
• More conversational questions?
– Answer with a story to back up your point

7. Smart scheduling
• Be professional when you are scheduling:
– Anticipate going long so you don’t have
to interject your personal life, e.g., have to
pick up the kids
– Most of the time recruiters will work with you
– AND know your best times

8. Interviewing with executives
• Often the higher up the food chain you go,
the easier the interview is
• They may just want to
chat as your qualifications
have already been vetted
• This is truly the “fit”
interview: Will you fit?

9. How to prepare
• Collect your metrics!
– Improved efficiency by x percent
– Boosted subscribers by x percent
– Boosted conversions by x percent
– Saved x amount of man hours
– Saved x dollars
– Generated x dollars

10. How to prepare (continued)
• Research the company
• Research who you will be interviewing with
on Google and LinkedIn to find common
experiences/interests (and to determine
level and personality traits)
• Knowledge is power!

11. Mindset
• You are interviewing THEM as much as they
are interviewing YOU
• Attitude of curiosity – be interested
and engaged
• Come in with some ideas
and suggestions, but don’t
be a know-it-all

12. Phone interview basics
• Shower and dress comfortably
but professionally
• Ensure kids and pets are elsewhere
• Have your notes ready and available
• Wear a headset so that your hands are free
– NEVER use a speakerphone

13. Phone interview basics (continued)
• Smile and breathe before you start
– It will come through in your voice!
• Have drink handy to avoid dry throat
and coughing
• Talk slower and more
deliberately than
you normally would

14. Industry jargon can hurt you
• Do not use too much industry jargon
• Often first interviews are done by junior
professionals or by outsourced companies
– They might not know much about
your industry or job function

15. First round questions
• Can you tell me a little about yourself?
(Summarize your career.)
• Can you tell me about your last position?
(What did you do and what did you like
about it?)
• Why did you leave your last position?
(Or are you leaving…)
• What are you looking for in your next
position?

16. First round questions (continued)
• What do you feel is your biggest strength?
• There are a lot of qualified candidates, why
should we pick you?
• What do you feel is your biggest weakness?
(Hint, pick something that you can show you
are working on or have overcome in some
way.)
• Can you give me an example of something
in your career that you are particularly
proud of?

17. Prepping for behavioral questions
• Stories in your back pocket
– Success story from most recent position
– Something that went south
that you turned around
– Biggest achievement/
most proud of overall
– Story showing strength
– Story showing weakness

18. Don’t do this
• Don’t badmouth a former boss/company
– If it wasn’t a fit, just say that

19. Sharing personal information
• Don’t talk about family, divorce, health
issues, work-life balance issues, etc.
• Don’t be overly honest or overly personal
– Nobody cares
– Even (or especially!)
about being fired
• Keep it professional

20. Why should they hire you?
• Why will you be able to add value
from the start?
• Why will you be a great addition
to the team?
• Why are you the ideal candidate?

21. The best interviews
• Use stories to illustrate your best qualities
• Leave no doubt that you are a highly
qualified candidate
• A great interview will:
– Go off the script
– Be conversational

22. Questions for them
• What is the near-term (6 month) and
longer-term (18 month) strategy/vision?
• What are the key skills required?
• What does a day in the life look like?
• What are your immediate challenges?
• What are your biggest priorities?

23. Run - don’t walk - to the nearest exit
• Is this a new position or will you be replacing
someone?
– Were they promoted? Did they quit? Key info!
• If you find that you are the third person in
three years – RUN!

24. In-person interviews
• Body language: You will read theirs,
and they will read yours
• Dress comfortably and don’t
wear anything that pinches
– Adjusting clothing calls attention
to nervousness
• If you find yourself rambling,
pull yourself back and say,
“Did that answer your question?”

25. Talking the talk
• Deliberately slow your speech cadence
– When you are nervous, you tend to speak
quickly and babble
• Remember to speak slowly
– It buys you time!

26. In-person interviews
• Err on the side of being professional
– in speech and dress – it’s an IQ test
• Show up early or at least on time
• For executive positions,
not wearing a suit can
get you disqualified at
some companies

27. Don’t be the one
• Not asking them questions can get you
disqualified
• Don’t ask about money or benefits – let the
recruiter volunteer that info
• When asking about the interviewing process
ask confidently
– or don’t ask at all

28. Use stories!
• Biggest problem: general statements with no
detail to back up points or skills
• Example: Do you know QuickBooks?
– If no, say that you know a
similar program (if true)
– Or use an example of how
you learned another software
program in two days

29. Interviewing insider tip
• Best candidates:
– Ask pointed questions to determine needs
– Care enough to listen at the beginning when the
interviewer describes the position, why they are
looking, what they are looking for, and what
problems they are trying to solve
– Tailor answers to point back to those needs

30. Questions?
Catherine Morgan
Career Transition and Entrepreneur Coach
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.
877.672.5333
Catherine@PointAtoPointBTransitions.com
Twitter @PointA_PointB