The workshop by Colleen Star Koch focuses on effective interview preparation by emphasizing that candidates should prepare for the job rather than just the interview. It highlights three key approaches: focusing on how to answer questions succinctly with specific stories, and preparing relevant, strategic questions that demonstrate understanding of the role and company. The emphasis is on delivering tangible, experience-based responses to create memorable impressions during interviews.

1. HOW TO
kill it
AT YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW
WORKSHOP PRESENTED BY COLLEEN STAR KOCH
FOUNDER, PERSONAL BRAND + LIFE COACH AT
ROWAN COACHING

2. 3 APPROACHES
TO MEMORABLE INTERVIEWS
✓ PREPARE FOR THE JOB, NOT THE INTERVIEW

3. PROTIP
PREPARE FOR YOUR DAY ONE
ORIENTATION MEETING WITH YOUR
SUPERVISOR, RATHER THAN FOR AN
INTERVIEW WITH A HIRING MANAGER.
• WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK?
• WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
SUCCEED IN THIS ROLE?
• WHAT ARE YOUR RESOURCES & RESPONSIBILITIES?
• WHAT DO YOU NEED CLARIFIED BEFORE YOU PROCEED?

4. 3 APPROACHES
TO MEMORABLE INTERVIEWS
✓ PREPARE FOR THE JOB, NOT THE INTERVIEW
✓ UNDERSTAND THAT HOW YOU ANSWER IS JUST AS
IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU SAY

5. PROTIP
NO ONE WANTS TO BE IN
MEETINGS WITH 10-MINUTE
WANDERING MONOLOGUE
GUY. GET TO THE POINT.
DON’T BE THAT GUY.

6. 3 APPROACHES
TO MEMORABLE INTERVIEWS
✓ PREPARE FOR THE JOB, NOT THE INTERVIEW
✓ UNDERSTAND THAT HOW YOU ANSWER IS JUST AS
IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU SAY
✓ LEARN TO RESPOND WITH TANGIBLE, SPECIFIC STORIES
RATHER THAN GENERIC ANSWERS

7. PROTIP
UNTIL PRETTY RECENTLY, HUMANS
LEARNED + SHARED ALL INFORMATION
IN THE FORM OF STORIES.
WE ARE WIRED TO REMEMBER
INFORMATION DELIVERED IN
STORY FORMAT!

8. Approach No.1
PREPARE FOR THE JOB,
NOT THE INTERVIEW

9. HOW TO PREPARE FOR
AN INTERVIEW
✓ DRESS LIKE YOU’RE PREPARED TO WIN AN OSCAR
✓ PRACTICE LONG-WINDED ANSWERS DESIGNED TO IMPRESS
✓ PREPARE QUESTIONS OF PERSONAL IMPORTANCE, SUCH
AS THE NATURE OF YOUR HEALTH BENEFITS
✓ FOCUS MORE ON WHY YOU’RE SUPER AWESOME THAN
HOW YOU CAN HELP THE COMPANY

10. EXAMPLES
“So what are the health
benefits here? And are they
accrued, or do I get access
right away?”
“At my last job, I was voted most
likely to marry a hot secretary.
Hahahaha! No, but really - I’m
at work ALL THE TIME. Like I
never leave.”
“If I’m being
honest, my
worst quality is
that I’m a
perfectionist.”

11. HOW TO PREPARE FOR
THE JOB
✓ DRESS LIKE YOU’RE READY TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS
✓ PRACTICE SUCCINCT ANSWERS DESIGNED TO DEMONSTRATE HOW
YOUR RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, + RESULTS WILL SUIT THE
ROLE AND BENEFIT THE COMPANY
✓ PREPARE STRATEGIC QUESTIONS THAT DEMONSTRATE YOUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE INDUSTRY, ROLE, AND POTENTIAL CHALLENGES
✓ FOCUS NOT ON WHAT THE COMPANY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT
YOU CAN DO FOR THE COMPANY

12. EXAMPLES
“How is success measured,
and what opportunities for
professional development
exist within the company?”
“Last year, my direct mail strategy
resulted in a YoY increase of 206%
more fundraising dollars earned. I
learned a lot during the process that
I believe applies directly to your
target market for these reasons…”
“As a developing
leader, I have
room to grow
when it comes to
delegation.
That’s why I work
so hard to create
strong teams.
When we trust
each other, great
work gets done.”

13. QUESTIONS?

14. Approach No.2
HOW YOU ANSWER IS
JUST AS IMPORTANT AS
WHAT YOU SAY

15. HOW TO POWERFULLY
ANSWER QUESTIONS
✓ BE PREPARED and THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
✓ BE SUCCINCT
✓ BE SPECIFIC
✓ BE GENEROUS
✓ SPEAK CALMLY + WITH CONFIDENCE

16. BE PREPARED +
THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
✓ KNOW YOUR STORIES, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO SEARCH
FOR ANSWERS
✓ FOCUS ON RELEVANT EXAMPLES THAT DEMONSTRATE
YOUR RESULTS
✓ DON’T BE AFRAID OF SILENCE - IT’S BETTER TO ANSWER
WELL THAN QUICKLY

17. DO
“Great question! Let me
think of the best example
I can give you…”
**PAUSE**
“Ok, about 4 years ago,
when I was working with
Tocqueville, we faced a
unique challenge…”
“Well the first thing that
comes to mind was this one
time that my supervisor and
I were given this totally
impossible project by our
boss - but we got it done!
Don’t worry! So as I was
saying, it was totally
impossible, so we decided
that the first thing we
needed to…”
DON’T

18. BE SUCCINCT
✓ NO RESPONSE SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN A MINUTE OR 2
✓ INTRIGUE THEM WITH A CLEAR, FOCUSED ANSWER THAT
INVITES FURTHER QUESTIONS
✓ START A CONVERSATION, DON’T LAUNCH A MONOLOGUE
✓ WHILE STAYING FOCUSED, MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETELY
ANSWER THE QUESTION

19. DO
“I have two great
examples in mind. Would
you like me to focus more
on the team-building or
leadership aspect of
your question?”
“Well you can’t have a
great team without great
leadership, right? But does
it really start with the team
or with the leader? I don’t
know - it’s kind of a chicken
and egg question.
Personally, I think it starts with
the leader - but there’s
always someone who has a
different point of view…”
DON’T

20. BE SPECIFIC
✓ PREPARE YOUR RESPONSES IN BULLET FORM
✓ UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED TO SOLVE A THEORETICAL
CHALLENGE, RESPOND WITH A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE FROM
YOUR EXPERIENCE

21. DO
“As the Director of
Marketing at Virgin
Mobile, I was directly
responsible for a minimum
28% increase in sales
every quarter for the
duration of my tenure. I
attribute my success
primarily to 1)__________,
2) ____________, and
3)______________.”
“I was responsible for social
media, which - as you know
- is sort of a hard area to
quantify. I can definitely say
that there was more
engagement, and more
attention across all our
social properties, which in
all likelihood resulted in
increased conversion. The
accounting guy wasn’t…”
DON’T

22. BE GENEROUS
✓ SPEAK IN A WAY THAT YOUR SPECIFIC INTERVIEWER CAN HEAR
YOU (I.E. DON’T USE JARGON THEY WOULDN’T KNOW…)
✓ PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOUR INTERVIEWER RESPONDS SO
YOU CAN ADJUST COURSE OR ALLOW SPACE FOR THEIR NEXT
QUESTION AS NEEDED
✓ TREAT THIS LIKE A REAL CONVERSATION WITH A REAL HUMAN
✓ MAKE THEIR JOB EASY

23. DO
“We ran holiday
promotions earlier than
usual this year to
increase their
effectiveness.”
PROTIP: USING SIMPLER
LANGUAGE MAKES
PEOPLE TRUST YOU
MORE, NOT LESS.
“In the fourth quarter we
paced our promotional
activities to avoid the
holiday season promotion
clutters in the market.”
PROTIP: YOU MAY USE
JARGON WITHIN
REASONABLE LIMITS IF
EVERYONE AT THE TABLE
UNDERSTANDS IT.
DON’T

24. SPEAK CALMLY +
WITH CONFIDENCE
✓ LEAN BACK (INVITES THE LISTENER TO LEAN FORWARD, PUTTING YOU
IN A POSITION OF POWER)
✓ BREATHE!
✓ SPEAK SLOWLY (WAY MORE SLOWLY THAN YOU THINK)
✓ SMILE + INTERACT (IT PUTS THEM AT EASE TOO)
✓ USE EXPANSIVE PHYSICAL LANGUAGE (BOOSTS YOUR CONFIDENCE
+ LEADERSHIP HORMONES, READS POWERFULLY)

25. DODON’T
HUNCHED INWARDS,
SHOULDERS DROPPED,
TENSE FACE, NERVOUS HANDS,
LEANING FORWARD
OPEN POSTURE, SHOULDERS BACK,
FACE RELAXED, HANDS NATURAL/CALM,
LEANING BACK

26. QUESTIONS?

27. Approach No.3
RESPOND WITH
TANGIBLE STORIES,
NOT GENERIC ANSWERS

28. HOW TO RESPOND WITH
TANGIBLE STORIES
✓ KNOW YOUR NARRATIVE
✓ COVER ALL YOUR BASES (THE CARRLI APPROACH): THE CHALLENGE,
APPROACHES, YOUR RESPONSE, THE RESULTS, WHAT YOU LEARNED,
IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRENT ROLE
✓ SEQUENCE MATTERS
✓ USE SENSORY DETAILS FROM THE SCENE
✓ USE METAPHORS & HUMOR

29. TWO RESPONSES:
GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU’VE
DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP ON YOUR TEAM
EXAMPLE 1: I stood up for our receptionist once. This was a few
years ago, when I was working as a manager in the print team of
an advertising agency. We had a new receptionist with major
behavioral problems. I discussed the best approach with my
supervisors, and we decided I should take her out to lunch and
demonstrate that I was on her side. My team didn’t believe she
was worth the effort, but I wanted to help her. One day I stood
up for her. I was tired of watching her bad attitude make my
team uncomfortable. Now it’s better, even though she’s still not
quite as competent as I’d like. My supervisors know what they’re
talking about, and the team works better together as a whole. I
guess that’s a good example of my leadership.
EXAMPLE 2: A few years ago, when I was working as a manager
in the print team of an advertising agency, we had a new
receptionist with a seriously bad attitude. We couldn’t figure it
out - everyone on the team was generally kind and supportive,
but she continuously disrespected her supervisors and
responded to assistance with an attitude and face that better
suited a honey badger than a receptionist.
It began to really impact the team as a whole, since we worked
in a really fun, open-plan office and we all had to share space
with her. We became impatient, and after a while, you could cut
the tension in the room with a knife.
One day, while observing this behavior, I suddenly got the image
of an fearful dog in my mind. What does a dog who is afraid do?
They snap and bite at you! How do you approach a dog who is
afraid? Gently, lovingly, and with tons of positive reinforcement.
From that day forward, I made an effort to deliver any
constructive feedback quietly and privately, so she wouldn’t get
defensive. I asked her more about her life and learned about her
as a person, making sure to pay attention to the details. Her
attitude problem began to turn around, much to the
astonishment of my team, who thought it was a fool’s errand.
They’d already written her off as, well, a honey badger. One day
she made a blatant mistake in front of the whole team and our
boss. Instead of letting her take the blame, I stood up as her
supervisor and took it for her. Now she knows I’m on her side, and
she’s neither snapped at me nor made the same mistake since.

30. QUESTIONS?