Lesson 1: Interview prep & practice

Follow these steps to prepare and land your interview. It’s all about mindset, vision, and intentional action…get in the right mindset, envision what you want to say and convey, and take the intentional action to prepare, practice, and perform to get there!

Step 1: Research & Review

• Review the company website for vision, mission, priorities, strategies, brand, offers, and culture.

• Search for news articles regarding the organization to see the latest headlines (or check the company's site for news).

• Review the job description in detail, understanding the responsibilities and requirements for the job.

• Review any notes from conversations you had with people about the role.

• If you know the interviewer’s names, look at their LinkedIn profiles to learn about them. What interests do you they have? Where have they worked? What roles have they had? What types of questions do you think they’ll ask – high level, detailed, functional, people oriented.… it may help.

• Review your notes from previous interviews; what did you want to repeat and what did you want to improve?

Step 2: Brainstorm or source interview questions

• Many recruiters will provide sample interview questions; pull these out and review.

• Otherwise, brainstorm questions, use LinkedIn’s job interview prep, or ask ChatGPT or copilot for interview questions for your specific role. You can use the prompt: I am interviewing for <insert role and job description>, please generate potential interview questions that I can practice with.

• Sample questions:

o   Tell me about yourself?

o   What are your strengths? Opportunities for growth?

o   Technical/specific questions to the role (pull from the job description)

o   People oriented questions for the role (pull from qualifications)

o   Questions around times that were challenging? Where you had conflict?

o   What questions do you have for me?

Step 3: Prepare your pitch & key messages

• What’s your 2-3 minute story? What’s your narrative? Not a regurgitation of your resume, but what’s your story? I've been in the tech industry for 20+ years, passionate about x, y, z. In my role as x, I discovered my passion for z. Use data points too, I've worked for 2 large corporations, in 13 roles, driving $x.x in revenue.

• What are the key messages that you want to land with the interviewers? i.e. skilled in x, y, z, or approaches challenges with integrity and drive... Keep these top of mind as you prepare your stories.

Step 4: Prepare your stories & examples

• Recall 5-10 stories/examples that you can use to respond to the questions above.

• Frame your answer with the context (what was the situation), what was at stake (why important), the actions you took (specifically you), the results you got, and the lesson you learned.

• One story can be used for multiple questions, just using a different viewpoint.

• Generate another 10 examples that you can draw from during the interview if needed.

Step 5: Practice

• Practice answering the questions by yourself, with a friend, with AI, or with a coach.

• It’s important to talk through answers out loud, so you get the flow and output that you want; keep your key messages in mind.

• You don’t need to memorize the answers; memorize the high-level story and the points that you want to land. The rest of it will come if you practice.

Step 6: Prep

• Mental: what do you need to do to get into the right mindset for the interview? Are there any beliefs that are getting in your way? i.e. there’s no way I’m getting this job. If you have beliefs holding you back, reframe them. i.e. this job is a stretch, but I have the qualifications and I’m up for the challenge, so I’m going to give it my best shot. Also, reflect on what tends to make you stumble in interviews and think through a strategy that will help, such as breathing, pausing, or a go-to phrase that can help.

• Physical: what do you need to feel physically ready for the interview? Dress a certain way? Exercise in the morning? Meditate? Breathe?

• Environment: is the interview in person or virtual? If virtual, do your surroundings, what will be on camera, look tidy, don’t have anything controversial showing, etc.

• Logistics: what time do you need to leave your home, or get on the computer to be ready for the interview? Do you need water with you? Do you need to bring a snack? Do you need paper to take notes? Do you need a copy of your resume to hand out?

Step 7: Interview – It’s Go Time!

• Right before: do you your prep routine – breathing, listening to a kick-ass song, reviewing notes, whatever you need to do to get into the right head space, take a few minutes to do so.

• Be early: arrive in-person or online, early. 15 minutes for in-person, 2-5 minutes for online. You want to be waiting for the interviewers, not the other way around.

• Be you: you’ve prepared. You’ve practiced. Be present. Listen for the questions, pause, and answer the questions with your stories in the framework (context, stakes, action, results, lesson). Ask clarifying questions if you need to.

• Breathe: take deep breaths throughout the interview, not noticeably, but remember to breathe.

• Notes: write down notes that help you answer the questions; key words to trigger your answers.

• Smile: this is a conversation between humans.

• Be curious: if you want to know more about the organization to figure out if you want to work there, or if you want to know something that will inform your decision, ask! This is a chance to see if you want to work for this organization. You want to thrive too!

• Interviewer connection: recall what you saw on the interviewer’s LinkedIn profile, if there are topics of interest. Do not say “I saw this on your profile,” but casually weave it into the conversation.

Now, take a moment to breathe when the interviews are complete.