Interviewprepkit v04
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This document provides tips and guidance for interview preparation. It includes sections on researching the company, developing questions to ask during the interview, using LinkedIn for company research, matching experience to job requirements, developing a success story, common interview questions to practice, and tips for interview appearance and presence. The document aims to equip job candidates with the necessary information and strategies to feel prepared and confident during the interview process.
Interviewprepkit v04
- 2. reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this book, and the information special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. of their respective holders. They are used throughout this book in an editorial fashion only. In addition, terms suspected of being attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any this book. 2 www.careerconfidential.com
- 3. Table of Content 01 Company Research Plan 3 02 Questions to Ask During the Interview: 5 03 How to use LinkedIn for company research: 7 12 05 Developing your Success Story. 14 06 More Interview Appearance and Presence tips… 19 3 www.careerconfidential.com
- 4. 01 Company Research Plan Company Overview *LinkedIn (see sample next page) Parent Company/Subsidiary of (Trading Symbol, if public): ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Key Numbers to Know *Number of Employees *1yr Sales Growth *Current/Most recent sales *1-Year Net Income Growth *Current/Most recent Net Income *1-Year Employee Growth *Company Type *Fiscal Year-End (Public/Private/Venture Capital) Decision Makers: *Hiring Mgrs – (Title, past experience, how long there, location, report to) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ *Human Resources ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Competitors: *Know the companies top 3 competitors ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Product Line: * Know the company’s top products * Be aware of any new products in Development ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4 www.careerconfidential.com
- 5. 01 SWOT Analysis of Product/Company/Opportunity *Strengths ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ *Weaknesses ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ *Opportunities ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ *Threats (don’t forget reimbursement challenges, newer technology, market conditions, etc) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Why are you a Fit for this position? * Know your skill set and how equals to the skills required for the position ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 5 www.careerconfidential.com
- 6. 02 Questions to Ask During the Interview: Why is the position open? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Where will the job be performed? Is it based at Headquarters or is it ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ * What do they see as the primary focus for this position? What is the greatest challenge? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ * When do they want to have someone in the position? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ * How long have they been looking? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ *Can you describe the best performer that you have on your team in a similar role? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 6 www.careerconfidential.com
- 7. 02 What will be the interview process? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ * What are goals do they want to accomplish ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ * How do they see the position developing? Growth Path ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 7 www.careerconfidential.com
- 8. 03 How to use LinkedIn for company research: LinkedIn is the best place to do research on a prospective company. Notice that your search brings up other divisions of the company that you may not have been aware of before. 8 www.careerconfidential.com
- 9. 03 When you move your cursor over the company name a brief description will display along with a link to the company’s corporate webpage. When you select the company In a company search you can identify not only the different locations of the company , but also the number of employees in that location. 9 www.careerconfidential.com
- 10. 03 You now will be able to see current and former employees, new hires even recent on the company. 10 www.careerconfidential.com
- 11. 03 Gender statistics? These are indicators of culture. Reach out to those that were in a similar position as the one that you are considering. But be careful! Don’t reach out to the Detroit Rep if that’s what your applying for. If he or she has been let go you may not get an objective opinion. Try a rep in the same position just another location and explain that you are considering a position with the company and want to get their advice on the company, position etc.. How do you contact these folks? As you can see above, when you put your cursor over and InMail , get introduced, or add to your network. 11 www.careerconfidential.com
- 12. 03 If you are in the same group, you can message your contact there. What should you ask one of these contacts? Questions you might ask a current employee or past employee of your prospective employer: 1. How long have you been there? 2. How did you get hired? 3. What do you love about the company 4. What do you not love? 5. What about the job? 6. Do you know the manager ( in your area) ? 7. Any advice they could give you? 8. What about the “x” product? 9. How is the environment? 10. Who are the competitors? 12 www.careerconfidential.com
- 13. 04 How does Your Experience Match the Key Requirements to your Experience: Job Title *Job Description (Summary) *Your Experience *Primary Responsibilities *Your Current/Similar Responsibilities *Requirements *Your Background 2. Minimum Experience Interview Prep Questions: 1. Why do you want to work here? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Why did you leave your last job? Why are you looking to leave? Don’t say any- thing negative about the company but be honest – is it salary, career growth etc ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. What can you do for us that other candidates can’t? - ple of a success you had in the past that helped or improved a process. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. What salary are you seeking? position my salary was and I am open to a reasonable offer within that range. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 13 www.careerconfidential.com
- 14. 04 5. What would your prior manager say about you? Point out your strengths and any success you had ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 6. Describe a work-related issue or problem that you had to face recently, how did you deal with it? This is seeking your decision making ability. Give an example where you impacted the situation positively. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ - cult to work with? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 8. What was the best decision you ever made? What were the alternatives? How did you go about making it? This is checking for your judgment. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 14 www.careerconfidential.com
- 15. 05 Developing your Success Story. are important in the position for which you are interviewing. Some possible areas are listed below, but feel free to include your own to highlight your strengths (Not all topics will apply). Strengths as an Employee: 1. What have others said about you? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Reviews – Do you have reviews you can refer to? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Recommendations ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. What do you do? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Management Style: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. What goals did you put place for your team? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. How did you delegate assignments or territories? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 15 www.careerconfidential.com
- 16. 05 4. How do you evaluate employees? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 5. What did you look for in a team member? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Marketing Experience: 1. How did you determine where to go? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. What tools did you develop? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. What strategies did you use? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Leadership: 1. Did you motivate others? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Did you mentor or train others? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Creativity: 1. What tools did you develop ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 16 www.careerconfidential.com
- 17. 05 2. How did you strategize ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. What makes you different? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Technical Expertise: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Dependability: 1. Give examples of what you did ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Other Topics to Consider: Team Player, How did you learn from mistakes, character, Mergers/ acquisitions, crisis management, new product development, new product introduction, product life cycle, QSR or quality 17 www.careerconfidential.com
- 18. 05 10 Common Interview questions PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Tell me about yourself? - Point out areas of Success-Career growth path/Strategy/ follow through/ work ethic Why have you had so many / so few jobs? Give an example of how you manage your time well. - Give example of Multi-tasking What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? Nothing damaging- but what you learned What is your greatest accomplishment? Use examples that demonstrate key “hiring characteristics” What are your strengths? What do you need to work on? Use a strength that you could improve How do your co-workers describe you? Team player, outgoing, dedicated etc.. What new goals have you set for yourself lately? Why should we hire you? Give examples of how you are equal to their requirements. 1. Be descriptive. Don’t just answer “yes” or “no” to questions. But also avoid “over- answering.” Make your answers colorful but not lengthy. 2.Sell yourself to the interviewer, but without exaggeration or telling lies. You are there to market yourself, “blow your own trumpet” and explain why you’d be right for the role. But don’t come across as arrogant. 18 www.careerconfidential.com
- 19. 05 3. Avoid making negative remarks about your current employer, or past employers or 4. Be determined. Make it clear that you want to get the job, even if you are given information in the interview that sheds a new light on the role. Be positive, and then evaluate the opportunity again when you are away from the interview. Don’t burn your bridges. 5. Have positive body language, and maintain a good posture. 19 www.careerconfidential.com
- 20. 06 More Interview Appearance and Presence tips… r r r r r ’ r r r r r A r r ’ r r r r r r r r T r A A 20 www.careerconfidential.com
- 21. 06 Take with you: * Resume(s) *Brag Book(s) (or other evidence) * References *30/60/90 day sales plan(s) Any other documents/ tools that will help you demonstrate your talents and skills. Just a Reminder: restr r w. rettes or tobacco. W re. ’t look at your watch. ’t stare. y ’ r “I’m sorry ’s name and write it down. (or get their business card) ’t ask about money ’t mention a salary range in your r w. ’t talk about personal problems. ’ w. ’t park at a meter or in a tow zone. ’t drop names. r reate a time crunch. Turn o ’s desk. ’ r rcastic. r. r 21 www.careerconfidential.com
- 22. reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this book, and the information special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. of their respective holders. They are used throughout this book in an editorial fashion only. In addition, terms suspected of being attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any this book. 22 www.careerconfidential.com