Listen to article:
The new year often brings new career opportunities, and that means tackling job interviews. How can you make a great impression when you interview for a job? We asked three ECS recruiters to share interviewing tips for job applicants in the IT sector and beyond, and here’s what we learned.
KATELYN TALLEY
RECRUITING LEAD, ENTERPRISE BUSINESS UNIT
When applying and interviewing for your next job, it’s important to research each specific role and organization. Tailoring your resume and interview conversations to the position you are applying for can help you to stand out from other candidates.
Researching the organization you’re interviewing with shows that you’re interested and invested in the position and company. Your main goal during these conversations is to show that you are the right person for that job. By showing that you’ve invested time researching, you better market yourself to the recruiter or hiring manager.
In the IT field, it’s critical to learn from others due to the rapid changes in technology and the constant growth of the industry. Networking with professionals who hold the type of position you’re interviewing for can help you gain insights that make you a better interviewee. Happy hunting!
When recruiting for a specific job, I speak to many candidates with similar skill sets and qualifications. There are two main attributes that stand out: confidence and overall interest in the company and position. Candidates who are able to confidently articulate and demonstrate knowledge of the interviewers, company, and job responsibilities are those who tend to stand out during the interview process.
Be sure to learn about your interviewer prior to the interview; look for interests or attributes that you and the interviewer share. You should always research the company and job prior to the interview. It will help you learn about the company’s mission, culture, and how the specific job you are applying for fits into the bigger picture.
Be enthusiastic and confident! Discuss your ideas, goals, successes, and any challenges you have faced in your professional life. Give thorough responses with examples in your interviews.
MELANIE HUBBARD
SENIOR CORPORATE RECRUITER, ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
VICTORIA BAKER
SENIOR RECRUITER
Keep your resume in front of you during the interview so you can refer to it, as the interviewer will likely ask specific questions about it. If this is a virtual interview, log in a few minutes early just in case you have technical issues.
Remember that you’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you. Make sure you prep with interview questions that are important to you (growth opportunities, team culture, daily tasks, etc.). This will show your interviewer that you’re interested in the position, and the info you gather will help you gauge how good a fit it is for you.
Consider looking up the interviewer on LinkedIn and finding a talking point. Did you go to the same school? Do you have connections in common? Did you work on a similar project? These are all great talking points to open a conversation up.
Be prepared to discuss specific accomplishments you’ve achieved in your career. You’ll likely get a name-a-time-when question, such as “Can you describe a time when you did not agree with a decision your supervisor made?” It’s important to respond to such questions with specifics. If you can’t think of a specific example, the second-best response is to explain what you would do in this situation.
Finally, review the interview questions on Glassdoor.com. While they are general questions, reviewing them will help you prepare for the types of questions typically asked by employers. Best of luck!
