Use These Interview Tips to Succeed at Your Job Interview

Updated June 17, 20222.1k

Interview tips can help you impress a hiring manager with your skills. What are the best tips to use to help you succeed in a job interview?

Interview Tips

Mastering the job interview process can make it easier for you to get your next job. As an interviewee, interview success often makes the difference in getting a job offer, and being able to answer the questions that a potential employer has about your skills and work history is one of the most important parts of landing your dream job. If you want to shorten your job search and ace your interview, here are some top interview tips to consider.

The Three Top Interview Tips

There are three job interview tips that every job seeker should know to make sure they’re able to answer common questions and successfully answer in every type of interview:

Research the company.

First, research the company. Read the company’s website, look at social media profiles, and even contact current employees on LinkedIn to get an idea of the company culture. Many of the common questions and answers will be related to the type of company that you’re applying to, and the hiring manager will be looking for someone who fits this culture.
Prepare yourself with the right interview etiquette.

Next, it’s always important that you make a great first impression. Check to see what the company’s dress code is, and dress appropriately. Bring in extra copies of your resume and cover letter, printed out on paper. Additionally, especially if you’re doing an in-person interview or video interview, practice effective body language and eye contact. This is less important for a phone interview, but you’ll still want to practice discussing your resume skills, showing your interest through tone of voice, and speaking clearly.
Have follow-up questions ready.

Lastly, you should have your own questions ready for the recruiter. One of the best ways to show off communication skills is by having a few great questions to ask the recruiter at the end of the interview when they ask, “Do you have any questions for me?” By preparing a few questions, like “What will I do on a day-to-day basis in this job?” and “Is there a second interview?”, you can make yourself look as prepared as possible.

Best Method for Acing an Interview

The STAR method is by far the best method to use if you want to ace your interview questions, especially behavioral interview questions.

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. With this method, you identify a situation you were in, talk about a Task you had to perform, showcase the Action you took to solve it, and then explain the Result that you ended up achieving. This helps significantly with behavioral interview questions, which you can identify because they typically ask about situations that you’ve been in. Questions that start out with “What would you do if…” and “At your last job, did you ever…” are very likely to be behavioral interview questions.

What Does an Interviewer Want to See?

One of the best ways to ace your next interview is simply to know what an interviewer is hoping to see. That way, you can more effectively show off the best elements of yourself in the interview.

First and foremost, an interviewer wants to know that you’ll be compatible with the company’s culture. No matter how great your skills are, if you won’t get along with colleagues, you’re likely not a good fit for that company. This is why researching the company can be so beneficial in acing your interview.

Additionally, a hiring manager wants to see that you’ll stay with the company for quite some time. The hiring process is very expensive, and having someone who simply stays with the company for years significantly lessens the amount of money that a company has to spend on hiring new talent. That means they want to avoid having you leave anytime soon and will likely ask you about your five-year plan.

Lastly, the interviewer does want to know that you’re confident in your skills and experience. This is one of the reasons you’ll likely get a number of questions about skills and generalized experience; they need to see specific examples that show you really know your job from top to bottom.

FAQ: Interview Tips

What are some common interview questions to be prepared for?

There are a number of common interview questions that you’ll want to prepare for before walking into any job interview. Here are a few common ones:
- Why do you want to work at this company?
- Why should we hire you?
Tell me about yourself.
- Why are you leaving your current job?
- Have you ever had any professional disputes with another worker?
- Have you ever been fired from a job?
How do you handle issues with co-workers?
If you know how to answer these questions, then you’ll be well on your way to success. Read more on the job interview questions and answers page.

How do I prepare for an upcoming interview?

To prepare for an upcoming interview, you need to do research and practice your interview responses overall. You should never walk into an interview seeming like you’re a last-minute pick that only learned about this interview half an hour ago. Showing up prepared and ready always will be your best option.

What are the tips to use immediately after a job interview?

First of all, ask the hiring manager what the next steps are. If there will be a second round of interviews, you need to know about it. Then, send a thank-you email after the interview is over. A small thank-you note is an effective way to show that you care about the job and are invested in getting it.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.