You worked with a professional resume writer to create a branded, optimized resume and landed the interview. Amazing! So, now what?
Now the real fun starts.
In an interview, the hiring manager and/or HR person are looking for a lot of things. They are under the gun to find a candidate who checks a lot of boxes, both in skills and capabilities and overall work ethic/culture.
Of course, all of the regular rules apply here. Do your research. You should not only know what the company does and in what markets, but also have a good idea of their trends, competition, and leadership. Do some simple google research, try Hoovers, and search for employees on LinkedIn. You can do this by changing the icon in the LinkedIn search bar to the People icon (looks like two little heads) and the using the company name as your keyword.
When you get to the interview, you should be well dressed, polished, and put together. No excessive makeup, jewelry, perfume/cologne, etc. If in doubt, you can never go wrong with a suit. Don’t risk being late – plan to arrive half hour early. If you are early, sit in your car or grab a seat somewhere nearby and practice going over some of the questions you are most likely to hear.
Ok, so what’s the worst thing you can say in the interview. It’s a simple one but will literally suck the air out of the room. The dreaded THEY.
What’s so bad about this seemingly innocuous pronoun? A lot!
The hiring manager is trying to discern, beyond whether you have the skills and experience to do the job, what kind of employee you will be. And the worst kind of employee you can be is one that is disengaged and sees themselves on the outside looking in.
If you are referring to your current leadership or worse, your boss, as THEY, you obviously don’t buy in to the mission and vision of the company. Regardless of the reason, which may be valid and due more in part to leadership failure at your current employer, it is in your best interest to paint the picture that the hiring manager is looking for.
In general, people don’t leave jobs because of the job. They leave because they feel unappreciated at some level. A hiring manager knows this. It’s your job to show them that you can be an engaged, reliable, positive, and enthusiastic member of their team.