Top 6 Tips for Job Interviews during COVID-19

2020-04-21T15:43:16-04:00

Congrats on landing the interview! I hope that it was thanks in part to the resume advice in our last touch-point. Either way, you should be proud of the fact that someone recognized your skill-set and wants to take the time vet you via an interview.

With COVID 19 and the ever-evolving technology of today’s world, understanding the art of the phone interview and/or video interview is that much more important.

While humility is a wonderful trait to have, now is not the time to be shy about what you bring to the table. Landing the job now relies on your ability to bring your resume to life via anecdotes and real-life examples of how you are the person the company needs!

The Phone Interview:

· Dress as if it is an in-person interview. I’m of the opinion that this puts you in the necessary mental state to crush the interview. While no one can see you… act as if they can.

· Write down everything you want to get to in the interview…have a game plan. While the interviewer will dictate where the interview goes for the most part, you can guide it along as well with the proper game plan of things your proud of, stories of leadership or overcoming hardship or that time your CO gave you props, etc. Now is the time to brag… think of 5-10 things you are proud of and that you want to get to over the course of the interview.

· Research “Behavioral Based Questions.” (BBI) A simple Google search will give you a good expectation of questions that may come your way. Most interviewers will want you to “Tell me about a time when…” So, as you are preparing the game plan of what you want to get to, think of questions you may be asked and where you can plug these things you’re proud of into an answer.

· Be ready for some curve balls. One of my favorite things to ask someone is “What is their biggest professional failure.” I was asked this once in an interview and have “borrowed” it ever since. I want to hear about how you overcame something. I also like to ask folks “What’s the worst job you’ve ever had.” With that, do your research of BBI questions… you are sure to get a healthy dose of questions you can find via this search.

· Write out everything. While it does not have to be verbatim, grab those BBI questions you found, paste them into a Word Document, and correlate the answer/thing you are proud of from our 2nd bullet point, with a question that an interviewer can ask. For example, “Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with someone, how you resolved it and what was the result.” Now write-out how you will respond to this question.

· MOST IMPORTANT: Have questions ready for the interviewer. Your questions give the person who is interviewing you a good feel of how serious you are about this job and how bad you want it. “I saw the company was listed as “One of the Best Places to Work,” why would you say that is?” I want to know you have done at least some research before interviewing with me.

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Apr 21 at 2020 3:51 PM

2020-04-21T15:51:05-04:00

Thanks for sharing.

Response by CPT David Gowel made Apr 21 at 2020 8:36 PM

2020-04-21T20:36:26-04:00

This is an important line for all vets to internalize: "Landing the job now relies on your ability to bring your resume to life via anecdotes and real-life examples of how you are the person the company needs!" Generally speaking, we just have to work hard, be a team player and perform as directed and we'll get good jobs throughout our military careers. This is not the case in civilian life - now more than ever - as you also need to learn to network to the right target audience and know how to sell yourself to that person when you get there. Thanks for the pointers Lucas Buck

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Apr 24 at 2020 1:22 PM

2020-04-24T13:22:43-04:00

Thank you!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 5 at 2020 8:24 AM

2020-05-05T08:24:32-04:00

Excellent points and can attest to their validity in actual practice.

Will add the following. Anyone that’s been through an ISO, quality, similar audit or situation knows the mantra “don’t tell me - show me.” For sure having a tight resume w/relevant experience and being able to clearly articulate how you can “add value” = key.

Incorporating some visual “show and tell” examples can help bring “your story” to life. As the saying goes —> a picture = worth a thousand words. Given that the time allocated for an interview = limited, incorporating a picture, diagram, item, poster, etc., of things that you’ve done —which produced results— can often leave a memorable impression and help validate the skill set that you would be able to bring to the table.