My Top 2 Interview Tips

After spending 11 years at the same company. I recently took the huge decision to leave and join Adobe… Adobe want to be known as a company 'who conducts good interviews' but are 'difficult to get through' and I have to say that I loved their interview process… Not sure what that says about me!!!

I had 5 interviews over the space of a month and it's led me to want to share my top 2 interview tips.

For me there were 2 things that I spent time prepping for and I believe they could give you the edge when you're preparing for your next interview…

1.       Think about how you want to come across

2.       Plan questions that you want to ask

1.       How do you want to come across?

A lot of people focus on what questions they think they're likely to be asked and therefore how to respond. But when you really think about it, what are the odds of you accurately guessing any of the questions you'll be asked?!

Instead, think about the following areas which should prepare you for a multitude of questions you could get asked. It also means that when you're asked a more tricky question you have a few things lined up ready that you want to say and get across.

• What 3 things do you want to land about yourself? Whether it's related to your attitude, your skillset or your leadership style etc.
• As a person how do you want to come across? ie your human qualities
• What are you 3 development areas? (I don't like the word weaknesses!!) Don't spend too much time dwelling on this but it's good to be aware of them.
• What do you believe is your USP? (unique selling point) ie the one thing that means you stand out against anyone else.
• What are the key pieces of work that you've done recently that you're really proud of? This will really help you if you have a competency based interview where you're faced with lots of questions that start with 'can you give me an example of when…'
• Look at the job description and pull out all the reasons why you'd be great at it.

And don't think that you have to be able to do it all before applying! Life would be boring if you didn't have to stretch yourself and develop into a new role! Plus it's worth knowing that research has been done which shows that statistically, men will apply for a role if they can do 60% of the job, whereas women tend to only apply if they can do 100%. So whether you're male or female - just be aware that there are other people who will be applying for the role even if they don't think they can do it all.

2.       What questions do you want to ask?

Nearly every interview ends with the interviewer saying 'Have you got any questions?' Often I think people tend to go down 2 routes in their questioning. Either with very basic and factual questions like 'what hours am I expected to work' and 'how many days holiday will I get' which I believe can be answered either through conversations with HR or in a 2nd interview. Or, people ask questions where they are trying to show that they've done their research like 'I see that you're share price has increased by 20% in the last 6 months, why is that?' or 'with 5,000 employees, having doubled in the last 3 years, what has been the key to your success and growth'… I believe these sorts of questions yes, show that you've done your research but do you really care about the answers?

So what can you ask instead? I believe interviews are a two way process… It's not just about whether the company or boss wants you, it should also be, is this the right role for you? How will this role help with your future career plans? And is the manager/team/company the kind which will bring the best out of you?

Spend some time thinking about what's important to you for example it's probably no surprise to read that who I work for and how they support me to grow and develop is really important to me! So I'll ask questions where I really care about the answers eg 'if I spoke to your direct reports, how would they say you motivate them' or 'I work best when I know that I'm adding value to my boss… What about work keeps you up at night?'

So really think about the key questions that will unlock whether this is the right job for you. Switch it around and interview them!

And finally, to get you into the right mindset when you're preparing read prep you've done in the past for reviews or re-read any feedback you've received. I find it a great way to prompt my memory on what I've achieved and get me into a really positive mindset before walking into an interview so you can smash it!!