🎙️Close 200% More Job Interviews (in Half The Time)New Post

Hello there 😎 

Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn my 4 step process to prepare for interviews effectively (that I teach all my clients).

Plus, the best links and resources... you'll learn:

• 💸 Remote work freelancers: would you want accept payment in equity and dividends

• 🏠 What to do with your house if you live abroad for most of the year?

• 🏖️ The secret "workcations" people are talking about

Let’s jump in:

⏩ Quick updates

☀️ Hope you had a fabulous summer  

🎒 The kiddos are back in school this week. And we’ve been busy figuring out the daycare/nanny situation for Theodore 👶

🐶 I write and publish birthday letters for my kids. That includes my dog, Deefer. Here’s this year’s letter.

🎙️ Close 200% More Job Interviews (in Half The Time)

Employers know they can be picky as hell. 

According to the WSJ, hiring averages 11 weeks, up from seven in 2021 📈 For candidates in the interviewing process, this translates to an increase from 1-2 interview rounds to 3-4. (source)

This jives with what readers and clients tell me. 

The worst part? 

Interview prep takes sooo much time, people are scared to start.

Ask them how the interview went afterward, and they say something like: 

Instead, you should go into every interview knowing you’ll perform at the peak of your abilities. With a process in place, you can confidently share why you're the best fit for the role (and get potential colleagues pumped about working with you). 

Even better, you can do this efficiently and effectively, so you can get back to the rest of your life. 

Here’s the 4 step process I follow to prepare for interviews effectively (and teach my clients): 

1/ 🔬Research

In every step of interviewing, research is the secret sauce. Interviewing is no different.

Research both a/ the company and b/ your interviewers. 

When researching the company, you want to know: 

• Mission

• Products

• Customers

• Competitors

• Recent headlines

• Are they private or public?

• If private, VC-backed or bootstrapped?

• If VC-backed, how much money have they raised?

• Do they have a product? If yes, sign up and play with it

Here’s how my clients organize this data: 

Sources you should use in your research:

• Google

• LinkedIn

• Glassdoor

• Crunchbase

• People you know

• Podcasts (for C-suite interviews)

How long should company research take? Anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your interview stage, company fit, and familiarity with the company. 

When researching your interviewers, you want to know:

• Where they previously worked

• What schools they attended

• Any work-related content

• Cities they’ve lived in

What are you looking for? Anything that’ll help you build a personal connection. A personal connection is the most powerful way to be memorable.

Spend 10-15 minutes researching an interviewer. Any more than that is an efficient use of your time.

2/ 🕵️ Find questions they’ll ask

The best way to come correct to an interview is to know the questions they'll ask. 

(It’s the real-world equivalent of finding the questions the night before the big exam.)

Here's how you do it - without breaking any rules:

1/ Prepare for “standard” questions

These are the questions that come up in 80% of interviews. You should always be ready to answer these: 

• Tell me a bit about yourself (alt: Can you provide an overview of your experience in your field?)

• What interests you about this position and our company? (alt: Why do you want to work here? Why this company and role?)

• Tell me about working at your most recent company.

• Tell me about a project that was implemented because of your efforts. What did you do and what were the results? (alt: Tell me about a project you’re proud of.)

• Tell me about a time you had a difference with a colleague. What was the issue? How did you resolve it? 

• What is your superpower?

• What is your weakness?

2/ Review the company's career page

Many companies will share exactly what to expect for their interviews. Check their interviewing resources on their career pages.

3/ Ask the recruiter 

Recruiters often get a bad rap. Here's the truth: the recruiter is on your side. They want you to be successful. When you do well, they do well. Don’t be afraid to ask for more information on how you can prepare. 

Here's how I'd frame it:

Whatever the recruiter says, believe them!

4/ Check Interview question sites

For tech-specific interviews, Exponent is your best source.

All others, use Glassdoor. Reviews include details on the interview structure, including specific questions asked.

Note: this works best for larger companies. If you're interviewing at a smaller company, find a larger competitor and study those questions.

5/ Ask friends or former colleagues from the company 

Here's how I'd frame the ask:

6/ Record and review questions from past interviews

Remote job or otherwise, nearly all interviews have a virtual component these days. This means you have the luxury of recording your side of the conversation. 

Your phone’s Voice Memo app works fine. I use Otter.ai, which also transcribes in real time. It’s free. 

After the interview, review where you did well and where you can improve. 

7/ Use AI to generate interview questions

Here's an example prompt I'd use:

What this looks like in practice:

3/ 🎨 Craft your stories

Next, craft your stories for these interview questions.

Prioritization is key. Start with the “standard” interview questions mentioned above first. There are different approaches here, but what I like to do: 

1. Write down word for word what I want to say

2. Record myself reading the answer (more on that below)

3. Listen to it back 

4. Rewrite myself

5. Repeat 3-4 until it’s “decent”

Listening to it back is crucial. It forces me to hear what’s working, and what sounds forced or unnatural. 

When I’m in a decent place (not perfect! It doesn’t need to be perfect yet!) with the first set of questions, I move onto the next set.

Other tips: 

• When writing your stories, stick to simple frameworks for your stories. My go-to frameworks are BME (Beginning, Middle, End) and STAR (what’s the situation, explain your task, what actions did you take, and share the result).

• You can use the same story for multiple questions across multiple interviews. Invest time perfecting a few (1-3) stories that you know backward and forwards, versus trying to memorize 10 different stories. 

4/ 🎹 Practice until perfect

You’ve got your stories. Next, get in your practice. 

Practice requires saying your answers outloud, recording your answer, then listening back so you can iterate. 

I know… fun, right? 🙉 

But this is the best way to get comfortable with your stories.

There are a number of ways to record yourself, all free: 

• Loom. With Loom, you can record audio, video, or both. 

• Voice Memo app. You can only record audio, but I like that it’s very easy to listen to yourself throughout the day, so you can get more reps in. 

• ChatGPT. Then, you can ask for recommendations to improve your answer. 

When you listen back to your recording, here’s what you’re listening for: 

• Are you rambling? Avoid rambling at all costs. If you feel the story getting off track, stop and start over. 

• Do your stories relate to “How can I help this company?” If no, reframe the story (or tell a new one).

• Are you using Plain English? In other words, are you speaking like you would in a normal conversation? Or are you dropping $10 words?

• Do you sound excited to be there? To convey the right enthusiasm, we usually need to bump UP the inflection and emotion in our voice. It might sound over the top to your ears, but to your listener, it’s just right. Listening to your recording will help you calibrate. 

Conclusion

The stakes are higher than ever when it comes to interviewing. Put into practice this 4 step process I use (and teach clients) to make the most of every interview you land: 

• 🔬Research

• 🕵️ Find questions they’ll ask

• 🎨 Craft your stories

• 🎹 Practice until perfect

And let me know how it goes.

That’s a wrap. See you next week 👋

🤝 3 ways I can help you with remote work: