The Best Interview Advice You Will Ever Get
Job interviews can be stressful, especially when your dream job is on the line! So I want to give you the best interview advice you will ever receive, at least in my opinion. This one thing has helped me so much going through a ton of different interviews, including the one I had with Google.
Are you ready? This piece of advice goes like this: Do your research.
I know that’s kind of underwhelming, but you know what, it’s helped me so much. I feel like it was the most important thing that one can do for an interview.
It’s what I always recommend anybody: my family, friends, – or anyone else who has an interview coming up. I give everyone the same interview advice: do your research.
When I was going through the interview process for the role I had at Google, I made sure that I learned everything that I could about the company, YouTube (as a sub-company of Google), the team that I would be working with and the role that I was going to be doing. I tried to research, read and watch anything that I could find about this topic.
Do your research on:
1. Company culture and values
Those are so important because then you understand what the company should feel like from the inside and they might be looking for in a candidate.
That also gives you an idea of whether this company culture and these company values are aligned with you. And, if that’s the case, it gives you an opportunity to showcase that you’re a great candidate for them – taking into account these values and these culture aspects.
2. Company’s mission, priorities, challenges, dilemmas, etc.
My interview advice is to figure out anything that you can find about what is happening with the company, what direction are they trying to take, what challenges do they have, etc. It’s very important to understand their mindset and framework as well as how you can help them in this context.
3. Macro-level of the industry
Research what is happening in the industry, who are the competitors, and what challenges are they potentially bringing to the picture. I remember being specifically asked about the macro image and the industry landscape.
4. Micro-level of industry
Now it’s time to understand the inside of the company – meaning what is going on in the company. Learn about operational news and the challenges faced within the company. Read, watch, anything that you can find.
Maybe reach out to people on LinkedIn if you can or if you’re doing some networking, just ask them questions. Just be curious!
5. The role itself
What does the day to day look like? What does success look like, what will you be doing, who will you be working with and all that good stuff. How will you be paid– salary, hourly, benefits? Consider looking at this post, which will help you negotiate your salary! The more you understand, the better prepared you are for the interview.
Check out the video for some BONUS tips!
So do your research. I hope this interview advice helped! Good luck! 🙂
</Coding Blonde>