Interviewing can be nerve racking task at the best of times, but strong preparation can not only set you apart from your competition but can also set you at ease.

Follow along as I take you step by step on how I prepare my candidates for interviews;

Research Research Research

Digest and understand everything about the job you're applying for. Some key areas you'll want to know thoroughly are;

1. The Job Description

• What outcomes is the role accountable for?
• What skillset does the role require?
• Reporting line and level of seniority
• Technical tools or certifications required
• Why the role has been created

2. The company

• What the company actually does
• How big is the organisation?
• What are the company's products/ services
• Market position and key competitors
• Recent news, growth, or structural changes
• Reputation in the market (brand perception)

 3. The Interviewer

• Check their LinkedIn and send them a connection
• Understand their role, tenure, and seniority in the business
• Background and career path
• Shared connections or common ground

Prepare Parallels

All this preparation is for nothing if you can't leverage it to sell yourself and your suitability for the role. You'll want to use your above research to draw parallels between your experience and what you've found out, translating research into relevance. These points will be highly tailored to your profile and the research you've undertaken, but some working examples might sound like;

1. If you've done similar role duties in the past

1. "I've worked across APAC markets before and have an understanding of the cultural differences in different geographies across the region and how it impacts their work processes"
2. "I've managed C-Suite level stakeholders before and appreciate the detailed and sensitive nature of their expected communication style"
3. "In my last role, I had a lot of success utilising and implementing software XYZ and am looking forward to bringing this experience into my next role"
4. "With my background in sales, I am an expert at identifying key stakeholders and asking the right questions to understand their motivations "

2. If you've worked in similar environments

1. "With my decade of experience within industry XYZ, I understand the challenges the industry poses and have tailored a skillset well-suited to overcoming these challenges"
2. "I've worked in enterprise-level organisations before and understand the value of their established processes and where I am best placed to add value while staying within guidelines"
3. "I've worked within a competing brand and have a thorough understanding of what the market looks like within this industry"
4. "I saw that the organisation has been experiencing record growth over the past financial year, I was vital in assisting my last organisation in managing growing budgets and developing processes that accommodated their expansion"

3. If you have similarities with your interviewer

1. "I can see we both have backgrounds in Industry XYZ, I believe there's a lot of transferrable skills from Industry XYZ to the industry you find yourself in now"
2. "I can see we have a mutual connection on LinkedIn, Barry was actually my manager many roles ago, it was great working with him"
3. “Like you, I moved from a more operational role into a strategic one over time. That progression has helped me balance delivery with longer-term planning.”
4. “I saw you completed XYZ certification. I recently undertook similar training, and it significantly influenced how I approach strategic planning.”

STAR Method

Now that you've prepared your parallels practice turning some key examples practise turning some of your relevant accomplishments into the STAR Method;

The STAR method is a structured way to answer behavioural interview questions clearly and concisely.

• Situation – Briefly set the context. What was happening?
• Task – What were you responsible for?
• Action – What you did (not the team).
• Result – The outcome, ideally quantified.

It keeps answers focused, avoids rambling, and ensures you demonstrate impact.

Leverage Questions

In every interview there will be opportunities for you to ask questions about the role in question. Most candidates ask very simple questions and don't understand that questions are an opportunity to demonstrate to the interviewer that you are well researched and have a strong understanding of the role.

I've provided some examples below on how you could take all you've researched and parallels you've drawn to improve your question-asking technique.

Rather than asking:

"What does the team culture look like in this role?"

"What does success look like in the first 30 days?"

"What does flexibility look like in this role?"

"What software does the team use?"

Instead ask:

"I can see you've been working in this organisation for 5 years, what has your experience been with the working culture?"

"In my last role, I achieved XYZ in the first 30 days, which was a very successful initiative, what will you be looking for me to achieve in this role?"

"In my last role, I found a lot of success with a mixture of working from home and working in the office, does this position offer similar flexbility?"

"I have used Software XYZ in my last few roles and noticed in the JD that you mentioned that experience with Software XYZ is desirable. What other software does your organisation use?"

Hopefully, the above provides some ideas on how best to prepare and showcase your suitability for the role.

Good Luck with your Interview!