If you read my last post you know that I completed the hiring process back in June for a marketing coordinator. I was fired up throughout the process because of the disappointing applications. Maybe I am an old-fashioned Gen X-er but I wanted to hire a rock star and an A player (which I did!) so my standards are high. I have been busy onboarding my new person, so this post is tardy.
I wanted to share my tips on how to prepare for an interview and give you a peak at my actual interview questions.
The Background
A quick recap:
- The job posting on LinkedIn asked for a cover letter and resume.
- 3 out of 150+ applicants sent both a resume and cover letter.
- Less than half sent a resume.
- Most just sent their LinkedIn profile.
The Process
I typically work independently of HR throughout the hiring process in evaluating resumes and conducting the phone interviews. Since I had been mentoring one of the applicants I wanted HR to be involved all along the way to be fair. We both reviewed resumes. I chose the candidates for the first round and she handled all of the communications. I asked my her to handle the phone interviews. I gave her a couple of questions to ask in addition to hers and I was in the room to hear the applicants. The two of us decided who to interview in person.
I sigh as I continue writing this. My shock and fired up-ness continued through the phone interviews. I could not believe the lack of interview preparation, the poor verbal skills and the absence of enthusiasm.
- One person used the word “like” 17 times before I stopped counting.
- Another rotated “like, um, you know”
- Another leaned on “ and, what not” as their crutch.
We conducted ten phone interviews although we had invited several more that never replied. Overall they were lackluster and disappointing. The candidate we hired crushed everyone!
The Questions
I want to share a few of the interview questions we asked and let you judge if our expectations were too high. The candidates were a mix of recent college graduates and some with one to three years of experience.
Each conversation had its own rhythm based on the candidate and where they took the conversation. Usually, the first question was “Why did you apply? What did you find interesting about the job or ej4?” This is a softball question! Of course, we want to know why you are interested! This is your first chance to dazzle us with your enthusiasm and link your background to our job description. This is also your first chance to underwhelm us which most did. If they didn’t go into enough detail about ej4, we asked. It was obvious that most of the candidates spent just a few minutes scanning our site.
If they were just graduating from college, we would ask how they selected their school. Another softball. We wanted the candidates to feel comfortable so we ask about something that they should be excited to talk about. We could tell some people were nervous and this question was designed to help them to relax.
If they were working, we ask why they were looking for a new position. We weren’t looking for gossip about their current employer. This is another way for them to link our job to the job they are seeking. We also ask what their favorite thing about their current job is. Again, link to our job! One candidate said writing and designing even though neither were mentioned in the posting. Naturally, we concluded they would not be happy in this position since we have freelance writers and an internal creative director for design.
I believe the toughest question was “Why are you interested in B2B marketing?” This is where the tap shoes came out because everyone danced through their response. One candidate rambled for about 30 seconds and ended with “it’s different.” Which it is, so I guess they deserve a point for that!
Other questions address any past professional experience or relevant school projects. We are simply looking for intelligent, thoughtful answers that sell us on why their background is a good fit for our position.
The final question asks “What sets you apart from the other candidates? What would you bring to ej4?” Again, giving them an opportunity link their skills to our position.
The Advice
I want to share my tips for interview preparation but you should know they may sound a bit nerdy.
- Google “tough interview questions”, go to the library or buy a book of interview questions.
- Pick the 10-15 hardest questions that you hate to answer in interviews. Spend some time thinking about your experience and what examples might be the best answer for each question.
- Write your answers. Open a Google or Word doc and type up your answers. Use your best vocabulary and sentence structure. This will now be your cheat sheet for future interviews.
- Include: “So tell me about yourself.” This is what busy interviewers use when they aren’t prepared and need to get you talking while they think of other questions.
- Go through the job description with a fine-toothed comb. Compare your experience to the job description. Many interviewers just go line-by-line through the job description and ask you about those things. The job description is having the test questions in advance.
- Research the company. Be prepared if they ask you, “So what do you know about our company?” Google “I hate x company” and “I love x company.” Find their social media accounts.
- Research the people. Look up the people you’re interviewing with on Linked In, FB and Twitter, Google them. See if you’re linked to them. Look up senior management the same way. Maybe you have some connection or a common interest.
- Make your own list of questions for the interviewers. Google these too if you can’t think of any of your own. Don’t just ask about culture. Most of these candidates asked about culture. Ours is pretty obvious if you click around our site. So their question about culture showed us they didn’t do much research on our site!
The Conclusion
My advice is simple: prepare. Think about your background and how it relates to the job. Write your answers down. Read and re-read. The more prepared you are the fewer “like, um, you knows.” These are verbal crutches while you think of your answer. They don’t represent your best interviewing self.
There was a bullet point in the job posting: “Passion for social media and marketing in general.” I was listening for passion and enthusiasm in the phone interviews. Don’t confuse this with being an extrovert. There is an energy that can be conveyed in your responses. Being prepared is also a demonstration of that passion. Most of the candidates lacked passion and preparation. We hired the one who exuded both.
