Job interview coaching – three mistakes people often make and how to overcome them

Our job interview coaching sessions are increasingly popular. Whether you’re a senior executive going for a C-suite position, a college leaver determined to land that dream job or a student applying for a research role, job interview coaching is essential.

You only get one chance to make a good impression. However impressive your CV might be and however passionate you are about your work, if you don’t put in a great performance during that job interview then you’ll never move on. That’s why a growing number of people are investing in our job interview coaching to make sure that they are in the best position to succeed during the interview. 

Here are three common mistakes that people often make when doing a job interview with advice on how to overcome them.

1. They don’t structure their answers.

Time is short during a job interview. The senior people who might be interviewing you will have other things to do. They will certainly be making a judgement about you very quickly. This means that you need to hit the ground running and your answers have to be focused and concise. They also need to have a clear structure so that your interviewers know where you’re taking them.

A long rambling answer with no obvious point will count against you, as we explain in our job interview coaching sessions. Making a point, providing an example or a proof point and then reiterating the point is one way to structure an answer. Our experienced job interview coaches recommend flagging language. By this we mean phrases such as “What’s most important here is that…” or “What we really need to focus on is…,” or even “But what I’m most proud of in my work is…”. Phrases such as this indicate to the interview panel that you’re about to put across a key message. You can also flag up one of these key messages afterwards. Again, phrase such as “And that’s what’s most important here…” will signal to whoever is interviewing you that they should take on board and remember what you’ve just said.

As well as structuring answers it’s also important to structure your interview. What is the overall impression that you would like to create, what is the key message that you would like to get across to the interviewers? Thinking about what they will remember of you is very important. As they chat through the candidates afterwards, you’ll want them to mention your name and say “Oh, yes, she was the one who had that great example of…” or “I particularly liked the way he…”.

Effective job interviews

Some people call it brand image. We call it effective job interviews. Thinking about the overall message that you would like to land and the impression that you would like to create with the interviewing panel is an essential part of your interview preparation. It’s something our job interview coaches focus on.

2. They haven’t done their research on the interviewers.

You might know all about your subject area and you might have found out about the organisation that you’re applying to. But what about the people who are going to interview you? Obviously, the HR may well be there, but will they be joined by other people? Will one of these people be your boss if you’re successful? Knowing exactly who will be interviewing you and finding out about their own experience and professional history is essential.

Not only does this mean that you can tailor your answers to this very important audience, but it means you can flatter them. If you’ve read a blog that they have post it on LinkedIn or a quote that they have given to a news website, you can subtly introduce this during the interview. Your research could also reveal their particular interests and concerns. One of the interview panellists might, for instance, be the finance director but, finance aside, have they written extensively on ESG issues? Similarly, you’ll get a sense of what the company considers to be its unique selling points and the issues that it promotes to customers and others.

With this in mind you can ensure that you’re making a strong connection with your interviewers and that you can focus on the things that they consider to be important.

3. They haven’t thought of examples and proof points.

One of your key messages might be that you are good at motivating a team. You might also want to get across in your job interview that you’re a practical person who delivers on time and on budget. You could make either of these claims and indeed many more. But then so could anybody else.

In our job interview coaching sessions we help our participants to not only identify key messages but also to develop evidence, stories and examples to prove these messages. Being able to talk about a project that you delivered affectively, despite the odds, will prove your point to your interviewers. Just as importantly, it will help them to remember the point that you’re making.  People don’t easily remember abstract ideas and facts, but we do remember stories.

Being able to tell a story clearly, concisely and in a way that really engages the interview panel is essential. Drawing out key messages and themes that can help sell your skills is equally important and it’s something we look at in our job interview coaching. You need to do this as part of your preparation. It’s no good waiting until you’re sitting down in front of your prospective employers to start thinking of stories and examples to prove your points.

However, impressive your CV, going through a job interview can be an intimidating business. Practise and rehearsal will really help. But you also need somebody with years of experience of job interview coaching to raise the issues that we’ve mentioned above and also to give you the tips and techniques that you need to clinch that job interview.

Job interview coaching

Come and talk to us about effective job interview coaching. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.