Nail Your Next In-Person Interview With These Tips
Thousands of younger workers have never conducted in-person interviews for a full-time job in their field. They may have done in-person interviews for part-time jobs they had as teenagers or through college, but have been virtual interviewees for any permanent jobs (even if they now go to an office).
The new reality of hiring is multiple rounds of interviews, with virtual interviews being a less important part of the mix. Most jobs require at least three interviews before a candidate is hired, with 82% of companies using virtual interviews as part of that process, usually for initial screening. With most jobs being hybrid or fully in-office, candidates can expect at least one of those interviews to be in-person.
Nailing a virtual interview is second nature to most of these younger candidates. They know the essential requirements - have a good internet connection, dress professionally, and limit distractions in the background. While we’ll offer some strategies that apply to both virtual and in-person interviews, there are a few additional things to take note of if you’re showing up to the office for an in-person interview.
Research Everything You Can About The Company and The Interviewer
Get to know the company and your interviewer as much as possible before the interview. If you’re viewing the interviewer’s profile on LinkedIn, use Incognito Mode. You should probably have LinkedIn Premium if you are looking for a job, which will make Incognito Mode even more private.
You can get an idea of what the interviewer thinks is important and tailor some of your answers to their interests. Do not go further than researching them on LinkedIn, it’s too invasive to go looking for their Instagram or TikTok profiles.
Company research requires less nuance. Put together a fact sheet for yourself about the company, with its most current financials, mission statement, and areas that you can see yourself helping to improve in the proposed position.
Prepare a Fact Sheet About Yourself And Practice Your Interview
Most of us are remarkably bad at selling our own expertise, but this is the time to get good at it. Prepare a fact sheet with an elevator pitch about yourself, successful projects you have accomplished with metrics, if possible, and run it by professional colleagues. If you worked in a company that used Prodoscore, for example, tout your metrics, especially if you consistently had high productivity scores. Sharing insights about what you learned about engagement, productivity and collaboration from that data intelligence, for example, can also be valuable.
See if you can enlist one or two of your colleagues to run practice interviews with; you probably have a good idea of what the questions will be from the initial screening. This will boost your confidence and give you the benefit of their professional feedback. Friends aren’t necessarily the right audience since they don’t know your industry and what an interviewer would be looking for, but you may know some people who work in similar fields or have the right kind of professional experience to help you out.
Dress To Impress
Dressing for an interview is an art. If you were previously working at home in a position that didn’t involve professional interactions outside of a Zoom meeting, you may have some work to do on your image. Do some sleuthing on the company, particularly pictures posted from work events such as conferences - how is everyone dressed?
Try to match that vibe. You’ll also want to review social media accounts to see what is current for work wear. Female-presenting people will want to wear light makeup, while male-presenting people will want to make sure they are either clean-shaven or that their beards look groomed and trimmed. Your “Duck Hunt” days are done.
If you need to glow up for less, visit a thrift store well in advance of your interview to find some business wear. If you’re really low on funds, most urban areas have clothes closet programs that will outfit you with a suit or other appropriate business attire; or you may have a friend your size who is willing to lend you clothes. If you’re doing this rather than buying new, leave lots of time to have your used or borrowed clothes dry cleaned so they smell and look fresh.
Show Up Early Or Right On Time
Timing is everything. You should ideally show up ten to fifteen minutes before your scheduled appointment time. Extend that to thirty minutes if there are security considerations, such as getting a visitor badge. You don’t want to show up too early and put pressure on the interviewer, but you absolutely do not want to be late. Most interviewers will be happy if a candidate shows up early, as long as they don’t press to be seen before their appointment time.
If circumstances arise that will make you late, call and see if you can reschedule the interview. Showing up late is not an option.
Treat All Staff Well
This should go without saying, but it is absolutely essential. Someone interviewing for a lower-level position will generally see the employees greeting them as equals and will treat them with courtesy and respect. However, some people interviewing for higher-level positions may “talk down” to receptionists, security personnel, and others they meet along the way. Police your tone and make sure you are treating every interaction as a vital touchpoint that is just as important as the interview itself.
Come Prepared With Answers and Documentation
You will be notified in advance if your in-person interview is simply an interview or if it will include skills-based questions that you need to answer. Since an interviewer’s time is limited, most skills-based testing will take place as part of the initial candidate screening process, but they may want to test your technical skills if there are particular ones they are concerned about. Make sure you have studied the latest developments in your profession and the company’s industry sector prior to the interview.
If you legitimately do not know an answer to a question, do not make it up. Interviewers know body language and dishonesty are bad looks. Simply say that you do not know, or let them know that you do not have a particular skill they are asking about but are a fast learner.
You’ll also want to bring extra copies of your resume and any supporting documents, such as copies of degrees and certifications. It will save your interviewer time if they need to make multiple copies, a nice touch they’ll appreciate.
There’s a lot of advice online about how you only have so much time at the start of the interview to impress the interviewer. You can throw that advice away, since most interviewers tend to ask important questions throughout the entire interview.
Plus, if you flub a question in the first five minutes, it will impact your confidence and may lead to poor performance in the rest of the interview if you buy into this bad advice. The only thing the interviewer will clock immediately is how professional you look, and if you’ve followed our advice above, you have nothing to worry about.
Don’t Stress - It Will Show
If you do all of the preparation we’ve shared here, there will be nothing to stress out about. Try to do something before your interview that helps soothe anxiety, such as buying yourself a treat you don’t eat or drink every day, or exercising if you have time. You want to exude confidence and positivity, not anxiety and stress. Make sure to get a good sleep the night before too.
There is an appreciable difference between a virtual interview and an in-person interview. An in-person interview gives a company a much better idea of your personality and how you will fit into the team. As with anything in life, someone who goes in prepared is going to do a much better job than someone who doesn’t.
Are you a human resources manager that is looking for an effective productivity monitoring solution? Prodoscore gives actionable data in a non-invasive tool that your employees can use for self-coaching, and that you can use for deeper insights. Like interviews, where we work is also in flux - Prodoscore can provide visibility into how your remote, hybrid or in-office team members contribute each day. Contact us for a demonstration today.
