Job interview tips and tricks

When you are one of the 10 to 20 candidates who were picked based on their resume or cover letter, a member of HR can call you spontaneously for an initial phone screening. This can take around 15 to 20 minutes. You will be asked questions so that they can assess if you have the basic skills for this position, if you are indeed interested, why you would like to take that particular job and what you hope to learn from it.

When you have been selected to be one of the last candidates for the job, you will be invited for a personal interview. Most likely, there will be multiple people present from the company/institute that will ask you what your assets are and how they can contribute to the work they are doing. Do not be intimidated if there is a panel of professionals before you, because you are not there because they think you are totally incapable of doing the job. Believe in yourself!

Save the job posting so you are able to come back to it even after the application date has already passed. It is possible that the posting will no longer be visible. When you read the job posting, you can already anticipate some questions that could be asked during the interview process. Be aware of the skills they are asking for and think about if and how they apply to you. However, the required skills are often not set in stone and you can still apply if you do not possess them all. Show them that you are eager to learn them and are willing to invest time in that (maybe even beforehand).

Look into the company or industry of the job application. See what kind of company they are. You can acquire quite some information by researching their website and looking at their presence online. This will give you a better idea of what kind of company you are applying to.

Use the information that is provided in the job posting to tailor your resume and cover letter. Be sure to highlight the skills in your letters that have been explicitly asked for.

Be sure that your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and has all your recent jobs and experiences stated. You can ask other people to attest to the fact that you are good in certain skills, e.g., you have great MATLAB skills.

See if you know anybody that already works in the company you are interested in or has some kind of experience such as doing an internship there. This could help you get a better picture of the environment of the company and help you decide if this is the right fit for you. In this way, you will get information that is normally not stated on their website. Another option, if you do not know someone from the company, is to reach out to a current employer and ask them to have a coffee with you so you can learn a bit more about the way the company works. This is not strange at all! This shows the company that you are really interested and want to know more about them.

Do not use a generic email and subject line that you use for every job application. Be sure to incorporate information of the company you are contacting in the email and use a clear subject line so that there is no confusion that this email is regarding a job application.

KSAO stands for Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and other characteristics. This is a very useful abbreviation to keep in mind when you are preparing your interview. Most likely, interview questions will be derived from the KSAOs. An indication of the KSAO’s could be found in the job description.

This will help you think critically about the different skills you have acquired that could be applied on this current job description. Make a list of major projects that you have worked on and link them to your KSAOs.

Be aware of the gaps in your CV or the lack of skills in a certain area. Think about the explanation you can give to why you do not have any experience in a certain direction and why you think that is not a concern.

Think about strengths that you want to highlight during the interview. What projects are you most proud of? Which internship is worth mentioning? Do not be too limited and also include committees that you have been on during your studies.

The STAR method is about answering questions by thinking about Situation, Task, Action and Results. Describe the scene and explain a specific situation and go into the goals and/or responsibilities. Next, mention the steps you took to address the situation and share what the results were.

Prepare questions that you would like to ask the interviewer. This could be about the number of vacation days, your salary, the working environment. You can also be critical. For example, the salary of a first year PhD student is around €2395, a sales representative earns around €2200-2500, while a data analyst gets around between €2200 and €2700 a month. Be aware that these incomes are your gross salary.

Your first impression also includes the clothes you are wearing the day of the interview. Be aware of how you come across to other people.

The best way to feel more confident in answering difficult or surprising questions is by practicing the interview a lot. This could be with a teacher, internship supervisor, friend or even a family member. That way, you will receive an array of different questions and you can think about the best response you can give.

It is not pleasant for the interviewee if they have to wait for you to arrive at the interview. Nobody likes to wait.

Be aware of how you behave when you are on your way to an interview. Sometimes interviewers ask the receptionist about their interaction with you and if you were friendly or not. It never hurts to make friends along the way and being nice does not cost you anything.

Even though you already sent them your resume and they most likely have looked at it, it is nice to bring a hard copy with you to the interview. That way, you can always easily refer to it or freshen up their memory.

When they do not expect a specific or precise answer to a question, use it to your own advantage to highlight a certain experience or skill that you think is very valuable and you would like them to know about.

Send them an email a couple of days after the interview to thank them for the opportunity of having an interview with them. That way, you will be fresh in their minds again and they will reflect on the interview you have had with them.

You are also allowed to ask the interviewers questions about the company. See if it is a good fit for you. Ask how the working environment is. Maybe ask about their supervision style? The interview is also for you to get some answers!