Prepare for Job Interview

Lifting Key Words from the Job Posting

Every business has their own list of buzz words that they’re currently excited about, and these often make their way into job descriptions. As you’re browsing job postings, print out those that you’re interested in. Then take the time to go through each with a highlighter to point out key phrases. Here’s a tip: this is exactly what many potential employers will do to your resume!

There will be several times when you see a job posting emphasize a particular skill or even a piece of software that is important. All you have to do for each job you apply for is a quick read through to make sure you remembered to hit those points before shooting off your resume. Simply seeing these things mentioned will make you resonate as a candidate.

2. Create clear categories

Three common formats are:

• Industry-specific – For example, if you’re applying for a project or position at a hospital, lead with your healthcare samples.
• Media specialty – If the client is looking for someone trained in a particular medium, it makes sense to categorize your work by type, like illustrations, branding work, email campaigns, etc.
• Chronological – This works best for entry-level creatives. Start with your most recent work to emphasize your professional progress.

3. Showcase your creative style

Companies and hiring managers want to get a sense of who you are, from your style and sensibility to your personality and passions. Make sure you:

• Are being “you” while also highlighting your adaptability.
• Match your digital portfolio design to your personal brand; be consistent, look-and-feel-wise, with all job-hunting materials, like business cards and resumes.
• Approach your own portfolio as if it were a client project; this means understanding your target audience as well as how you’d like them to experience your work.

Do Your Research

Do you have a job interview coming up in the next few days? Company research is the best way to learn about what the company does and what they look for in a candidate. You’ll also be better prepared to answer questions and position yourself as the best candidate. As you prepare for your upcoming interview, here are several things you should learn about an employer:

The organization’s mission and vision

You might have an idea of what the organization does (for example, providing after school programs to teenagers) but you should also know why it does this work (to close the achievement gap) and the organization’s values (direct communication, including parents in decision making). Having this key background information will allow you to better explore your role and experience in helping the organization fulfill its mission.

Key players of the organization

The key players within an organization are those employees who hold important positions in the company. These individuals can be managers, department directors, and especially the CEO/president of the company. You can find out who the key players of the organization by reading the employer’s “About” page and employee bios. It’s also a good idea to check out what these individuals say on Twitter and LinkedIn to learn what employees say about the company online.

News and recent events about the employer.

When you go into a job interview, it’s always a good idea to be knowledgeable about the company’s latest news and updates. Most companies have a page on their website dedicated to press releases and events. This is a great source for you to find out information regarding the company’s latest news and updates.

Clients, products, and services

As a potential employee, you need to have an idea of the type of work you’d be doing once hired. By having a general idea of who the company’s clients are and the types of products and services are offered, you’ll be more prepared for the interview, too.

Community Interaction

Somewhere along the application process, someone you’re interviewing with has likely Googled you and scoured your social media accounts. You should return the favor by finding out what the company has been up to lately.

Aside from the news that comes up when you Google the company (which you should also read), corporate blogs are gold mines, especially for younger companies that are growing. Whether it’s a post welcoming new staffers to the sales team or detailing new features of a recent software update, this is the kind of stuff you should know about.

LinkedIn is also a good tool for learning about what kind of news the company communicates—and therefore wants you to know. Check the company page on LinkedIn and see what kind of updates are featured. Is there a promotion for Mother’s Day, or a statement on how the sales team exceeded earning expectations? Either way, this will show you what types of things to bring up in conversation. (Oh, and while you’re on LinkedIn, check out the profiles of the people you’ll be interviewing with. Make sure you have your profile set so that they can see that you’ve viewed their profiles. This might seem counterintuitive, but it actually shows that you care and are doing your due diligence before the interview.)

The person interviewing you

Finally, you should find out who the interviewer will be. This will give you an advantage during the interview because you’ll have a better chance of connecting with them and sparking a meaningful conversation.

Now it might be a little tricky trying to find out who the interviewer is, but you should be able to locate the person’s name with a little investigation. First, try locating the person’s name from email you received regarding the interview. If you can’t find any information, reply to the email politely requesting the name of the person who’ll interview you.

Once you acquire the interviewer’s name, do some research on LinkedIn and Twitter. This will help you learn about the interviewer’s background, their position with the company, and even some common interests you both share.