The key to a successful interview is preparation. It’s never easy being put on the spot and an interview is a surefire way to be in that position. You don’t want to be trying to think of examples during the interview. Review your past and make some notes to help you recall your past successes and challenges during the interview. Have anecdotal examples prepared. To help, prepare answers to these commonly asked interview questions before you interview and practice answering them.
- Can you tell me a little about yourself?
- What do you know about our firm?
- Why do you want to work here?
- Why are you looking to leave your current position?
- What are some of you most significant professional accomplishments?
Try to answer in detailed yet concise responses that focus on specific examples and accomplishments. We recommend 1-3 minutes response time for each question. A good tool for remembering your responses is to put them into a story form that you can tell in the interview. Do not try and memorize responses, but instead develop talking points.
Remember STARCH when applicable:
- Situation (Explain the situation surrounding your example)
- Task (What task were you trying to accomplish?)
- Action (What actions did you take to accomplish the task?)
- Result (What were the results of this action?)
- Change (What would you do differently this time because of what you learned?)
It’s okay to jot down notes in your notebook to reference during the interview, just don’t read your answers straight from your notebook! Make eye contact and tell your story.
