How To Showcase Yourself During An Interview

Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
How to showcase yourself during an interview

How To Showcase Yourself During An Interview

You’ve landed an interview and now you’re preparing to make sure you are effectively communicating your value.  But how do you do that with confidence and ease? We’ve got a few strategies to help you nail that interview as well as showcase yourself in the best way possible.

sarah johnstonOur CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a Soulcast Media | LIVE event on LinkedIn where she interviewed the Founder of The Briefcase Coach, Sarah Johnston. 

They shared key tips and personal experiences confidently communicating to build career success. This Soulcast Media Live event is brought to you by our amazing sponsors at NeedThat™

NeedThat™ is a modern independent publishing company that wants to cut through the noise of everyday consumerism.

The best products are the ones that are referred to us by our friends and family, people who we can trust. NeedThat is connecting our readers to make smarter and informed purchasing decisions.

1. Do Your Research

If you want to have a stellar interview, you have to do your research. In addition to researching the person who will be interviewing you, you will need to gather information about the company.  

A lot of times job seekers will not spend a lot of time digesting the job description. Which is a big mistake.

A more careful look at the job description is one of the best places to start. It provides a roadmap for the interview. In fact, a lot of the questions during the job interview will come from the bullet points in the job duties and requirements. 

So use the job description as a tool as you are preparing for the interview. 

 

2. Customize Your Answers

how to showcase yourself during an interviewAs you walk into your interview, think about what the organization cares about, what their pain points are, and ensure you are tailoring your responses to what the interviewer is hoping to hear. This is how they’ll resonate with you.

For example, in your ‘tell me about yourself’ question that most companies ask at the very beginning – have your elevator pitch in mind already.

If you know the company is looking for someone who is highly organized and is excellent with excel – you may want to strategically lead with examples that show you are highly organized and can use excel perfectly. That way, during the first couple of minutes of the interview, you’ve already piqued their interest because they’ve heard content about you that resonates with the type of person they want to hire. 

 

3. Showcase Yourself Without Bragging

So much of what you say about yourself is in the tone and how you present the information. People with high emotional intelligence are very thoughtful about the way that they present themselves and how they communicate their accomplishments. 

For example, if you are a team leader, it is important to communicate your accomplishments by attributing your management skills. This means showcasing that you had a team that supported your efforts and vision. When you are talking about your accomplishments, it is important to use words such as, ‘we’ and ‘us.’

Another way you can showcase yourself without coming across as bragging is by quantifying your work. Bring up numbers and examples. If you have numbers to back up your performance, those are facts that can speak for themselves.

 

 

4. Interview Trap 

how to showcase yourself during an interview“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

In the interview, Sarah was asked about how to respond to the common interview question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years”.  She expressed that this question can be such a trap if you aren’t careful! 

The dreaded trap question. Do NOT fall into this trap. 

You may think this is the time to talk about your dream of owning your own business, or that you want to go back to school. While that may be your five-year plan, don’t say this in your interview! If the hiring manager hears that you want to do something completely outside of their company, you are giving them a reason to not hire you.

Instead, when answering this question – even if you don’t foresee yourself staying with the company for five or more years, think about how that job can help you grow.

For example – if you are interviewing for a social media manager position, you can say that you want to level up your social media management skills and hone your understanding of the algorithms and how you admire this company and how they’ve navigated the changes that social media has thrown at them.  You can also point out that in five years, you hope to learn and grow in your role and potentially be in a leadership role managing the marketing department. 

 

5. What Questions Should You Ask At The End Of An Interview?

At the end of most interviews, the hiring manager will ask if you have any questions.  This is a great opportunity for you to remind the hiring manager why you would be a perfect fit.

Questions to consider asking: 

  • Ask questions to show that you were listening.
  • Ask questions that demonstrate that you’ve done your research. 
  • Ask about the culture within your potential department 

By asking follow-up questions at the end of your interview, you are ensuring that this interview is a two-way conversation and that you are also making sure that this job is a good fit for you.

 

It’s also key to remember to bring your energy and enthusiasm even at the end of an interview.  Express how grateful you are, how happy you are to have had the opportunity to interview with them. You can also do a quick recap of what you enjoyed about the interview. 

If you would like to see the full LIVE version of Jessica and Sarah’s conversation, check out Jessica’s Youtube Channel.

__

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

  1. Discover your communications style so you know where to start. Over 4,000 people have found theirs here.
  2. Attend our monthly communication workshop to build communications confidence (new topics: public speaking, advocating for yourself, building credibility, etc) here.
  3. Get your brand in front of 43k+ people by sponsoring our newsletter or Soulcast Media | LIVE LinkedIn events [contact: hello@soulcastmedia.com]

Related articles

More Articles