The day before:
Read the Company history on their website.
Do a Google search on the interviewer you’re going to see to check if there are articles on them. Come prepared to mention what you have read to prove you did your homework on the company. Bring the Articles, in fact, put them in the binder \ folder I mention below.
Google the executives on LinkedIn so you have knowledge of their C-Level management
Write down 10 intelligent questions, start this now, it's not as easy as you think. You can add and change questions until you have 10 intelligent ones. The goal is 10.
Make 3-4 good looking binders or folders and put 3-4 copies of your resume in them. Also, awards, praises, references, client lists, short stories of strategic accomplishments and problem-solving, graphs, those are great!
Make lists up that you can put in the folder, example, list of clients you did RFP's for, competitors you want to ask about how they impact the company or are similar, things you can do that you know will improve the workflow that you have done before or anything else you can think of….. Ideas!
Offer to go over what is in it! Duh! Page by Page, QUICKLY!!!! and then just leave it for them.
Offer to leave a copy of the binder \ folder, as many as he likes for the interviewer.
(This binder idea is super key, so make sure it looks fantastic, and no one does it, you will stand out, and there could be a very good chance you will be referred to as the one who Ace's it as setting an example, and your folder will get passed around, hence the idea of a few folders to make and leave.)
The interview itself:
Always dress like you are meeting the most important person in the world. First crisp and clean professional impressions cannot be undervalued.
Take a notepad.
Write on it somewhere in secret, don't talk too much. Listening is more important than talking. This very important!
Don't jump to ask those questions as they speak because some of the questions are answered in the interview. If you think of any more questions during your interview that were not addressed, write them down.
When the interviewer is done, then you ask your questions. Maybe some of those questions were answered during the interview so you don't have to ask them anymore. Maybe new ones came about that you wrote down. Now is the time to find out.
This is not the time to ask about pay, benefits, HR related questions, PTO, insurance. The hiring manager cares about filling the position, you should care about what the position is and what you will be doing and for who and finding out about the company. Your recruiter can get you HR information upfront or at the end. Most of those things are standard anyway, and you don't want to come across caring more about vacation than work.
The main idea behind the questions, writing them down, is so that you have something to talk about when it goes silent, and sometimes it does, and you don't want an awkward interview,… that is the last thing you want.
Of course, it also makes you look smart and detailed. Yes, you also want to look smart, but this is your time to get information too. One of the worst things you can do in life is waste your precious time on earth, make your career look bad by job hopping, and take a job purely for income, there must be an understanding of what you do, for who, and a cultural mix. Find out now.
Hope this helps! You're going to nail it!
Darius & Company
