Research the Person, Not Just the Organization
When you’re looking for a new job in DC and getting ready for your job interview, the tendency is to research the organization you’ll be working for. You’re not wrong as you definitely want to be ready to talk about the organization. But while you’re researching the team, it’s also a good idea to get to know your interviewer. Even if the person interviewing you won’t be your direct boss, it’s still a good idea to know what matters to them. Here area few ways to do that.
Search for common ground. Finding and then sharing things in common will lock you in with an interviewer. It helps you share a similar language and build rapport. LinkedIn is an excellent resource for finding commonalities such as attending the same university, working for the same organization, or volunteering for similar causes. Knowing these things helps engage in small talk and sets the tone for the rest of your interview. It helps breed familiarity.
See things from their perspective. If you want to connect with your interviewer and anticipate what they may ask you, step into their shoes for a bit. See what you can find online about them. Perhaps you’ll locate an article that has a few quotes from them that will tell you about their interests. LinkedIn is again a good resource for understanding this person’s career path so you can guess what they’ll want to ask you about. For example, if their path was more business or if it was technical, that could affect what they want to know about you.
Ask around. If you know other people in your field, ask them if they’ve heard of your interviewer. One of the best resources you can have to understand how someone thinks is another person’s firsthand account of them. You might ask around about the personal experiences people have with your interviewer. An example is what they could tell you that you wouldn’t find online. You might hear about old stories or from someone who knew the interviewer in a past life.
When you make this attempt to connect with your interviewer, you demonstrate how interested you are in the company. Not everyone will take the time to do this kind of research. Making this extra effort communicates that you are concerned about making a good impression and that you’re willing to go the extra mile to land the position. So, when you are fortunate enough to get called for an interview, make sure you take this time to do a deep dive about your interviewer and find out what they are working on and what matters to them.
Useful for DC. Find out your interviewr. What do they work on. What matters to them.
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