Let’s just state the obvious: you can’t land your dream job or even a good job without a stellar interview. Once you get the invitation for an interview, you’ll want to do all of the dirty work of preparing beforehand, so you don’t leave your career advancement up to chance. Job interviews can be tiresome and nerve-wrecking, but you can levitate some of that stress by remembering that practice brings confidence. Regardless of how many days or hours you have before the big day, I’ll be sharing how to prepare for a job interview in today’s post.
Why It Matters
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you know that right now there are over 15,000 new graduates every year. The pharmacist job market is very competitive right now because essentially everyone looks the same on paper: a decent GPA, organizational involvement, work experience, and maybe even a certificate or two. The only way to stand out in the job application process is to nail a job interview, which can only happen through the proper prep work.
How to Prepare for a Job Interview
Develop Your Narrative
One of the most common mistakes that job candidates do is allow the job interviewer to guide and direct the conversation. While you may think that you only need to answer the questions that you are given, you should be guiding the conversation to showcase why you are the perfect candidate for the role. In order to do that, you need to have a strong grasp of what the role entails and how that role fits within the company.
Research the company and the position
The first step in preparing for a job interview is to research the company and the position in detail. You’ll want to understand how the role fits into the overall company, what department or specialty you’ll be working in, and other deciding factors. This is also the time to understand the job description, inside and out, so you can understand how your skills correlate to the necessary tasks.
Some of the questions I like to answer before the interview are:
- What kind of company is it? (hospital, clinic, insurance company, etc)
- What is the mission and values of the company?
- What services do they offer?
- What kind of patients do they see? How many beds (if it’s a hospital)?
- Any recent accomplishments or news?
Connect the dots
Once you feel comfortable with the job description and the company, you can now start to understand and connect the dots of what skills you can bring to the table. At this point, print out the job description and write on the side any skills or accomplishments that could relate to what they are asking for. Continue doing this until the sidelines are full with details. Nothing is too small or large to be included in this exercise.
After finishing this up, you’ll start to notice some things standing out and some skills seem to be a better match for the position than others. Turn those accomplishments or skills that you picked out and turn them into stories that your interviewer can understand. Not all interviewers are going to have a background in pharmacy, so you may need to tailor your story to your audience.
Rehearse for common questions
An easy way to prepare for a job interview is to rehearse your answers to common interview questions, such as the dreaded “tell me about yourself” and “tell me about a time when…”. While they may not be your favorite questions to answer, they are highly likely to be asked of you so it’s better to prepare ahead of time.
When answering interview questions, try to utilize the STAR method as much as possible. The STAR method is an interview technique that helps you answer behavioral questions in a way that discusses the specific situation, task, action, and result. Instead of rambling about a story, use the STAR method to structure your story that allows you to get across the point quickly and effectively. Something that I like to do is to is rehearse the different stories that could answer the most common questions that I’ve thought of. An example of this could be practicing a story that showcases your leadership style, a story that showcases how you manage angry customers or even a blurb of how you handle work stress.
Brainstorm your potential questions
When the interviewer asks you if you have any questions at the interview, you should always say “yes”. I say this because your interview is also your opportunity to scope out your potential new employer as well. Whatever questions that you ask should be tailored to the things that matter to you the most, such as PTO, work-life balance, etc. Brainstorming your questions beforehand is such an easy way to prep for a job interview.
Some good questions that you may want to consider asking are:
- What is your ideal candidate for this role?
- If I were hired, what would a typical day look like?
- What makes someone successful in this position?
- How do you measure success in this role? How often are employees evaluated?
- What are the next steps? When can I expect to hear from you?
- What is the best part of your job and the hardest part?
- What are the opportunities for advancement here?
- What do you love about [Company Name]?
Showcase your personality
Don’t forget to showcase your personality despite your nervousness! People want to hire people who they can either relate too, so you’ll want to let your personality shine during the interview. You can easily do this by adding in jokes, smiling during the interview, and being excited about the overall conversation.
Wear the right outfit
Regardless of whether your interview is virtual or in-person, first impressions are very important and can be a deciding factor during the interview process. To leave a good first impression, I would suggest dressing to impress by wearing proper professional attire, such as a blazer and button up. Depending on what kind of role that you’re applying for, you may be able to get away with sprinkling in your personality with accessories or patterns. But be mindful and tasteful so you don’t go overboard.
Practice!
Just like anything, practice makes perfect, and nothing is different when it comes to your interview. Practice answering common interview questions in front of a mirror, a friend, or even a career coach. Because here’s the tea: when you practice enough times, your stories and narratives flow easily, and you end up being more relaxed during the interview. Another side effect of practicing is that instead of worrying about your answers, you can be more engaged in the conversation, which is something that interviewers look for.
As you prepare for a job interview, I hope that these tips help you land your dream job at your dream company. Don’t forget that you deserve happiness in your life, including in your professional career. What is your #1 interview tip that has helped you in landing a new job?
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