Employability 101 - Interviews

You updated your resume with your new grade, work & voluntary experience, skills and achievements. Next, you prepared a cover letter that said more about your background, interests and objectives. Then you heaved a deep sigh, said a prayer and pressed send. It took forever, but the email finally came in. “Congratulations! You have been shortlisted for an interview…” or “Thank you for your continued interest. We are pleased to invite you for a chat…”

Congratulations! You have earned yourself an interview. Now what? What happens next? It is often a rollercoaster of emotions from this point, isn’t it? You start to worry. It is time to meet in person. Now, your recruiters will know who you really are, behind the fine print of your touché resume and cover letter. What should you wear? How should you talk? What could they possibly ask you? Once again, David has advice for you. I am no HR executive or professional candidate, but I have gathered the following tips over time. Welcome!

• Research!

Writing, speaking, everything should begin with research. You need information. Research will help you answer questions correctly and impress your interviewers. It will also help your confidence. You speak more confidently when you know more. To research for an interview, browse the internet for information and note important points in your jotter. Browse as much as you want but note the following important points. And remember to revise them at least 30 minutes before your interview.

What should you research?

• The basics - practice areas and people

Simply, find out what the firm/company does. Browse the organization’s website to learn about its services, units, divisions. What goods does it sell? What services does it provide? What industry does it do business in? How much money does it make? What deals has it closed? Who are its affiliates? Who are its competitors? When was it founded? What has its trajectory been? What are its mission and vision? Where are its offices located? Who works at this organization? Who are the partners, directors, managers, associates? What do they look like? Learn a few names. What is the hierarchy? What are the workplace policies?

• Commercial awareness

In Employability 101 - Skills, I used a definition from The Cambridge Business English Dictionary. Commercial awareness is the knowledge of how businesses make money, what customers want, what problems there are in a particular area of business. The bottom-line of every business is money. The principal objective for commercial lawyers, for instance, is how to help clients make money, save money and remain competitive.

Commercial awareness extends to learning about the organization, market and industry. How does it work? How does it make money? What does it care about? Then, consider your role. How can you add value? How can you make life better for clients? Fully understand the trading environment it operates in. Who are this organization’s competitors? How are they performing, relatively? Who are the organization’s target market? Understand the political, economic, and social framework within which the business operates.

If you are applying for a role in a law firm, you would want to read about recent laws and policies. For instance, everyone who was interviewed in the first quarter of 2021 was asked about the Finance Act. Okay, almost everyone.

• Publications

While you can learn the basics in a few hours, commercial awareness requires time. You can only develop commercial awareness by staying up to date with industry developments. You may subscribe to journals, periodicals, blogs, feeds, financial reports, and make time to read them on a regular basis. You may also use social networking sites like LinkedIn to stay in touch with news and professionals.

These days, the important companies/firms are active on social media. Surely, you should follow an organization you are trying to enter. More organizations, in a bid to be perceived as thought leaders, publish articles on their websites. Or in newspapers and periodicals. Or they maintain mailing lists through which they send newsletters. Read! Subscribe! Publications will inform you of the most recent happenings. You can answer difficult questions and use incredibly relevant information. You will seem aware and keen.

• Common questions

You must prepare ready made answers for the common questions. Come on, you know them. You will be asked to talk about yourself. You will be asked about the details in your resume. Oh, you must know and understand the items in your resume. Be ready to defend them. And by defend, I mean speak comprehensively, demonstratively about things you have summarized in your one-pager. Whatever you cannot defend, do not include it in your resume. Whatever you include, have a mental three-paragraphed expatiation in your head. And try not to speak about things you do not really know. Come on, you have the time to either exclude dark areas or to learn more about them.

You will be asked about your achievements. You will be asked about your interest in the organization. Why do you wish to work there? You will be asked about what you will contribute to the organization. You might be asked “so why should we hire you?” You will be asked, “so do you have any questions for us?” And of course, you must have questions. Come on, you know these.

So, prepare smooth, intelligent answers already. Do not wait until you are asked. Do not test your intelligence at an interview unless you absolutely have to. Rehearsed answers are always better, especially if you know how to recite them casually – as if they were not in fact, rehearsed!

• Dress well!

Evidently. Of course, you should dress well. But evident usually leads to complacent. We all know what formal dressing looks like. When in doubt, dress as formally as you can. Combine clothing that goes together. Do not wear too may colors. An easy way out of dressing dilemmas is to have a matching suit, white shirt, tie and black shoes that you can turn to. That will do. Your dressing says a lot about your worth. You want to be worth the role you are applying for. No matter how broke you are, no serious recruiter will choose pity over value. If you do not look like you belong, you will not be hired.

• Arrive early!

It is important to arrive at least 30 minutes before your interview. But perhaps, not earlier than an hour before. Especially if your interview is the first business of the day. There’s no award for “first to come” and you don’t want to make staff uncomfortable. But you would want to arrive early enough to be ushered properly. You would want to study your environment, make yourself comfortable and prepare yourself for the final time. If Lagos traffic dealt with you, you would want to wipe your face and use some air conditioning.

Even for virtual interviews, be on time. And this may be complicated because of video conference apps. Download the app early and familiarize yourself. Open your email and click the URL early. It is okay to wait outside the call for your interviewers. Consider doing a sound and video check before your interview. How good is your location? Is the camera quality great? How is your audibility? What about background noises? Do you have enough data? Too many things can go wrong during virtual interviews.

• Introductions

From the beginning of your interview, show how much of a pleasure it is to be there.

Look, here is what happened. Your interviewers had/have important work to do. And they were doing this work, before HR sent them a reminder of your interview session. They have to spend the next 30 minutes with you, the amateur they know little about. But they have been entrusted with the momentous task of deciding whether or not you join the firm. It is not the worst thing, but they are not exactly thrilled to be there. No matter what they say. So, make your interview a happy place.

Say hello cheerfully, separately to everyone at the table. Remember everyone’s name. Call them Mr. X or Madam Y (surnames only). If they insist on a first name basis, then you may call them just that. Look alive. Of course, it helps if you look/smell nice. If they stretch their hands, shake firmly. If you have sweaty palms, dry them. If they are dry, moisturize. Don't be annoying.

• “Tell us about yourself”

Now that we have gotten preliminary matters out of the way, let us discuss questions. “Tell me about yourself” is usually the first one. Interviewers say they only want to know you but they actually expect an elevator pitch. Sell yourself. Focus on the impressive things. I will not give samples for other answers because I do not want the many people who read this article to dub them. Authenticity matters. It is paramount that you be yourself. Do not choose a new accent or style overnight. Everybody knows the person who is faking it. Anyway, this very question cannot have identical answers. Because we are all different people. So, here.

Begin with who you are. What are the basics? Say them quickly. Then, what do you do? Where did you school? What did you achieve there? Where have you worked? What was your role? What are your hobbies? Add something fun. Laugh. What are you up to these days? What is your passion? What are your objectives? What’s next for you? Conclude with how the role you have applied for is the very next step in your career, and how you can add value to your firm. Try not to exceed 45 seconds. Rehearse your answer. Retain the essentials (that do not simply restate your resume) and say them in a way that saves time but affords you audibility. Remember, whatever you say should be relevant to the role. You may just add one novel detail to be interesting.

• Answering questions
• Stay gracious and cheerful.

I am saying this again because it is quite important.

It is important to stay unruffled and hopeful. Keep all negative thoughts away. They do not dislike you; they are not trying to stifle you. They are trying to decide whether they should hire you. Hiring the best candidates is in their best interest. If you are one of the best candidates, you should show that throughout.

Smile, laugh, easily. Particularly, when one of your interviewers has attempted humor. Never be more formal than your interviewer. Everyone would rather have a fun time. Also, some interviews will test your grit – how you can carry on under scrutiny. Stay gracious. Take every question with grace. It doesn’t matter how badly you think you have done, carry on with fresh air. Never think “what’s the point?” during an interview. You have forever to sigh and curse. Be calm for 30 minutes.

• Give yourself time to think.

When you are asked a question you do not understand, politely ask your interviewer to repeat it. Give yourself time to hear, understand and think. Hearing and understanding are underrated. Do not sacrifice them for an eagerness to reproduce something you have prepared. Even when you heard the question clearly, you may still ask for reiteration. When you speak, never feel pressured to go on quickly. You may space out your syllables and words, so you can think in between, or so you do not say rubbish. It is okay to pause and organize your thoughts, before opening your mouth.

•  Pre-empt, talk about what you know.

The best candidates are not always the most knowledgeable, they are usually great at dwelling on their strengths. There are ways to even control your own interview. First, avoid things you do not know before they become a topic. No matter what you prepared for, most questions in an interview will be follow-up questions. While you respond to question A, your response will usually form the basis for question B. So, while you answer question A, try not to mention things you cannot say more about. Instead, pre-empt. Before your interview, you may pre-empt the talking points. Prepare brief answers to possible questions, as well as answers to questions that would naturally arise from your brief answers.

You may then control the conversation. This means that you would not give all your information at once. You would want to give brief answers that open you up to other questions you can sufficiently answer. You would wait for your interviewers to take the bait. They would go on and ask you these apparent questions, and you would go on to showoff even more of your “knowledge”. They would think it is all impromptu, that they are still in charge and you happen to be informed. Meanwhile, they are not. You are controlling the interview by tactically divulging information. 

• Sometimes, it is all about process.

Sometimes, questions are not about correct answers, but thought processes. Sometimes, your interviewers want to hear you think aloud. So, go on and do that. Some questions cannot reasonably have available, accurate answers. Do not flop by keeping mute until the answers miraculously come to you. Or quietly resign. Begin with what you know and narrow your answer down to the smallest range. But do it overtly, so your interviewers can assess your analysis. If anyone asks you, “how many footballs can fit into this room?”, they do not want an accurate answer. They want you to estimate the diameter of a ball, the area of the room, and so on.

• Concede, do not dig your grave!

Finally, no matter how well you prepare, some questions will leave you dumbfounded. It is okay to ask the interviewer to repeat themselves. It is okay to pause and think. It is okay to show your thought process. It is okay to say something about the little you know. But it is also okay to concede. Sometimes, you don’t know. And that’s okay. And the earlier you admit it, the better. Your honesty and humility will be appreciated (it also takes confidence to admit ignorance), and you will spare more time for questions you can actually answer.

You can say “I am sorry, I do not have the answer to that question right now. But I am fairly certain that I would if I looked it up for 5 minutes.” They will not give you 5 minutes to look it up. But there, you have shown your enthusiasm and resourcefulness. Do not go on and on, trying to redeem yourself. If you have stopped making sense, stop talking. More ignorant, stubborn talking will not earn you favors.

Do not argue with interviewers, except they obviously want you to. They want you to if they keep asking for your opinion. If it seems like they want you to admit their correctness or superiority, do just that. “Oh, I see your point now. That’s right.” “I have no experience with this, I must agree with your informed opinion” are examples of submissions that should work.

•  “Do you have any questions?”

Yes, you must. Have questions for them. Ask something refreshing, informed, useful. This is your homework. Go and google 20 questions you can ask your interviewers.

• Now, the icing.

Here’s a trick that works.

When the interview ends, thank everyone for their time (call their names), tell them how much of a pleasure the interview was. After the interview, send a follow up email thanking your interviewers. Then, include/attach brief answers to all the questions you couldn’t answer during the interview. Oh, you will stand out.

But now that I have divulged this to everyone, I don’t know if you will.

Anyway, good luck with your interview.

I hope you get the job.

Sapa dey street.

Omo.