3 Steps to Prepare for 3 Job Interviews in 3 Days

Sometimes when it rains, it pours. Last week, I was fortunate enough to land 3 interviews in as many days. Other job-seeking friends are reporting an increase in activity too. In some cases, it is because firms want to spend their remaining Q4 budget by bringing someone on board. In other cases, the companies are gearing up for their Q1 hires now. Whatever the business rationale, I welcome the opportunity to interview, although it does require some pre-work. Here are the 3 fundamental steps that I use to prepare for interviews:

 

1. Read All Available Public Domain Information

 

Obviously, the Internet is a great tool for collecting general data about the prospective company. To dig deeper, consider a subscription business information service such as OneSource. Thanks to their high-level overview of one particular firm's financials, board members and recent performance results, I gleaned useful information about a large, family-owned business.

 

2. Reach Out to People Who Have Worked at the Firm

 

Of the past employees I spoke with, most were balanced and neutral in the assessments of their former employer. Of course, some contacts departed the company on unfavorable terms, so you may wish to take their perspectives with a grain of salt.

 

In these informational interviews, I try to understand their views about the company’s culture and team dynamics. I discovered that one firm has had very high turnover. What would spark these departures even in these economic times? I was told that some of the departing folks will actually be rehired as consultants, and that this is essentially the firm’s “growth” plan. Hmmm, my gut is telling me to be careful. I will dig around more before another round of interviews with this particular company.

 

3. Check Out the Firm’s Competition

 

To round out my intelligence gathering, I also look at the companies’ competitors. While competitors will not speak to me about strategy or other proprietary information, they are more than happy to expound on their products. In preparing for an interview with one of the companies, I stumbled across a major patent case that reached the Supreme Court. Given my limited legalese, I turned to a patent lawyer who happens to be in my job search networking club. He did a little pro bono patent law definition for me, and now I really feel that I've turned over every possible stone.

 

The pre-interview work isn’t complete until I polish my questions and make sure that my career portfolio is presentable. While time consuming as these preparations are, they all paid off. I've secured second-round interviews in all 3 cases. That’s a good feeling!

 

What techniques do you use to prepare for a first or second interview?

 

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