Your marketing efforts will eventually lead to job interviews. To succeed in interviewing - and land the offer - you must demonstrate why you are the best candidate for the job. Preparing well for interviews requires a thorough understanding of the position and company, awareness of the company’s interview process and who controls the hiring, as well as a comfort level with various interview formats (where and how the interview is conducted.) Rigorous attention to detail is advised at every step.

Preparing for interviews is a complex process and talking it through with a coach can be invaluable.

Understand the Process. When you are invited to interview be sure to ask about the overall interviewing process. Often a company will conduct a short “screening” interview to determine if you fit the basic requirements of the job before revealing the full interview process. You’ll want to know how many interviews the company plans to conduct, the types of the interviews, whether the interviews will be in person or on the telephone, who will be conducting the interviews, and what to expect in the follow-up or decision-making phase.

Research. Before the interview do research to learn about the industry, the company, issues they face and the people you will be meeting. Understand the job requirements and employer's needs and wants. The company's website is a good place to start, but don't forget to tap your network and use tools like LinkedIn to find information about the people you will talk with and what is valued by the organization.

Anticipate questions. Look at the job description carefully, list out the requirements and think about what they might ask you. Talk to people who have been through the process about what to expect. Glassdoor.com provides user-reported interview questions for hundreds of companies. Click here for a list sample interview questions obtained from Darden student interviews.

Preparing the Answers. Match your qualifications and differentiators with the requirements and the anticipated questions. Get ready to talk in depth about your relevant experiences and skills and how they fit with the company, its culture, the team and the role. The opening question “Tell me about yourself ” (and its many variants) requires particular attention – the best answers will be concise (less than 2 minutes) and will not only highlight your background but also emphasize why you are a great fit for the role.

Practice the Interview. Practicing an interview, also known as “mock interviewing” is a very effective way to prepare for questions. Equally important to practicing your answers out loud is getting actionable feedback from a qualified interviewer.

Important tips to follow to ensure a successful interview include:

Arriving Appropriately– make a positive first impression by dressing a notch above the standard apparel (when in doubt about the dress code, ask beforehand), arriving early, and greeting everyone you encounter confidently.

Building rapport– the “small talk” that often starts your first encounter with an interviewer is a good way to build rapport; be prepared with some relevant and positive topics (not the weather!) to engage the conversation.

Answering Questions – regardless of the interview format or type, follow these general tips:

·         Listen - It's important to listen carefully to the interviewer's questions, answering all questions to the best of your ability. Candidates often have a tendency to ramble and not provide the "meaty" answer the interviewer is looking for, so listen to exactly what is being asked.

·         Focus - Listen carefully to the question as it is asked. A helpful strategy is to repeat the question as you begin your response. This gives you an opportunity to focus your thoughts and it also marks a definite beginning of your answer.

·         Give Concise Answers - Be succinct and to the point. If your answer drifts to another topics or is too long it leaves the interviewer with the impression that you are either unfocused or unable to give an appropriate response. Use smart segues in your answer to bring the topic back to job opening under consideration. And use concluding sentences which summarize your answer and signals the end of your response (or sometimes ask back to the interviewer “Did I answer your question?)..

·         Summarize Up Front- Deliver the central point at the beginning of your answer, then begin a full explanation or description. The average individual listens for only 30-45 seconds at a time, so get your point across quickly and succinctly.

·         Outline Format - Presenting your responses in outline form can be very effective. For example, if you are asked, "Why are you interested in our company?", a direct and effective format for your response is: "I want to work for your company for three reasons: Reason A is... Reason B is... and Reason C is..."

·         Ask clarifying questions – if you don’t completely understand a question, rephrase it back to the interviewer and check for accuracy (“So that I’m clear on your question, you’d like to know ____, is that right?”); this technique can also give you an opportunity to gather your thoughts when you are unsure of how to begin your answer.

·         Outline Format - Presenting your responses in outline form can be very effective. For example, if you are asked, "Why are you interested in our company?", a direct and effective format for your response is: "I want to work for your company for three reasons: Reason A is... Reason B is... and Reason C is..."

Closing Questions – you will often be asked “do you have any questions for me?” by your interviewer. Be prepared to ask intelligent, relevant questions that show you've done your research, that you've listened during the interview and that you are concerned with pertinent issues.

On Being Nervous - If you find yourself nervous during the interview, breathe deeply. Another trick is to "ground" yourself by noticing the feeling of your feet on the floor, or your hands on your lap. If you need a few moments to think while you formulate your answer, take them. It's okay to break eye contact; in fact, most people look away while they are thinking. Even if you have prepared your answer and you know exactly what you are going to say, it's still important to pause and be reflective. Otherwise you may appear "canned".

After the interview be sure to:

·         Write Down Notes
Immediately make notes about the position, each interview, and follow-up instructions. Jot down what you feel went well, and not-so well during the interview, and any skills you did not have a chance to discuss or expand upon. Your notes will be useful in writing thank you letters.

·         Evaluate the Interview
What questions were the most difficult? How did you feel? Is there anything you failed to communicate that they still need to know? Keeping track of the questions you were asked, especially those that you did not answer well will prove to be very useful in the practice and preparation for subsequent interviews.

·         Send Thank you letters
Snail mail or email, typed or handwritten, promptly send a thank you note! You may use this as an opportunity to reiterate (or introduce) a few key points to sell your background. If you interviewed with several individuals, make sure each person's letter is unique. Sincerely compliment the interviewer or his/her company, express your interest in the position and restate the follow-up action that was agreed to during the interview. Click here to view a sample thank you letter.

·         Follow-up
If you don’t hear from the employer according to the timeline given, you should politely and persistently follow-up to indicate your continued interest.