Every once in a while, some unfortunate soul gets asked the question: Tell me something that’s not there in your CV. The CV that you put hours into, which is already bragging a bit much, now you have to think beyond it. But it is what it is and recruiters are highly unlikely to change their strategies.
This is why it’s important to prepare beyond the paper. Most positions receive thousands of applications and it’s risky not to prepare for an interview that you had a less than 1 in 100 chance of getting hired for.
The Key Traits Interviewers Evaluate
Communication Skills
The interviewer wants to hear you speak; they want to know if the person on the page matches the person sitting across from them on the screen and beyond. So, it’s really important to do everything for your interview preparation. There can’t be any lapses.
Remember how your mother had everything prepped before you even dressed up properly for school? There were no lapses on her end; if you had to leave at 8, the food was cooked before 7. She never gave you a reason you could say you would not be able to go to school today. That’s the level of preparation you need for the interview. It’s time to make your mother proud.
Clarity of Thought and Articulation
Most companies don’t mind waiting a bit for the perfect candidate—the candidate that gives all the right answers. There are no perfect candidates, obviously, but there are perfect answers—the exact words that the recruiter wants to hear. Hence, articulation of your answers matters a lot.
Listen to every word that comes out of their mouth, assume there is an agenda behind it, and they have an answer in their mind; you need your response to be as close to the answer as you can.
Problem-Solving Ability
No company is ever short of money. If they were, there wouldn’t be an open position in the first place. The salary you plan to ask for is directly proportional to the problem you are solving for the organization.
It’s tough to solve a massive problem for someone in a 30-minute interview. What we can do is have a very vivid approach to the problem. Go big when someone tells you a problem statement; don’t try to think about solving the issue in a particular budget unless specifically asked to do so.
Cultural Fit and Adaptability
One thing that ensures a higher chance of landing any role is being a fun-to-be-around guy or gal. Be interesting, and have a few stories you can insert in the conversation if time allows for it during the interview; maybe your name has a distinct meaning, or there is a fun reason you decided to pursue the domain.
Also helps if you can showcase that you can work in a team. A lone warrior can only win so many battles. Display a genuine interest in the company and have a few questions prepared that are out of the box. People love talking about themselves, and the same applies to companies.
Common Interview Questions That Test These Traits
Here’s how these questions are generally framed. It could be behavioral questions: “Can you tell me about a time when…?” or hypothetical scenarios: “What would you do if…?” or general inquiries: “Why do you want to work here?”
How do you go about solving these?
Read about the company, the executives, the founders, and the investors; then go through the problem scenarios. Look for the review of the company; there are usually past applicants who tell the kind of questions they were asked during their interview.
Practice storytelling with a friend or a family member on how you’d go about answering these questions. Definitely helps when it comes to freshmen. Give online mock interviews on Unikon.ai; that way you’ll even get genuine feedback from recruiters about what they typically look for.
What to Avoid During the Interview
Do not repeat the resume text as an answer to their questions. They’ve read it once. Probably what got you the interview in the first place. Now is the time to shine. Show that you are even better than they were expecting. Stick to the questions; there is no need to deviate from the path. Eye contact also helps a ton.
Final Thoughts
Interviews are an opportunity to prove that you’re more than just words on a page. Remember, you are the prize; the poor fella sitting across from you had to sort through over a thousand applications to get to you.
So, go beyond the paper, embrace the challenge, and turn the interview into a conversation that leaves them impressed. Show them that you are the person they were looking for all along.