Don’t blow the interview in the first 2 minutes

How do interviews start? Generally with some chit-chat - Hi, thanks for taking the time, something about the weather (it’s not just the Brits apparently…), where are you located, I like your shirt/eyeglasses/Zoom background etc.

But once we’ve got that awkwardness over with, more often than not, we get to…

“𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.”

What people say next is either very good or very bad in my experience, there’s not many shades of grey in it. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗱: An unprepared, no-thought-given, nervous ramble that just goes on, and on…and then on for a bit more. It’s kinda a summary of their whole adult life: First job while in high school, college, first job out of college, next job - and then a quick detour into married life - and back onto the career track. In practice interviews I’ve done with people, the record is nudging the 3 minute mark! 

That’s not what the interviewer wants to hear. Honestly, the interviewer wants to be assured they’re not going to waste the next 30 minutes of their life. You, the candidate, want to introduce yourself in a way that gets them excited for the convo to come. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱: Confirm you’re a good fit for the opportunity: “I am a <something that aligns with the job title>”. Confirm you have the hard skills and experience they want: “In the last few years I’ve worked on <some of the things they have in the job description>”: Touch on some of the soft skills you have that are in the job description: “Feedback from my coworkers has told me that I’m <some of the soft skills they ask for>”. And close with something positive that aligns you with the company, its mission, and/or its values. “I’m excited by the opportunity here because of <something about the company, missions, values etc.>”

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟰𝟱-𝟲𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝟭𝟮𝟬-𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀.

Now let’s practice. Go and find a job you’d like to interview for. Write out your 120-150 words. Want to chat about it, book a free call at the top of the page

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