Getting ready for your next interview can be daunting—especially if you haven’t had a lot of practice. Each job you’re interviewing for has a unique set of skills and experience required. So, how do you give yourself the best chance for success? How do you prepare yourself for the next interview?

We talked with Jessi Magraw, an Allovus UX designer who is actively interviewing for her next position, to find out how she has prepared for the interview process.

Jessi had been having trouble getting through the screening interviews, which meant she wouldn’t be passed on to the hiring managers for a chance at interviewing for the job. She knew she had to do something to change that. She set out to discover what would make her more interesting to the screeners. Once she dove into researching the interview process, drawing on the available resources and tips, she soared through the screening interviews and on to the good stuff!

“I was able to identify and recognize the patterns in what was working and what wasn’t working in an interview,” Jessi said.

Here are some tips and resources from Jessi.

TIPS

• Be prepared. Always review the job description before the interview. Know the company you’re interviewing for. Be ready to ask the interviewer questions when they ask at the end.
• Questions they might ask you during the interview:
  • What do you like about the company?
  • What about the position is interesting to you?
  • Tell me about yourself: talk about the impact you’ve made in a previous job. (Let your personality show.)
• Hiring managers aren’t out to get you. They’re simply trying to find the right person for the job. Try to go into the interview with that understanding.
• Networking events: (When we can meet in person again.) These help you get comfortable talking to people and developing your story or elevator pitch. What are those solid things you’ve done that make you great for the company/role?
• When people offer to help you, they mean it. Take them up on their offer. I wish I’d learned that sooner.
• You can do everything right but still not get the job. It’s okay. It’s not you.

RESOURCES

The Unemployment Office

The unemployment office was super helpful in giving interview tips. You don’t have to be unemployed to get their help. They even have a class on grieving your job loss and how to let it go. The WorkSource Washington website has all the information that Washington provides for job hunting support. Their workshops are great and include creating an elevator pitch, interviewing, and health/well-being. I found it to be incredibly helpful when I first entered the job hunt. These resources are available to everyone.

TikTok

There is a lot of content on TikTok, and I wasn’t able to capture everybody due to the nature of the app, but here are a few creators whose content stood out for me.

apowermood  – This video was the one that taught me to be more succinct and show my achievements in my “About me” section of my portfolio/website. designrecruiter– a recruiter shares her feedback and experiences regarding design interviews.

So, if you’re feeling nervous about your upcoming interviews, we suggest you take Jessi up on her sound advice! And as always, our recruiting team at Allovus is happy to coach you and provide tips that are pertinent to your own personal job hunt.