Interview tips to land your dream job

Lee Van Staden, – our ‘Head of Account Management’ here at Growmotely – has sat in on (and conducted herself) countless candidate interviews across the course of her career. Looking for tips on how to pull off a fantastic interview? Lee has us covered.  Read on to hear what she recommends to land your dream job. 

Recently our very own Creative Writer and Remote Work Cupid, Vanessa Kettner, asked me to write a piece to contribute to our Explore newsletter. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity as I love guiding professionals and changing lives with new opportunities.

What knowledge could I impart on professionals to help them land their dream job through Growmotely?  Interview techniques of course!

First you will need to set up a kick-ass profile.  The profiles that stand out and get recognized first are fully completed.  We’ve put together a few pointers for you in a YouTube video; you can check them out here: How to setup your profile to land your dream role.

As you apply for aligned roles, you can monitor your application progress on the “applications” tab on your profile.  Then: look out for the 2nd stage, the Video Q&A!  We have recently revamped this section and you can record your answers and play them back to make sure you are happy before submitting.  TIP:  Try to do this section as soon as possible, as companies are often looking out for these videos before moving forward.

If companies like your responses on your Video Q&A they may move you to the Portfolio & References section, or straight to the Online Interview.  Look out for communication from Growmotely on your interview dates/times.  

So, you’ve made it to the interview stage!  Woo hoo!  Now the juicy part, how to ace your interview!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

This may sound obvious, and even though your interview will be conducted online, you still need to make a good first impression.   Ask yourself this question: What would you think of you?

VIRTUAL INTERVIEW:

Make sure you are ready at least 10 – 15 minutes prior to the interview, and make sure your connection is stable.  You don’t want to have internet issues during the interview. As this is a remote position, the client wants to know you have a reliable connection.

Make sure you are in a quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted and where there isn’t a lot of background noise.  A home office is ideal, public spaces are not.  Make sure your audio is good, if the interviewer can’t hear your answers, it may have an impact on the outcome of your interview 

Make sure you have good lighting…they want to see you during the interview! 

NOTE: Test headset, webcam and internet connection.

SALARY:

While it might be tempting to bring it up, I advise not to bring up salary unless the interviewer mentions this first.  Bringing this up in the interview could make it look like you are more interested in remuneration than the actual position.

OTHER TIPS:

**Research the company**
Be prepared: review the company website, LinkedIn, values and purposes.

**Understand the role**
Make sure you have a good understanding of what the position requires before the interview.

**Sell yourself**
I encourage you to brag a little about your professional achievements at the appropriate times within the interview!

**Be respectful and act with integrity*

• Don’t interrupt the interviewer; do be present and listen well.
• Don’t put down your current employer; do show respect to everyone.
• Don’t lie about any of your skills or qualifications – it will become evident that you lied very quickly if you get the job! Do be honest and forthcoming about any shortcomings and suggest plans to get yourself upskilled in any appropriate areas.

**Prepare questions to ask**

Prepare 1 or 2 relevant questions to ask at the end of the interview (and, ideally, not related to remuneration / package or any benefits at this point). Here are some examples of good questions to ask your interviewer:

• Have I answered all your questions?
• What is your onboarding or training process like?
• What does success look like in this position? 
• What is the best part of your day?
• What is your favorite thing about working for this company? 
• What is your vision for the company over the next 5 years? 
• Is there anything that concerns you about my interview here today? (This is the most powerful question as it gives your interviewer a chance to reflect on any areas they have concerns over, and shows great initiative that you are willing to address any concerns straight away.)

Mostly just be yourself and shine bright.

We are rooting for you!

Here at Growmotely we believe that if you do your research and choose companies that are aligned to you, not only will you land your dream job, you will open yourself to a place where you love to work and with people who love doing business with you!  We believe The Future of Work is remote-based, culturally aligned companies, that enable their team to work from anywhere and EXPLORE the world as digital nomads.

Written by: Lee Van Staden (Growmotely’s Head of Account Management and your Interview Coach)
Dedicated to:  All the great recruiters I have worked with and learnt from.