If you’re busy updating your LinkedIn profile and applying to companies you’d love to work for, chances are good you’re also preparing answers to potential interview questions. While it’s important to have ready answers to inquiries about your strengths, qualifications, and the like, increasingly recruiters have replaced the traditional question-and-answer job interview with a more relaxed approach. The conversational interview not only gives recruiters a chance to get to know you better, it gives you the opportunity to ask lots of questions and determine if the job, corporate values, and culture are the right fit for you.
While typically less stressful than responding to a barrage of questions, a conversational interview also means you can’t rely solely upon rehearsed answers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare. Use the tips below to shine in your next interview while getting the details you need to make a well-informed decision about your next role. Plus, keep reading to explore the latest job opportunities at EveryIT.
1. Master the art of active listening
Engage in the conversation through active, attentive listening. This involves asking questions, summarizing what you hear, and most importantly, being fully present. All too often nervous candidates become absorbed in planning responses while the interviewer speaks and miss opportunities to ask important questions about the job or work culture, clarify subtle points, share relevant experience, and build a stronger, more memorable connection. To prepare for a conversational interview, take time to exercise active listening with everyone you interact with. You’ll not only improve your listening skills, you’ll enrich your existing relationships.
2. Do your research
When preparing for your interview, take time to explore the company’s culture, mission and values as well as their key players, recent events, and clientele. Visit the company’s website and look online for recent news articles. Explore their social media pages. Reach out to contacts who work at the company to ask questions. By doing your research, you’ll not only demonstrate your knowledge of the company, you’ll have the ability to ask more meaningful questions.
3. Bring your questions
Remember that during an interview, the company is not only vetting you as a potential hire, you’re vetting them as a potential employer. As you research, jot down relevant questions such as: what are the company’s current goals? Would your role be primarily collaborative or would you work independently? What kind of mentorship and growth opportunities does the company offer? Ask your questions throughout the course of the interview–don’t save them until the end. And don’t hesitate to ask for more information or clarifications.
4. Be optimistic–and be yourself
Approaching the process with optimism and authenticity helps ensure a more positive and memorable experience for everyone. Exercise your active listening skills and curiosity during your conversation. Try to relax and be yourself by sharing your unique perspective and examples from your own experience. Giving your interviewer the opportunity to picture you in the role will increase your chances of finding a role that is truly suited for you.
We hope these tips help you have a more productive and engaging interview. And since you’re here, check out the latest sales and technical career openings at EveryIT. EveryIT is a leading technical solutions and consulting partner that thrives on innovating scalable solutions that solve customer challenges and accelerate business. Both medium-sized enterprises and fortune 500 companies rely on EveryIT to help them transform business–whether they’re migrating to the cloud, streamlining through DevOps, automating through AI and machine learning, or putting powerful predictive analytics to work.
EveryIT sales and technical job opportunities
Sr. Chief of Staff / Director of Operations (Bellevue, WA): If you are a creative, results-driven professional who is passionate about organizational effectiveness and building a strong, diverse, and inclusive team culture, this could be the role for you. In this role, you’ll lead the US operations team, fulfilling responsibilities that range from defining strategic direction to ensuring strategic execution.
Account Manager, Managed Services (Bellevue, WA): We’re looking for someone to help aggressively grow and manage our Microsoft business by generating opportunities, closing sales, and building trusted relationships with key stakeholders. Focus areas include managed/outsourced services, service desk, data analytics, and AI/machine learning.
Hardware Engineer (Redmond, WA): Do you have strong QA experience and an IT operations background working with Windows Server? In this collaborative, managed services role with a leading client in Redmond, you’ll plan and execute hardware qualification test cases, analyze results, and report issues.
Software Design Engineer in Test (Redmond, WA): Design and develop the very software tools that automate testing. In this role, you’ll communicate design requirements, features, limitations, and other characteristics, define quality and risk metrics, and serve as a liaison between the test, development, and project management teams.
Client Support Specialist (Bellevue, WA): Be part of a valued team that supports an enterprise client and their customers through a ticketing system. You’ll report KPIs for key stakeholders using Excel and Power BI, seek out solutions to improve reporting and efficiency, and collaborate with team members to share best practices and process improvements.
