Linda Lupatkin, Career Counselor, Coach and Consultant

So after making dozens of pitches you’ve made it to “the show”. Now it’s time to see if you can make it in the “Bigs”. There are five things you need to do to hit a home run on your job interview.

1. Preparation – what you have. Prior to the interview dissect the job description line by line and think about what you have done in your prior career to support the job requirements. Then develop stories to show off those accomplishments and be able to address everything the potential employer wants.

2. Preparation – where you’re lacking. Again go through the job description and ferret out what you may be lacking. Is there a key skill the employer wants that you don’t see in your resume or don’t feel you have in your background. Then develop a strategy for addressing that shortcoming. Perhaps point to something similar you’ve done or stress other times you’ve gone into a new position and quickly learned and applied a new skill.

3. Ask questions and listen. An interviewer will often tell you what it is they’re looking for or what’s most important to them in a potential candidate. A good question to ask is, “what did you find most appealing about my background”. The answer the interviewer gives you will enable you to frame your own answers as far as what your focus should be.

4. Ask about remaining concerns. Ask the interviewer if you’ve answered all their questions and if they have any concerns that would prevent you from moving forward to the next step. This is important because it gives you the opportunity to address any doubts or concerns the interviewer may have. It gives you a chance to change their opinion of you. If you don’t ask that question, you leave the interviewer with a doubt that could keep you from getting the job.

5. Finally, ask for the close. Ask the interviewer, “what are the next steps?” This gives the interviewer an opportunity to tell you the next stages in the process: will they be calling candidates in for a second interview, making an offer within the week, or when you may be hearing from them again.

When you’re playing in the majors it’s also a good idea to get some coaching. Even the best and brightest need tips and advice to ensure, when it comes to crunch time with the game on the line, they can hit it out of the park.

Linda