Before you head on over to your job interview, you need to understand that the hiring process works like a game. While you may have the necessary skills tech companies are looking for, a strategy is still required to set yourself apart from the competition. In the first half of 2022, PRNewsWire reported that 96% of the 50 top tech firms increased employment year over year. The surge in demand for talent underpins how necessary it is to stand out in a sea of IT candidates. One way you can do this is by navigating your interview with an informed mind and a strong presence. An interview, after all, can make or break your job application. As such, you’ll need to be prepared and cultivate the right attitude to ensure you can market yourself well to potential employers.
Here are three ways that can help you nail your next interview:
Leverage your value sets
During interviews, potential employers will gauge if you’re a good cultural fit for the company. This means that employers will be looking into your soft skills and personal values. Generally, the tech industry is collaborative and ever-changing. So much so that in the referenced PRNewsWire report, IT employers stated that they target talent that adapts to the increasing demand for technological advancements (such as cloud computing infrastructure) while being an actively contributing member of the team.
All those considered, leverage your value sets during your interview, such as your ability to work well with others. A Harvard Business Review article discussed that while many admire independence in a candidate, employers also value collaboration. Aside from that, another common question that can pop up is how you handle pressure. In this case, share an experience when you stayed calm despite the stress of, say, looming deadlines. If you find that you lack this ability, be transparent and state that it’s something you wish to work on. During the interview, when you relate the beliefs that guide how you work, it can help your employer determine how aligned your values are with the company’s.
Share your professional career story
The experiences that make up your career story are unique to you unlike certain skills that many may share. During your interview, these anecdotes can add depth and dimension to your resume, certifications, or degrees. Crafting a career story isn’t meant to be complicated. It only requires you to reflect on— and be honest about— the influences, problems, and passions that have shaped your career thus far.
For instance, what has led you to pursue a job in tech? Were you interested in web development or did you want to install and oversee network systems? Aside from these starting points, don’t be afraid to talk about your failures as well. If these have caused your dreams to change, and perhaps shifted towards improving a business’ cybersecurity instead, what specific challenges motivated you? Fundamentally, a career story is a succinct summary of your journey in tech. Your professional life is always informed by a set of goals and values. By sharing your professional career story, employers will better understand what caused and continues to motivate you to pursue a job in tech.
Offer up incisive questions
Conducting research on the company you’re interviewing with shows dedication and great foresight. Although it’s great to familiarize yourself with the brand’s mission, values, or past products and services, you can show your enthusiasm by asking incisive questions about their current or future projects. It's well-documented that the tech industry is constantly evolving. There are numerous trends, such as work from home technology, that you have to keep an eye out for.
Many tech firms have steered their efforts into developing services that can enhance IT support or create cloud computing systems, for instance. So if your employer has recently dabbled in these technologies, you should certainly ask them about their process and goals. In doing so, you can showcase your confidence and provide insights on what the company has been working on. This also shows, as early as your interview, that you’re prepared to learn about emerging tech trends and can add great value to the team in the future.