How many of you enjoy interviewing? How many of you get nervous? If you’re like me, then the answer is probably both! Interviewing is stressful in its own right. It’s a time to sell yourself and explain yourself. You want to be honest, but not too honest that you shoot your chances in the foot. However, you can’t lie because then that really looks bad. It’s a lot to think about. But the company is not just interviewing you. You’re interviewing the company. This is applicable to when medical students interview for residencies as well.

Here are some of my tips for interviewing and how I get ready.

1. Make your name one of the largest fonts on your resume.
2. Depending on the role, put the most relative and applicable work experience towards the top. Normally it has to be in chronological order with the first one being your current job/role.
3. Whatever you put on your resume, you have to be able to speak to it. Say you speak a language, should be able to have a conversation in that language should one of the interviews can speak it too. If you did/do research, be able to talk about it.
4. Do your research on the company and have questions ready. You’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you.
5. Do your research on what the pay is for jobs that are the same and/or similar. If the topic of pay comes up, you should know what is fair.
6. Dress for the part. Even if there is no indication of dress code, dress professionally. For ladies, that can be a skirt/pants, blouse, and blazer. For men, that’s a suit, dress shirt, and tie. Sometimes women (and me ) can get away without a blazer/jacket. A nice blouse or dress shirt paired with the slacks/skirt work just fine.
7. Allow yourself enough time to prepare for the interview. By prepare I mean, shower, hair, makeup, etc. You should not be rushing at all.
8. Don’t lie when answering the interviewers questions. Don’t make up a story. Don’t tell them what you think they want to hear. Be honest. Be truthful. If there was a mistake that happened at work, tell them about it, how it was resolved, and the outcome.
9. There may be some role play, this you may not know until you arrive on site. However, based on the job description, you may be able to figure it out based on responsibilities. For example, if it’s a customer facing role you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll put you through a scenario
10. Utilize your network. Get on LinkedIn. Ask for help on your resume, interviewing skills, and seeing if there is someone out there that can help you get pointed in the right direction or even talk to the right people. I’m one of those people who want to do everything on my own accord. I want to earn everything without help because I want to be able to say “I did that by myself”. But the reality is, that I’m not by myself. My husband and families support/help me. My friends. My network. I’ve learned to swallow my pride and take the help, because it takes a village sometimes.

Some will tell you to be honest, but not too honest. And while I agree with this, I also disagree. Sure being too honest could hurt you, but following my moral and ethical compass is more important. If a company doesn’t like my honesty, then it wasn’t a good fit.

Now I’m not sure if this has made things better or worse, but deep breaths. You got this.