Welcome back to The Grind, everyone. In today's short, Rhiannon Shadrick provides some strategies for candidates to increase their chances of landing that next job opportunity, identifying some tips for each phase of the interview process: Preparation, the Conversation, and Following Up. So get your pen and paper ready. You're going to want to take some notes.

When preparing for the interview, what should candidates focus on most?

So, the most important thing you should do during preparation is do your research. You can do this by either checking the company website or their LinkedIn. Going into an interview with a good idea of the company's mission statement and goals lets you know if they're in alignment. 

Next, come prepared with questions. This is going to allow you to understand the need and purpose of the role [00:01:00] and evaluate if this is the right career move for you.

Lastly, you want to check the interviewer's LinkedIn. This is going to show you their experience within the company. Have they been promoted? Did they switch departments? Are they active within the organization? Happy employees post more on LinkedIn, so hopefully you want to see someone active with their company. All of this is important in deciding on how you want to strategize your interview and the questions.

Following that thorough preparation, what strategies can ensure the interview conversation goes extremely well? 

So regardless of if it's an in person interview or in a Zoom, you always want to stay engaged. And the best way to do this is by taking notes. This is going to help engage active listening and it can be reviewed prior to future interviews as a refresher.

You remember those interview prep questions from earlier? This is where they're going to come into play. Don't forget to ask them in an "I" manner. For example, "What [00:02:00] metrics would I need to meet to achieve success in this role or within the team?" This helps the interviewer imagine you within the role. Once they're confident that they can see you in the position and they have that image in their head, it's a little hard to shake it off and the higher the chance of you joining the team.

So when you're closing out an interview, the most important thing to do is to tie up any loose strings or last minute questions. For example: "Do you have any questions for me regarding my experience that would strengthen your confidence in my candidacy?" This also shows that you're willing to listen to feedback and that you want to look for other people's opinions. It also shows that you're always looking to continuously grow and improve.

Once the conversation ends, the interview process isn't over. So how should a candidate follow up to set themselves apart from the rest of the applicant pool?

So, depending on the hiring manager, this step can almost make or break [00:03:00] whether you receive an offer or not, and that's by sending a thank you note, regardless of seniority. But the seniority of the interviewer is going to change your strategy a little bit. 

For a non hiring manager or non executive, you're going to send a brief thank you note and thank them for their time. Everybody has a busy schedule, so at least showing appreciation for that goes a long way.

And for a hiring manager or an executive, you want to use those notes that you took during the interview to guide your thank you. Add details about the role. Close out with how you can make an immediate impact and how your long term ability to contribute and grow can help the company and the team.

What are your thoughts? What interview strategies work well for you? We invite you to engage us in discussion on LinkedIn or any of Medvacon's social media outlets. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you again next time here on The [00:04:00] Grind.

 If Medvacon can help you and your organization, we're happy to do so. We specialize in the following areas. Quality and Compliance, Validation and Qualification Services, Project Management, Tech Transfers, General and Specialized Training Programs, Engineering Services, and Talent Acquisition. If you have general questions as well, feel free to give us a call at any time.

We can easily be reached at 833 633 8226 or via our website at www. medvacon. com. Thanks so much, and we look forward to speaking with you. 

Thank you for listening to the Quality Grind Podcast presented by Medvacon. To learn more or to hear additional episodes, visit us at www. medvacon. com.