How to Present Yourself in An Interview
It's time to show them who you are
Congratulations! You've got the interview. You've done your homework, prepared your book of stories, now you can to meet your potential future employer, and let them see who you are.
Is it scary? Yes. But it's also pretty exciting. You get to tell your story and maybe get a new job.
Before your interview, make sure you take good care of yourself:
Get good sleep the night before, make time to exercise, do some deep breathing or meditation,
or do other activities that will help you be calm, relaxed and stress free.
Make a good first impression
Appearance & Dress
Clothing Selection: Choose an outfit that matches the interview. Sometimes that might be a suit (if applying for a job in a law firm), or just business casual (if applying for job as lifeguard). But make sure you are dressed professionally.
Personal Style: While you always want to be yourself, think about your audience and their first impression. Try to stay somewhat conservative.
Grooming: Make sure you are clean and fresh. Think about your hair, facial hair, nails, wrinkles in your clothes and even how you smell. Limit added scents for smell-sensitive people.
Click to see examples of what to wear and what NOT to wear to an interview:
Interview AttireProfessionalism & Preparedness
Arrival Time: Walk into the interview 10 minutes early (map out, or drive to, your route days before and allow for the unexpected). Arrive even earlier and wait in your car if possible, so you have time to relax, look at notes, do some deep breathing, etc. But don't walk in too early (no more than 15 minutes).
What to Bring: Have a notepad and pen with you. Bring several copies of your resume, your references and work history details, and any relevant samples of your work (portfolio). Carry a professional padfolio, briefcase or bag to collect this information. Don't forget your written questions that you can pull out later!
Greeting Everyone: Even the receptionist who checks you in might be asked their impression of you, so always be friendly. Know your details: First/last name of who you are meeting, room number, special instructions, etc. If you know a person's name, use their name when you greet them.
Body Language
Be Mindful: Be aware of how you carry yourself. We communicate almost as much with our body as we do with our words. Think about your posture, your eye contact, your facial expressions, the way you sit, how you use your hands, etc. Learn more below to become aware of how you present yourself.
Your feelings: Interviewing can cause butterflies in our stomachs. Instead of reading that feeling as "nervousness," see it as "excitement." Once you feel the excitement, your body language will change.
Smile: Just the intentional act of smiling can give people are good feeling about us and make us feel better.
More about your body language:
Non-verbal communication that could lose you the job
Reflect on your first-impression behaviors
First Impression Checklist.docxMore about making a first impression
Watch a video on what else research can teach us about non-verbal behavior
Shaking hands during a pandemic? In American culture, shaking hands has always been a part of a professional greeting. If that has changed remains to be seen. For now, follow the cues from your interviewers, and remember we've all been going through this together!
Engage with your interviewers
Follow their lead
The employer will lead the discussion. You should respect their agenda and timing, and also know that a good interview is not an interrogation but a conversation. Feel free to ask for clarification if you're unsure of a question and ask your own questions, where appropriate, if you want to learn more.
Seek permission, where needed. For example, Do you mind if I jot notes as we talk? Can I pull out my notes with questions for you (at the end)? Would you like to see my portfolio for a sample of what I'm describing? Do you mind if I keep my water on the table (be aware of masking requirements)?
Use their name
Using an interviewer's name at times during the conversation can help you engage. It makes people feel valued and appreciated. When you are first introduced to each person, repeat their name to help you remember (e.g., It's nice to meet you, Denise). Also, try to get the names of all the people you are meeting with before the interview, so you prepare in advance.
But be careful, don't constantly say a person's name every time you answer them because that can feel awkward and forced. Let it be natural.
Knowing their name will also help you personalize their thank you letter (learn more in Follow-Up Section).
Read their cues
Whether on the phone, through video or in-person, make sure you are paying attention to the "cues" from the interviewer. Read their body language, pay attention to their expression and tone of voice.
We can often see when people are losing focus, getting impatient, expecting more, being distracted by something else, or just getting bored. Read the room. Adjust to your audience.
And when in doubt, ask. Did that answer your question? Would you like me to expand on that? I can tell you more about X if you would like me to go on.
Here we go!
Imagine yourself on the interview. You are ready. You've studied this website, know what to expect, did your homework, created your book of stories, and practiced your interview answers out loud.
What does it actually look like to answer?
How to use your stories to answer interview questions
Pull from your "book." No matter what question you are asked, you can usually pull a story from the book of stories you've created. For example, "What's your greatest strength" could be answered with a story. "My greatest strength is that I'm a tenacious problem-solver. For example, when I worked at a family owned restaurant, I kick-started a gluten-free menu to help customers..."
Don't repeat stories. While you'd never want to tell the same story multiple times, sometimes you might tell very different parts of the same story if it illustrates different things.
Length of answer. Generally, your interview answers should be between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, depending on the question. It's easy to get caught up in telling your story that you start to ramble. Focus on what part of the story you need to tell and ignore the rest if not needed.
Answer what is asked. Make sure you listen to the question and answer what is asked. Again, we can get caught up in the story telling that we don't focus on the parts that are most important to answer the question. Make sure you listen and adjust.
When you don't have an answer. Sometimes, you will not have an instant answer to a question or be able to immediately come up with a story. That's okay. You can slow things down a little by saying something like: "That's a good question. Can I think about that for a second?" Or, sometimes, you might get an off-the-wall question that doesn't easily fit a story (e.g., "What kind of animal would you be and why?"). Or, sometimes you're just really stumped, especially with very specific behavioral questions (e.g., "Tell me about a time when you missed a project deadline because one person on the team was late when everyone else was on time.") When you are stuck, don't be afraid to say it, but then answer the question with how you would react. For example, "You know, I can't think of a specific time that situation happened, but I'm sure it will in the future, because everyone has times where they might fall behind. What I would do if that happened on my team is..."
Verbal check-ins. As mentioned earlier, read your room. It's good to check in if you're not sure if you've answered the question completely or to the interviewer's satisfaction (especially on phone interviews where you don't have non-verbal cues). So, feel free to ask: Would you like me to say more? Did I address your question thoroughly enough?
Be authentic
Be human
No zombies allowed. Employers want to get to know the real you. Don't get so caught up on the saying the "perfect" thing in the "right" way that you forget to be human.
Be you
Employers will hire you based on YOU. Don't try to show them who you think they want you to be. Instead, show them who you truly are. Be prepared, professional but still YOU.
Be genuine
Every employer knows you're not perfect. How? Because they're not either. So, yes, show them the best version of you, but at the same time, keep it real, and be yourself.