0: Hey, what's up, guys?

1: Today, we are gonna be focusing in on how to ace a job interview.

5: I'm gonna be giving you 10 tips that you can use to make sure that you're on the hiring

8: manager's short list by the time you walk out of the room.

11: But before we get started, I do wanna mention that this video is sponsored by one of my

14: favorite apps, which is Audible.

16: I'm gonna have more information at the end of the video and a book recommendation from

20: my own personal library, but if you do wanna get a free 30-day trial and a free audio book

25: of your choosing, you can go over to audible.com/thomas, to text Thomas to 500-500 to get started.

35: First up on our list is to do practice interviews.

37: You actually have a lot of opportunity to do these.

39: When I was a college student at Iowa State University, throughout my four years, every

43: single year when the career fair would roll into town, there would be actual recruiters

47: that would come to the Career Center and offer up their time to do practice interviews with

50: any student that signed up for one.

52: Now, these interviews weren't real interviews, but they were real conversations with people

56: who were hiring managers or HR people at companies who were going to be at the career fair.

60: So in addition to being good practice for future real interviews, they were actually

64: good networking experience with people who might be making decisions in the future.

68: But the main benefit of these types of interviews is that they are great practice for the real

72: thing, because an interview is inherently a nerve-wracking experience.

76: So if you have some time to go in and do practice interviews where the stakes aren't so high,

81: you're gonna be able to come into the real thing with a lot more confidence and a lot

83: more polish.

88: Tip number two is to be as friendly and engaged as you can with everyone that you interact

92: at the company.

93: Now, I don't think people are going into companies and being downright rude to the secretary

97: or telling people that they don't want to talk to them, but a lot of students will go

100: into a company, and if there's a little bit of time to wait before the interview, they'll

104: just kinda sit in the waiting room and stare at their phones.

106: I can tell you from experience, that people who aren't the hiring manager still do observe

110: the behavior of potential candidates, and then they talk to those hiring managers.

114: In a lot of companies, the hiring decisions don't come down to just the people that you

118: interview with.

119: A lot of the times they're going to ask anybody who talked to the potential candidate if they

122: have any objections.

123: So if you come into a company and you have a few minutes before the interview, spend

126: some time talking to the person at the front desk.

129: Or if they're busy, at least be really polite, greet them, ask how their day is going, and

133: then sit down and do your waiting.

134: Also, don't walk into the building wearing headphones.

137: Just don't.

141: Tip number three on our list, come prepared with questions for your interviewer.

144: Now, you might think that an interview is just a situation where you're supposed to

147: answer the interviewer's questions because they're figuring out if you're the best candidate

151: for the job.

152: But don't forget that you're trying to figure out if the job is right for you as well.

156: Additionally, coming to the interview prepared with your own questions tells the interviewer

159: that you are engaged, you're interested in the position, and that you put in a little

163: bit of preparation.

164: While you might think that having no questions makes you seem like you know everything, and

167: maybe that's a good thing, what it actually does is it makes the interviewer wonder if

171: you're apathetic about the position, and if maybe you're just doing it for the money.

175: One question you should definitely keep in your back pocket is, what opportunities for

179: advancement or additional duties am I gonna have at this company?

182: The great thing about this kind of a question is it tells your interviewer that you are

185: willing to be adaptable and flexible and you're willing to learn new things, and that is a

189: great quality to have in somebody that you are employing if you're a business owner.

195: Related to my third tip on asking questions during the interview, tip number four is to

200: research the company before you walk into that interview room.

203: Once again, this shows a level of preparation and dedication that a lot of other candidates

207: aren't going to have, and it's gonna help you stand apart.

209: Now, I know what you're thinking.

210: What kind of research am I supposed to do, Thom?

213: Well, you can do a little bit of preliminary research on the history of the company and

216: its business, what you really wanna understand what the culture is like, what people tend

220: to do there, and what your intended position usually entails.

224: Now, on the general position and duties side, there are tons of websites on the internet,

228: so I recommend just Googling, what does a network engineer do, for example, but for

232: the individual company, you can use sites like Glassdoor and Vault to get reviews from

236: actual employees and get a little bit of a feel for what the company's culture is like.

240: All right, we are on to tip number five, which is to bring a notebook and a pen to the interview

248: with you.

249: Doing this is yet another signal that you are dedicated and detail-oriented, because

252: you're able to actually take notes on the details of the position during the interview,

256: but it also allows you to come prepared with some pre-written notes about the company's

259: history or any questions that you might have.

261: You should also bring a couple of copies of your resume, just in case it becomes useful

264: during the course of the conversation.

266: And if you happen to be applying for a position where examples of your work would be useful,

271: bring those along as well.

272: During my last couple of years at college before I became a full-time entrepreneur,

275: what I would bring to an interview is this leather padfolio which had some resume copies

279: in it, it had some notebook paper and a pen in it, and I also brought an iPad that I would

283: keep inside of it which had screen shots of my web development work.

286: And a little bit of a side note here, I made sure that I had screen shots of web dev work

290: because in case the company didn't have wifi, I wouldn't have been able to load the actual

294: websites.

298: Tip number six, that's seven, six.

301: Send thank you notes or thank you emails within 24 hours of your interview.

305: Now, I say thank you notes or thank you emails because in my mind, time is of the essence

309: here, and in a lot of cases, it's pretty difficult to get an actual, physical handwritten note

313: to your interviewer, especially if the building that you went to the interview in is far away

317: from where you are.

318: So in those cases, a thank you email works pretty well.

321: But if you happen to have the ability to give an actual handwritten thank you note, and

324: it's within 24 hours or maybe within 48 hours at the very latest, then that can actually

330: add a nice touch.

331: It should also be noted, and yes, that was a pun, that you shouldn't limit your thank

335: you notes or thank you emails just to the interviewer.

337: If you interacted with a secretary during your time at the building or you actually

340: got to go tour the building or talk to somebody doing a job that you would be doing, send

344: those people thank you emails as well.

346: It really goes a long way.

350: Tip number seven on our list is to wear a well-tailored suit to your interview, assuming

355: that you need to wear business formal attire.

357: Now, I do have to make a slight admission here.

359: Ever since I bought myself a suit that actually fits well, unlike the one I had in college,

363: which definitely didn't, it fit me like a tarp, I've leaned towards recommending an

366: actual suit to go into interviews rather than just regular business formal attire.

370: But if you don't happen to have a suit and you can't afford one, you can definitely wear

374: a button-down shirt with a nice tie and a nice pair of slacks.

376: If you're a girl, there are definitely dresses that fit that business formal requirement,

379: or you can do something like a dress skirt.

382: But in general, you wanna make sure that you are dressed for success in the situation.

386: Now, one exception to this recommendation is if you are specifically told not to wear

390: a suit, or if they tell you what to wear to the interview.

392: If you're going to a company that has a really casual dress culture and they say, "Hey, just

396: show up in a T-shirt and jeans, man," don't show up in a suit because you're gonna look

399: like you won't it into that company's culture.

401: Now, in the case that you don't quite know how a suit should fit or you're looking for

405: some additional tips on how to dress well for an interview, I definitely have some recommendations

408: for you guys.

409: As a guy, I learned a huge amount of what I know personally about how to dress well

412: from my friends Aaron Mar-in-o, Alf M. and Antonio Santano over at Real Men Real Style.

417: And I do also have to give a shout out to a guy named Sven Raphael Schneider, who has

421: a channel called Gentleman's Gazette, and that is much more focused on formal business

425: attire and how to do it correctly.

427: So that is also a great resource.

428: For women, I am definitely a lot less knowledgeable, but I did find a YouTuber by the name of Elle

432: Florence who has a lot of videos on how to dress for work and interviews, so definitely

435: check out her channel.

436: And if you are a woman or you know of great resources for women, definitely leave them

440: in the comments down below.

445: Tip number eight is to be prepared for behavioral interview questions.

448: These are the kind of questions that ask you to tell a story about your previous work experience

452: that demonstrates how you handled the situation and what you learned and improved on.

456: Some examples of these kind of questions include, tell me about a time when you were in a high

459: pressure situation and how you responded.

461: Or give me an example of a time when you didn't meet a goal that you had set and how you dealt

464: with it.

465: Or, tell me about a time when hordes of the undead attacked your workplace, and what items

468: from the break room you fashioned into makeshift weapons.

470: Okay, maybe not that one, though, Martin, make a note to ask the next person we interview

474: that question.

475: - [Martin] Will do.

476: - So the best way to handle these kinds of questions is to look at examples of them beforehand

480: and to think of stories from your past working life that would fit them.

483: And crucially, the stories you pick should be crafted in a way that demonstrates how

486: you learned or improved in some way that's relevant to the job.

489: Now, keep in mind that you don't need a specific story for every possible interview question

493: that could come out, because one, that is impossible, and two, when you have a few stories

497: and you've practiced them, they're gonna be pretty adaptable and you're gonna be able

500: to apply them to a wide range of different questions.

503: All right, we are on to tip number nine, which is actually my personal favorite.

509: View the interview for exactly what it is, a conversation between two parties who have

515: things to exchange.

516: The reason this tip is on the list is because a lot of students go into interviews feeling

520: like they're going into an audience with King Louis the XIV or something, and they're gonna

524: be granted a job because of the mercy and benevolence of the almighty king that's sitting

529: across the table from them.

531: That's not the case.

532: Remember, companies put a lot of time and effort and money into attracting the best

536: possible talent.

537: That's what they live and die by.

539: So believe that you are the best possible person for the job, and let that be communicated

543: in the interview.

544: Don't be arrogant or cocky, but be confident.

549: Finally, our last tip on the list is that 15 minutes early is on time, and on time is

555: late.

556: Here's the thing.

557: You want a bit of buffer time when you walk into the company's doors, just in case they

559: happen to be ready for you right now.

561: You don't wanna be coming in 30 seconds late because you got stuck in traffic.

564: Plus, showing up a little bit early makes a really good first impression and it gives

567: you an opportunity to potentially network with the person running the front desk or

570: some other people at the company before you go into the interview.

573: So those are my top 10 tips for helping you to ace your next interview, though the interview

577: is only half the battle.

579: The best way to ensure that you're that hiring manager's number one pick is to do everything

583: you can to be building skills and experience that set you apart from the competition.

588: And if you wanna learn more about why that's so important and how you can use an experience-based

591: mindset to eventually find work that you truly do love, Cal Newport's book, So Good They

596: Can't Ignore You, is a book that you should definitely read or listen to on Audible.

600: I absolutely love listening to audio books.

602: I listen to them while I'm walking to wherever I'm gonna work for the day.

605: I listen to them while I'm cooking dinner.

607: Audible's app makes it such a seamless experience.

609: I can start listening to a book on the same iPad that I'm using for my recipe, and then

612: the next morning, I can pick up exactly where I left off on my iPhone while I walk to work.

617: Plus, the app lets me set bookmarks at any time stamp so I can start building a highlight

620: reel of notes that I can go and review for any audio book I'm listening to.

624: And speaking of any audio book, Audible's library has an unmatched selection of titles

628: in a ton of different genres, from science fiction to biographies, psychology books,

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634: And you can get a free 30-day trial, which comes with a free audio book download of your

637: choosing, whether it's my recommendation or anything else that you want, by going over

641: to audible.com/thomas or texting Thomas to 500-500 on your phone.

646: Big thanks to Audible for sponsoring this episode and helping to support this channel.

649: And, as always, guys, thank you so much for watching.

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