Every time I talk to a potential job candidate who isn’t prepared—which seems to be the norm these days—I get frustrated. Basic information such as the company size, their industry sectors, and the various product categories the employer is moving into is easily available if you’ve done any homework at all. Yet all too frequently I find myself wasting time on topics like these—which really didn’t need to be on the agenda—instead of being asked insightful questions that take us into serious conversations about whether the job might be a good fit for that individual.

Beyond wasting time, asking about these topics communicates to me that the candidate is not interested or proactive—not appealing qualities in a potential hire. In this month’s Managing Your Career, I will urge you to spend the time necessary to at least get a good handle on the company basics before a conversation with the employer or their representative. And, I’ll share some ideas for developing your roster of interview questions, because you’ll certainly be judged as much by your questions as by the answers you provide to theirs.

Steps in interview preparation
Your face-to-face interview will have you meeting with as many as 8 to 10 people, perhaps more. Wouldn’t you like to know more about them and be able to look up their publications or LinkedIn profiles? That’s why step number one in interview preparation is to do your best to get an agenda in hand before the big day. It can give you a feeling of comfort to know when your requested presentation takes place, or to know in advance that you’ll have a panel interview (ugh!). Employers will typically provide an agenda if asked, but you usually have to request it. Doing so may make you feel pushy, but it’s critical to your preparation. If you can’t get an agenda in writing, check with your contact there, and ask him or her to elaborate on how interviews play out at the company.

Another pre-interview preparation step that will pay off in spades is to sit down and review your accomplishments in the employer’s area of interest. I’m always impressed by brief stories and examples as interview responses, but keeping these responses succinct is a problem for some candidates. The best way to prepare for questions where you’ll be asked to describe previous experience is to have prepared some of this relevant information from your past experience in advance. I’m not suggesting that you memorize snappy interview responses or try to sound like a well-oiled machine, but simply that you have this material on hand, ready to use when needed.

If you are a microbiologist and the job involves bench-top fermenters, for example, think about some of your success with microorganisms that could be useful in response to common technical questions. Grab a notepad and start writing down all the interesting work you’ve done scaling up fermentations. Consider that every one of your experiences has at its core a Problem, an Approach, and a Result, and use that format to guide you in your responses. Write a sentence or two for each of these three elements and tie them together as a nice little example of a particular skill or experience.

If you write a dozen or more of these little “stories” it will go a long way to helping you win the interview, as every opportunity to talk about relevant experiences will help you come across as a problem solver. And as you probably already know, that’s the kind of person who gets hired.

Of course, reviewing and writing these stories down in advance can take some time and a bit of work. But that little notepad of yours will turn out to be one of the best tools in your arsenal for last-minute review before you walk into the interview. It’s a confidence builder, as well.

You can also develop similar memory hooks for common questions about how you’ve dealt with difficult people, experiences you’ve had with getting projects moving along, or any of the other “soft skill” questions that often come up on interview day. While your human resources contact will likely not ask you about the difficulty you’ve experienced with sporulation in a Bacillus fermentation, common questions in this category would include interpersonal relations, communication style, public speaking skills, negotiation ability, and teamwork. Think through examples to address these sorts of questions in advance, noting the initial problem you had, your approach to address it, and—finally—how it resolved.

Don’t let it come as a surprise that your interview will have just as much focus on soft skills as on your technical job-related abilities.

Interview day questions
Another part of your interview preparation is to remember the importance of asking good questions. Because it’s so easy to pull a few out of the air, that’s what most people do, and it’s a mistake. Instead, dig in and make this a major effort for your pre-interview preparation. These ideas will help you get started.

Questions about the company’s mission: Senior executives constantly try to reinforce the company’s mission through their teams. If you’re meeting with a senior executive or even your prospective boss’s boss, ask about how the mission statement translates into action steps for their employees. Ask for examples of successful people and how they may have contributed in their daily activities to the global mission of the company.

Questions about the company’s culture: Each employer has its own culture and personality, and a cultural fit is a prime aspect of the success you’ll experience in the job. So, no matter who you are meeting with, be it potential boss, peer, or human resources staffer, ask about the culture and what it’s like to work at the organization. A caution: While you may want to get into the work/life balance question, be careful. Too many questions about hours, commitment, vacation time, and so on will likely lead to impressions of you that are not favorable.

Questions about the job itself: Before the interview, you will have a basic knowledge of the job and what the responsibilities are on a daily basis. But how this job fits into the larger picture will remain a mystery until your meetings with the boss and her colleagues. Questions in this category could include minutia (“What brand of fermenter do you use in your pilot plant?”) but I would recommend that you focus on more insightful, strategically focused questions. Let your questions reflect on the reasons you think you’d be a good fit. For example: “I would imagine it’s very important for the person in this role to work closely with other teams. Can you please share with me what internal teams I’d be interfacing with on a regular basis, and perhaps what their expectations are for this role?”

A word about stress
Interviews can be stressful. But being well prepared brings the stress level way down—which in turn improves your ability to show the “real you” and makes it easier for you to actually enjoy the opportunity.

It’s always been my advice to treat it as an important day, but not as a “make it or break it” opportunity. There are plenty of prospective employers, and another will come along if this one doesn’t work out. And you should be proud, because so few applicants actually make it to this day. So, put on your interview attire, review your history and experiences in the areas of their interest, and go have fun talking science and even sneaking in a bit of self-promotion where required. No matter the outcome, you’re going to learn and grow.