My previous article: ‘7 tips to succeed in an interview’, which was featured by Business Insider, gave tips mainly on how to prepare for an interview. But what do you actually do on the interview day? In this article, I give 7 tips to succeed DURING an interview using the mnemonic: ACT CALM
A – Approach
C – Conversation
T – Thoughts
C – Confidence
A – Ask
L – Loud
M – Master
A – Approach
Don’t focus on the correct answer, focus on your approach
In my first interview, I thought that I had to arrive at the correct answer, so I kept on blurting out numbers I thought could be the correct answer. I didn’t get the job. I see this happen so many times. The answer is not important – your approach in solving the problem is important. First of all, focusing on an answer makes you more nervous. Second of all, that is not what the interviewer wants. Third of all, you are going to waste time thinking about the answer rather than the way to get to the answer. In fact, do not even think about the answer until you have figured out a method to solve the problem and have used the method. Your goal should be: ‘how can I find the right method to solve this problem?’ rather than ‘what is the correct answer?’
C – Conversation
Treat the interview like a conversation
The best interviews I’ve had, and the interviews where the interviewer said that was the best interview they had occurred when the interviewer and I had a fun time having a conversation! Some companies look for ‘culture fit’ and they will mainly get a feel for this through the conversations you have with the interviewer. Often, the best interviews I’ve had are where I am sincerely interested in the interviewer as a person and want to have a good conversation with them. For example, I was having an interview with McKinsey for an Award. I found out my interviewer studied Astrophysics and Philosophy. Intrigued by that combination, I began to ask questions; we ended up having conversations about the meaning of our lives, Socrates and galaxies. If you are trying to solve a problem in an interview, engage the interviewer like your friend, who wants you to figure out the problem.
T – Thoughts
Get rid of negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts
You may come across a question that you have no idea how to solve, or you may have arrived at a wrong solution. Don’t disqualify yourself as a candidate before the decision has been made. I’ve had times during an interview where I’ve thought ‘I am doing a terrible job’. If any of those thoughts come in your head during an interview, get rid of them! Focus on the problem you are trying to solve, rather than how well you are doing during the interview. I recommend reading The Power of Positive Thinking to show you the power of positive thoughts!
C – Confidence
Show confidence, even if you are not
Confidence in an interview is important. You need to show the interviewer what you know. The more confident you are when you answer the questions, the more the interviewer will believe you know what you’re saying. Acting more confident will make you feel more confident. To act more confident, speak clearly and loud, have a good posture and maintain eye contact with the interviewer.
A – Ask
Ask questions for the interviewer
Prepare questions to ask the interviewer. It is important to ask them questions at the end when they ask ‘do you have any questions’. If you don’t have any questions, it may seem that you are not interested enough. The best questions are those that show that you have done research about the company and know more than the average interviewee. If you don’t have any particular insightful questions, then ask questions about the interviewer, relating to the job. For example:
– How did you get into finance/this specific role?
– What is the profile of someone who does really well in your group?
L – Loud:
Think out loud
The interview tips I gave were mostly for preparing for the interview. The most important tip I have for during the interview is to think out loud. The interviewer wants to hear your thought process. How you approach the problem is just as important, if not more important than the solution itself. This is difficult to do at first and may seem unnatural because most of the time that we are tested (in exams) we are thinking inside our heads. There are three reasons why talking about loud is so important:
1. The interviewer can hear your thought process, which is what they want
2. If you are talking about a particular method to figuring something out, and the interviewer knows that that method will lead you to the completely wrong path, then they (hopefully) would maybe hint at you to try another method, which you would not have known if you had been thinking in your head.
3. Thinking out loud actually helps you to organise your thoughts better. By speaking your thoughts, you are forced to present these thoughts in a more coherent manner, which will help you keep track and organise those thoughts
M – Master
Master the interview by preparation
Master. The best way to perform well on the day is to have been successful during your preparation. When I was a sprinter, I would spend months training for a 10-second race. On the day of the race, I would make sure to get enough sleep and eat well so that my body was ready, but my performance really depended on how well I trained before. Similarly, you should get sleep and eat well on the day of the interview, but your best way to master the interview process is to spend months and hours preparing for your interview.