Head of content 2x, Microsoft and Salesforce | Creator, LinkedIn and TikTok | Marketing consultant | Speaker
I’ve been fortunate to land roles at Microsoft and Salesforce. Here’s what’s in my job interview prep doc: Let me start by saying, interviewing is a skill. You never know exactly what you’ll be asked during an interview. But you can sure as hell prepare for a lot of different scenarios. For years, I’ve maintained a personal interview prep doc. It’s just a text doc that I duplicate and edit for different roles. I reference this doc during a call to represent myself in the best way, whether it’s a phone or video call. Tons of folks are looking for jobs right now, so I thought I’d break down what’s in my doc, in case it inspires someone interviewing. Each section in my doc: 😎 Tell us about yourself: Contains the simplest version of my career arc in a nutshell, plus a few personal details, like where I’m based. Plus a nod to how we can dive in more to any of these experiences for more details. 📕 Relevant experience for this role: Bullets where I match specific aspects of the job description to my expertise, using as similar of words as possible. 💻 What I’m doing now: A deeper look at my current role. I find a lot of interviewers ask about this. Team size, scope, how success is measured, reporting structure, and so on. 🧲 What attracted you to this role: I always make a section of bullets about why this role, why now. Mix of why this role stood out to me, plus career motivations for seeking a growth opportunity. ⭐️ Personal values: I have a list of personal values that I always reference in interviews. It helps the interviewer see what matters to me so we can both assess if this fits. 📈 Results: List of metrics I’ve nailed in similar roles so I can quickly call upon them. Ideally fast, memorable numbers that tell a story. 🗒️ Company notes: I quickly review the company’s blog, YouTube channel, and social channels and note what seems important to the company right now, so I can drop in these observations as relevant. 🌲 Personal/fun facts: Stuff I’m comfortable sharing. It’s not necessary to share these. But sometimes an interview gets a little dry. Another way I might use this is if the interviewer is, say, from my home state. I’d make a note to talk about Indiana. ❓ My questions for them: I plan in advance, while staying flexible if new ones come up in the moment. I wrote a different post on questions for the hiring team that I will link in the comments. No, I don’t read the doc verbatim like a teleprompter. But the simple act of writing all this down cements it in my brain and helps solidify the story. Plus the notes are there if I do need them, which makes me less anxious. That alone probably helps me present as more confident on the call. I also believe you need to practice interviewing to crush it for that ultimate role! Take a couple interviews, test the waters. How do you prepare for an interview? What other tips do you have for folks? Sending those seeking the right role the best luck this Friday and beyond. ♥️