Interview Preparation

Research the Company

Check the company website and company mission.
Understand what you like about the company, the industry they are in, and why you would be interested in joining the organization.
Check out their “Press” page, and read up on recent news.

Example: If interviewing for a Product Design role with a focus on Design Systems, reference the specific projects you have worked on where you created and implemented a design system.
Example: If interviewing for a Copywriter role, look to the job description and see what the focus of the role is and what kinds of copy they are looking for you to write. Give specific examples from your portfolio (long form, short form, social media or ad copy, etc.)

The STAR Method is a way of structuring your answers to tell a story about your experience.

Lay out the situation or scene for the interview concisely by including relevant details.

What was your involvement in the situation? What was the role you played and what were your responsibilities?

What were the steps you took to reach your goals?

Discuss the results and the impact of your efforts. Quantify the results as much as you can.

Some examples of hiring manager questions to ask are:

What will success look like in the role in the next year?
What is the team dynamic like, and who are the key stakeholders you’ll interact with on a day-to-day basis?
What projects will you focus on in the first 30-60-90 days?
What is the reason this role is open, and how will filling it impact the team?
What is the most challenging part/favorite part of the hiring manager’s job?

Make sure you are prepared for a Zoom interview and take the call in a well-lit room, with good acoustics and double check your internet connection!
Build rapport with your interviewer when you hop on the call! Open up the conversation with questions or statements like, “where are you calling from?”, or “where are you based?” or “I saw you went to X school, I went there too” and find a commonality you can start off with.
Bring the excitement and enthusiasm. Referencing your knowledge of the company and some of the research you’ve done will show you’re prepared and happy to be there, and that is something that interviewers take notice of.
Highlight any fun extracurriculars or personal interests outside of work that keep you up to date in industry trends.
Be prepared to show case study materials, portfolio samples or any relevant documents if that happens to come up in conversation during the first round.
Close the call with asking for next steps or if they need any additional information from you, and thank the interviewer for their time.
Follow up with your recruiter after the interview. It seems like a small step, but your feedback will likely make its way back to the manager and will help them gauge your interest in the role.
A thank you note for the interviewer is not required, but it never hurts.