How to Perform Well in Your Next Job Interview (Includes Tips and Scripts)

Hi, Harvard Business Review. My name is Tori Dunlap. I'm the founder of Her First 100K and the host of the Financial Feminist podcast, and today I'm here with tips and tricks on how to succeed in your next job interview. Now, job interviews can be super daunting, but your prep work happens before you even walk in the door. My first tip is to take a look at the job description and go line by line thinking of statistics, narratives, or other stories about how you're qualified. You know that section of the job description where they have all of those bullets of requirements, like must be a self-starter, must be organized? You're going to prep for the interview by thinking of particular stories from previous experience that show that you are organized, you are a self-starter. Anytime you can tie your experience to specific outcomes is a great thing. So I was organized with this project, and it made the company $50,000. That's a great example of how you can use a specific statistic, a specific story to show that you're qualified for this particular job. One of my friends did this in the past, and it worked out really well for her. She was trying to move from being a hostess at a restaurant into recruiting, and she didn't have any recruiting experience on paper, but she could cite particular instances where she had the skills needed to be a recruiter. So again, things like organized, self-starter, was able to work well with people. She could use stories or particular instances where she exemplified those skills in the food service industry and could transition those into working as a recruiter, so she got the job. Most hiring managers are going to ask you questions based on this job description. So if you prep with the job description, you already have your answers. You know what to say. Number two, you're going to get asked about either your current salary or your salary expectations, and this always trips people up. It's the hardest job interview question, the what are your salary requirements, and I'm gonna tell you exactly how to answer it. The first question, what is your current salary, it's actually a question that's illegal in over 20 states. I'm based in Washington State. I know it's illegal here, and you can do a quick Google search. It's a question that's used by folks to get you for as cheap as possible, so obviously we want to avoid answering that question. If it is illegal in your state, you can tell them, "It's actually illegal to answer that question here in the state of X, but happy to talk about my qualifications." And you can say the same thing if it unfortunately isn't illegal in your state. "That's not something I'm comfortable answering, but I'm happy to talk about my qualifications for this role." The what are your salary expectations or what are your salary requirements question is one that's more common, and it typically is the company's way of trying to see if their budget aligns with yours. But they already know your budget, so ask. [laughs] You can say something like, "I actually don't understand the full scope of the role at this point in the process to accurately price myself, but I would love to know your budget."