I don’t perform well in job interviews – how can I get better?

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Ask Women and Work

Question: I’m on the hunt for a new job. I’m confident in my experience and abilities, but my weak spot is interviews. I’m just not great at them! What are some tips to performing better during job interviews?

We asked Hollis Sinker, executive director, Centre for Career Design at York University’s Schulich School of Business, to tackle this one:

Interviews make most people at least a little bit nervous, which can be a good thing. It shows that you care and that you’re invested in the process. But if you’re not prepared appropriately, those nerves can get the better of you and you might not leave the best impression with the interviewer.

So, how do you prepare? First, do your company research, which extends beyond performing a cursory review of the organization’s mission, values and website. Has the company been in the news recently? Is it innovating in a particular area? What’s going on with the competition? Steeping yourself in publicly available information about the organization is going to help you pull relatable examples from your own work history when answering interview questions.

Next, you need to understand what kind of interview you’re walking into based on the industry or role that you’re interviewing for. One of the most common types is the behavioural interview, which examines your past behaviour as a predictor of your future performance. Questions often begin, “Tell me about a time when,” or “What would you do if.” With this type of interview, you’ll need plenty of examples from your professional history framed in what we call a “CAR” format. The “C” is for context: What was the situation in which you acted? The “A” is for action: What did you do? Then the “R” is the result: What was the outcome?

You can Google examples of these types of questions by industry or function to predict what you might be asked. You can also use AI tools such as ChatGPT to assist in your preparation, using a prompt like, “Based on this job posting, give me 10 behavioural questions that I’m likely to be asked.” Then it’s about practice, practice, practice.

On the performance side, make sure that you are communicating clearly and listening actively. You can gain more comfort by simulating the experience. Do mock interviews with a friend, mentor or career coach.

Another strategy is to reach out to someone that works there and see if they’d be willing to give you 15 minutes for an informal coffee chat. It takes the pressure off in the sense that it’s not an interview and enables you to learn about the organization. Plus, it’s an opportunity for you to sit down and have a conversation with someone that you don’t really know, helping you develop a comfort with being in that situation.

While there’s no perfect formula for acing interviews, I think you have to take a hard look at yourself and ask, “Where is it that I’m falling short?” Once you’ve isolated what that issue is, you can put together your plan to best prep for the next time.

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