The Interview Advice That 90% of Articles Aren’t Telling You
10 unconventional tips to ace any interview, especially if you aren’t the smartest person in the room.
I was on Spring Break in Honduras, hiking up a dusty, slippery path on a steep mountain, led by our guide, whose semi-automatic rifle was perched in his arms, ready to defend and protect at the nearest sign of danger.
This wasn’t your average Spring Break trip. I was there with a microfinance brigade from my business school, ready to help a poverty-stricken developing village learn about money, small business loans, and how to improve its inhabitants’ lives.
That’s when I got the text from my dad, who was monitoring my email in the states. JP Morgan wanted me to come in for a final interview, so they needed a few papers faxed over immediately.
I already had four internship offers on the table, but I was holding out for two more. I had an application under review at Google and another at JP Morgan. Around the same time I got the JP Morgan interview call, I got the rejection from Google.
This was my last chance
If I didn’t get the JP Morgan job for the most critical year of my business school internship, my prospects for a full-time career afterward would be severely limited. My other offers were reasonable, but they weren’t JP Morgan, and they weren’t in California. I desperately wanted to land an offer in San Francisco or the Greater Palo Alto Area to be close to finance, technology, and Silicon Valley. If it had a name like JP Morgan or Google attached to it, even better.
Luckily for me, this was not my first rodeo when it came to interviews. As much as I hate to say it, I think I became more of a pro at interviewing than I ever would at any of the tasks my subsequent jobs would require of me.
Regardless, to get those subsequent jobs and that subsequent successful career, you need to master the art of successful interviewing, so I’m here to offer my advice.
This advice got me:
- Multiple “Superdays” at Goldman Sachs, as a sophomore and a junior
- Invited to four pre-internship events (reserved for top “likely” candidates) at JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs
- Five internship offers from esteemed banks and large companies (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo (they gave me two separate offers), Morgan Creek and JP Morgan)
- A 6-figure job right out of college at an investment bank, followed by a subsequent move to the M&A group of an even bigger (better) bank
Here are ten unconventional tips to acing interviews, especially if you’re not the smartest candidate in the room. I know I wasn’t.
Acing an interview isn’t about aptitude. It isn’t about GPA. Your GPA may have gotten you in the room, but once you’re at the interview, it’s your job to get or lose. These 10 tips can help you stand out as a unique, phenomenal candidate that will add a breath of fresh air and significant, unexpected value to their team and their company.
Acknowledge your shortcomings
At my first Goldman Sachs Superday, I was (pretty much without a doubt) the least likely candidate in the room.
- First, I was an alternate, so I wasn’t even the first choice candidate they wanted from my school
- Second, my school was the lowest-ranked of all the schools represented by the candidates in that interview holding room. I went to UNC, and I was a part of their undergraduate business school program, which was good…but everyone else in that room was from Ivy League schools or those in the top ten, whereas my school probably sat around number 25 or 30 at the time.
- These candidates all had another thing in common: they all had prior experience with or proven interest in finance, including parents who worked at big banks; internships at other financial institutions; and full 18-hour course loads of advanced finance classes as sophomores. My school didn’t even offer those classes until our junior year. How could I possibly compete? By being honest.
I wish I had a recording of the speech I gave at my GS interview, but I remember it started a little something like this:
“I know there’s a lobby-full of more qualified candidates out there. They go to Ivy League schools. They probably have 4.0 GPAs. They’ve had prior finance internships, and they seem like the perfect, obvious choice. But there’s one thing I bring to the table that they don’t: I’m a blank slate; I’m teachable. I’ve never worked in an investment bank. I’m just taking my first corporate finance class now. I don’t have my own investment portfolio, and I surely don’t know the technicals or formulas that most of them already do. However, unlike those candidates, I want this internship for one reason: to learn.
I’m a blank slate; I’m teachable.
Will I have to work harder than they would? Yes, most likely. Will some things take me longer to grasp the first time? Quite possibly. But the same reason I’m standing here, among a sea of more qualified candidates is the reason I’ll be putting in the hours and outperforming them every day of the internship; because I know how little I know, how far I have to go, and I’m dedicated to getting myself there, no matter the time, effort, or sacrifices required.”
That may not be the word-for-word speech that I gave, but it worked, to the tune of an afternoon full of five more interviews with other groups, and being invited back for special early candidate events and asked back for a Superday the following year.
I led with my shortcomings, but I made it work for me. Don’t shy away from your shortcomings; they’re going to come out anyway. Lean into them, be the first to point them out, and put a unique, positive spin on them to raise yourself head and shoulders above those more qualified peers.
2. Vulnerability will make you more likable
Interviewers are people too; they like to feel a human-to-human connection, and being vulnerable in some aspect of your interview is the fastest way to get there. It can be referencing a tragic event you overcame. It can be honing in on a big mistake you made. It can be talking through your weaknesses and how they’ve contributed to the successes (and failures).
Vulnerability is a great skill in your interview toolbox, as long as you know where to draw the line. As honest as you want to be, you want to be sure to avoid topics or statements from which you can never come back. Anything that reveals a horrendous, permanent, or somehow unacceptable character flaw (that would most certainly not be appropriate for an employee or intern) is a little too real; that’s not the type of vulnerability we’re talking about here.
3. Don’t get a good night’s sleep
This might be an unpopular opinion, but if you have to decide between optimal sleep and optimal preparation, I’m always going to advocate for the extra few hours of prep. I’m not suggesting you should forego sleep regularly, but if we’re talking about a potentially life-changing interview, you can stand to stress your body out for one night. You can use that post-cramming, pre-interview adrenaline to your advantage the next morning to keep you energized and on your toes leading up to and during the interview. You can sleep after the interview.
“An occasional night without sleep…won’t harm your health.”
I realize this one may be controversial, but here’s the thing: everybody needs a different amount of sleep to perform optimally. Some people can get by on 6 hours, while others act like zombies if they get less than 9. You should know yourself well enough to know what you require and realize that having the necessary knowledge and adequate preparation to perform well in your interview should be a top priority to ensure your success.
4. Make a personal connection in the first 5 minutes
Seriously — this is how you separate yourself, a human, from all the other interview robots you’ll be up against. This can get your interviewer to do what is arguably the most important thing: to like you. If they like you, you’ve already won more than half the battle. From that point, it’s your job to lose.
This can start with a compliment, a question, or a mention of something intriguing or positive you heard or read about your interviewer prior.
The important thing to remember is that, while the interview is about you, people like to talk about themselves. This means that the more you open up the door to friendly conversations, perhaps discussing something you and the interviewer have in common, the more opportunity you give them to talk about themself.
According to Samantha Boardman, M.D. of Psychology Today (and referencing the research done by Scientific American): “If you let the other person talk a lot about themselves, they will think you are fascinating.”
5. Size up the competition and make sure you’re different
Don’t be like the others, even if you think they’re objectively “better” than you.
This kind of goes with number one, but if you can find any commonalities among your competitors, make sure to highlight how you’re different in the interview. You don’t necessarily need to call out those differences the way I did at my GS interview, but you simply want to craft a story that will separate you from all the other candidates in the interviewer’s mind.
- Maybe they’re all athletes, and you’re involved in the arts; highlight this.
- Maybe they’ve all spent summers at prior internships or jobs, and you’ve been doing community service or working for a nonprofit; let it be known.
- Maybe they seem money-driven and less outwardly focused; talk about your focus on helping people or changing the world.
It doesn’t matter what it is, but make it different.
Bosses don’t want robot clones; they want unique individuals that will add a new perspective and significant value to the team and their goals. That requires a diversity of mindsets, skillsets, backgrounds, interests, and personalities. Let your differences shine.
6. Your interviewer actually wants you to succeed
This may be the biggest mistake interviewees make: seeing their interviewer as some fate-altering decision-maker or dictator-like boss who has unlimited power to end your career before it even starts. Most interviewers don’t want to suffer through bad interviews; unless, perhaps, they’re so bad they’re funny and entertaining. That could be a nice diversion to their workday. However, for the most part, they want to be wowed so they can be done with the whole process.
I once had an interview last about five minutes. Why? The interviewer had worked for my current boss, and he knew he didn’t suffer fools. That’s exactly what he said to me. He said:
“Stuart doesn’t suffer fools. If he’s had you working for him for over a year, that tells me all I need to know. Don’t take my cutting this interview short as a bad thing.”
That was literally the interview. We exchanged a few stories about my current (and his former) boss, Stuart, and then he dismissed me. I got the job. I was arguably one of the worst candidates for it. It didn’t matter; he wanted me to succeed. Once my interviewer, Mark, knew I had a track record of working for such a difficult boss, that was enough for him.
That’s pure proof that, on the one hand, life isn’t always fair (I really shouldn’t have gotten that job; I was up against some truly impressive candidates), and on the other hand, interviewers want you to succeed so they can fill the gap as soon as possible and move on with their day. All you have to do is act normal (friendly), be prepared, do a good job, and make it easy for them.
7. Stop taking it so seriously
This will kill your vibe, and the interviewer will feel your stiff, nervous energy even from six feet away (assuming this is an in-person pandemic interview; if not, they’ll still notice over Zoom; screens don’t hide bad energy).
Being too nervous can harm your interview performance in two ways:
- Verbal: A flood of anxiety during an interview can throw you off course and prevent you from answering even the most basic of questions. Even if you do remember the answers to your questions, your overwhelming anxiety can affect your tone and delivery, causing you to come across as insecure, unpolished, and especially unfit for any client-facing role.
- Non-verbal: Extreme interview anxiety and nerves can wreak even more havoc on your non-verbal performance, and you may not even realize it’s happening.
According to an artitcle by Neil Kokemuller on Work.Chron.com:
“Hiring managers read your nonverbal cues in the interview just as they listen to your answers. Some hiring managers…have concern[s] that if you can’t overcome nerves in an interview, you won’t on the job, either.”
The bottom line? Stop taking your interview so seriously that your nerves negatively impact your performance. It isn’t just what you say; it’s how you say it. A nervous tic, lack of eye contact, and rapid or irregular rates of speech might not instill confidence that you’re the ideal candidate for the job, regardless of the impressive credentials on your resume.
8. Talk to your interviewer like a mentor and friend
Here’s the thing most of us forget when we walk into an interview: that person sitting across the desk from us isn’t some one-time interview monster. They’re likely a boss, mentor, and colleague, alongside whom you’ll likely spend the majority of your waking hours if you are to get to the job. The interviewer doesn’t just have to think you’re smart and capable of doing the job; they have to like you (or at least not mind you) enough to want you in their office 40+ hours per week.
Believe it or not, being a warm, positive, friendly person may mean more to getting the job than showing off your impressive intellect and broad vocabulary.
This goes along with the human nature of corporate politics: Sometimes, the person who gets the job (or raise or promotion) isn’t the most qualified on paper, but for some intangible reason (like their warmth and positivity), they came across as a better fit.
It may not seem fair, but it’s something very easy to conquer. You simply have to be warm, friendly, positive, and personable. This is very doable for most of us but often gets passed over (or assumed unimportant) and doesn’t even make our interview prep checklist. Now that you know, add it to the list!
9. Listen closely to everything your interviewer says
I mean everything — every single word. Whether it’s about the job, the company, their kids, their affinity for running, the sorority or fraternity they were in, etc.
The second I walked out of an interview, I would deposit every word retained from my interviewer onto my notepaper, doing my best to keep a word-for-word transcript of his or her responses. Why? This will be key for the award-winning follow-up you need to round off your interview with a slam-dunk thank you note.
You’re not done yet, and the detail in your notes could be the difference between a great thank you letter and a mediocre one, which will not improve your chances of getting the so-coveted position.
10. Your interview isn’t over when you walk out of the room
Finally, you’re ready for the grand finale! It’s your opportunity to craft the most specific, unforgettable, value-added thank you letter immediately and send it over before they have a chance to make a decision.
Don’t you dare sigh a breath of relief until you’ve reviewed your highly-detailed notes and transformed them into the most perfect, personalized, one-of-a-kind thank you letter. This could be the very reason you get the job.
I could write a whole separate article on how to write the perfect thank you letter…but for now, here are a few quick tips:
- Include at least one or two very specific references to something you learned about your interviewer.
- Try to weave in something personal, nice, and friendly to break the corporate barrier and remind them to view you as a potential friend.
- Mention one thing you learned or took away from the interview.
- Delineate exactly how you will plan to contribute to the group and clearly outline your unique value add. The sweet spot is somewhere between big picture impact and actionable contributions, as you don’t want to be too vague (“I’ll be a great team player”), but you also don’t want to be too specific (“I’m very efficient at making pivot tables”).
- If you can follow-up on a topic you didn’t know, a complex question they asked (that you may not have fully explained or aced), or a discussion you feel you didn’t properly finish, this can be a game-changer. This shows them that you’re going out of your way, even after the interview is over, to provide them value and offer up the best answers to their questions. This alone could get you the job.
I realize this was a bit of a mouthful
An earful? An eyeful? You read it, so maybe it’s a brainful? But implementing the above tips can elevate your interview performance high above your peers and help you outshine those who may appear a better fit on paper, by their GPA, certifications, or the university name across their resume.
The most important lesson you may see woven throughout the above tips comes down to the fact that your interviewers are typically human (if you’re getting interviewed by robots, this advice may not hold up as well…that’s currently inconclusive). Anyone can be a smart candidate with a high GPA or relevant prior experience. However, the interview is the opportunity to let your humanness shine. Your resume already got you in the door. It’s time for your unique perspective and personality to get you that offer letter.
Good luck — and remember, it isn’t just about what you know, it’s about how you present what you can do for them and wow them with your value-add.
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