No matter the industry, organization, job, or person - every hiring manager is ultimately trying to figure out three things about you during the course of the job interview.

In this worksheet you’ll learn what those three things are and how you can stand out by being intentional in your interview preparation.

So - what are the three things every hiring manager is looking for?

     1 - Do you have the skills and competencies I need?

     2 - Do you have passion and excitement for the role?

     3 - Do I like you?

Simple, right? But you’d be amazed how often I see candidates forget to share the most relevant skills and passion for the role. Instead, they assume that simply answering the interviewer’s questions will be enough.

I don’t want that to be you. Because it’s not enough. You need to be intentional. The interview is your time to make your best case why you are right for the role.

To help, I’m sharing three practical action steps you can take TODAY to stand out against your competition and give the hiring manager a reason to hire you.

Preparation Action Step 1

In the space provided below, list the top 3-5 skills the hiring manager is looking for. Look at the job description and any additional resources available (co-workers, Google, company website, etc.) to make sure you’re writing down the right skills. 

You'll want to prepare examples of how you've:

• ​Gained these skills
• Used these skills

List the top 3-5 skills you think the hiring manager is looking for:

Bonus Action Steps​

• Say these out loud in the interview - don’t assume the interviewer will figure things out. Connect the dots for them! Use the actual words, then back them up with examples.
  
• ​Make sure the hiring manager knows you HAVE these skills by referencing them
• Reference these top skills in your response to the inevitable "Tell me about yourself" question and any behavior-based or STAR/SBO questions you receive. (Tip: not sure what STAR or SBO stand for? Check out our article "How to prepare for behavior based interview questions​."

Preparation Action Step 2

Very few things bother me more in an interview than a job candidate who apparently only showed up just in case the only criteria was "human with pulse."

Instead, chances are pretty good that you'll need to show a level of excitement, passion, and energy that demonstrates you actually want the job. Just having the right skills is not enough.

Answering the questions below will help you be clear in your own mind why you’re excited for this opportunity. As a result, it will be much easier to clearly show your interviewer your passion.

Question 1: Why did I choose this organization, company, or employer?

Question 2: Why am I excited about this role?

Preparation Action Step 2 (continued)

Question 3: What about this role would get me up and going in the morning?

Bonus Action Steps:

• Research the organization’s mission, purpose, values, what they do and why they do it.
• Please be ready to share not only THAT you’re excited about the role, but WHY.
• Say this all out loud to the interviewer. Again, don’t assume anything. You should literally say that you’re excited and/or passionate about what they’re doing and why.

Preparation Action Step 3

This one is more tricky to prepare for. A large part of what the hiring manager is trying to do is figure out if you're a good fit. You should also be doing the same on your end. Do you want to work with this person?

Assuming you feel it's a good fit, it's now up to you to ensure you come across in a positive light. While you can't fully plan for this, there are some steps you can take to prepare ahead of time. 

Review the following list prior to your interview to avoid these common job interview mistakes:

• Talk too much. This is the most common blunder I see. Make sure you practice responses ahead of time. You can even time yourself if you know you tend to talk too much. Look for cues - if the interviewer is frequently checking the clock or her watch, pick up your pace.

• Ask the interviewer to repeat every question. While you may need to have one or two questions repeated for clarity or to give you some time to think, you shouldn’t ask for more than that. Eventually, it comes across either as an inability to listen, retain information, or simply as a stalling tactic. Either way - it’s not the impression you want.

• Make too many jokes. You do want to be likable and relatable. But consider that not every hiring manager is looking for a stand-up comedian. Read their cues - being personable and smiling (which you NEED to do) is not the same thing as making jokes or laughing constantly.

Preparation Action Step 3 (Continued)

• Give your strengths as weaknesses. Please don’t do this. When asked to share your weaknesses or something you’re working on to develop yourself, don’t say things like “I work too hard “ or “I’m too much of a perfectionist” or “I’m too good looking.” The hiring manager may completely dismiss you as a candidate if you can’t answer this question honestly. The point is to understand your level of self-awareness, and choosing to not answer the question won’t help you with that. Instead, pick a skill not critical to the role (i.e. not in your list of 3-5 skills mentioned above) and share how you have a plan you’re working on to address it.​

• Ask terrible questions. A pet peeve of mine when I'm interviewing is when I ask "So, what questions do you have for me?" and the candidate says "I don't have any questions." Or instead, and only slightly better, he asks questions that could have easily been researched ahead of time. Instead, use this as your time to engage the interviewer in conversation. The bulk of the interview is over at this point, so you'll likely be a little less nervous. Show the hiring manager the real you. If you want to know more about how to best do this, check out my post "How to easily transform your job interview questions."​

There you have it. 

If you follow the advice I just outlined, you'll be on your way to standing out from your competition in your next interview. 

Just to recap, here are the 3 questions every hiring manager is trying to answer when interviewing you:

1. Do you have the skills and competencies I need?

2. Do you have excitement and passion for the role?

3. Do I like you?

Want even more interview tips?

Check out the free resources​​ we offer at Equipped Interview​.

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