The interview process is a part of every facet of a business.  This is no less a part of IT and technology-related jobs.  In fact, the mobility of technology jobs and prevalence of short-term or part-time positions make mastering the interview critical for your career.  In this episode, we cover some great ways to approach an interview.  These will help whether you are looking for a new team member or a new position.

An Interview is Selling

IT workers rarely consider themselves good at sales of any type.  However, the key to a good interview on either side of the table is to properly sell your position.  As an interviewer, you are selling that the job and company are an excellent choice for the interviewee.  As an interviewee, you are trying to sell your ability to exceed expectations if you get that position.  That being said, the goal for both parties is not to only sell.  The goal is to ensure that the match is a good one.  You can go into every interview to sell yourself as the ideal candidate but what about when you are not?  The interview is a sale only if you want to complete the transaction.

Bailing Out

A missing piece of many interviews is the escape hatch.  Both parties should be looking for reasons to bail out on the process as much as they search for reasons to proceed.  Whether you are looking for a job or are a candidate, there should be a detailed idea in your mind of what a perfect match looks like.  This may take the form of your next step in career development or the person that can best perform the tasks your company requires to be done.

 

Rob Broadhead

Rob is a founder of, and frequent contributor to, Develpreneur. This includes the Building Better Developers podcast. He is also a lifetime learner as a developer, designer, and manager of software solutions. Rob is the founder of RB Consulting and has managed to author a book about his family experiences and a few about becoming a better developer. In his free time, he stays busy raising five children (although they have grown into adults). When he has a chance to breathe, he is on the ice playing hockey to relax or working on his ballroom dance skills.

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